Mac and Miller refusing to honour credit note

[catgirl]

I bought a jacket in Mac and Miller and after one wear loads of the threads at the bottom at come unravelled and were sticking out so I took it back and was given a credit note for the ?49. The next time I went past the shop had closed and then reopened a few weeks or so later. I've been in a couple of times but not seen anything I particularly wanted and as the credit note had no expiry date on it I wasn't in a hurry. I went in today, found a couple of things and went to use the credit note but was told they couldn't take it as it was given by the pop up not the shop. I pointed out that the pop up closed a few days after the credit note was given to me and she said in any case the credit notes are only valid for 14 days. I said that the credit note didn't say that and had it had an expiry date on it I would have made sure I used it by then. Anyway, they refused to honour it, leaving me basically having thrown ?49 down the drain.

What is even more galling is that I think I was entitled to money back rather than credit note initially as the jacket was clearly faulty but I didn't push for that as I wanted to support a local independent business.

If they are going to have such ridiculously short terms for a credit note (2 weeks, really?!) then this needs to be clearly stated on the credit note and pointed out to the customer when the note is issued, neither of which happened in my case.

They could have even offered me half the amount or something as a gesture but no I was just offered 20% off what I wanted to buy - ie. asking me to spend more money in there having wasted the ?49 credit note.

[IlonaM]

See https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/ and possibly think about reporting to Trading Standards [https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/report-to-trading-standards/].

[KatieGG]

Hi Katie here, owner of mac&miller. here.

The policy at our old pop up store was 30 days for a credit note and is now 14 days at the new store. Our returns policy is clearly stated on all our receipts which are given to each customer electronically when they make a purchase. I worked in the pop up six days a week and personally explained our policy to each customer when issuing a credit note.

It's six months since I closed the pop up so unfortunately the credit note has expired.

As a gesture of good will I am more than happy to offer you a 20 percent discount on your next purchase.

Many thanks

[dbboy]

Did yourself no favours there then buddy, remind me to steer clear of your business.

[dbboy]

Did yourself no favours there then buddy, remind me to steer clear of your business. Why not honour the credit note?

[DulwichFox]

At this time 102 people have read this thread and now know what service to expect from Mac and Miller.

DulwichFox.

[New Girl]

I refuse to shop here due to their ridiculous policy. Stuff in there isn't cheap either so you'll never get your money back, instead it's on a flimsy bit of paper with a silly expiry date.

[binkylilyput]

If the item was faulty you could have had a refund under the Consumer Rights Act.

The credit note should also state if there is a time limit (14 days is pretty limited).

Either way, the customer has obviously tried and it is not relevant to the customer whether the shop has changed from a pop up or not.

6 months is a long time but given the ambiguity of the situation and the fact that it is now on a public forum it would probably have made wiser business sense for the owner to have been more gracious than 20%.

[DaveR]

"The policy at our old pop up store was 30 days for a credit note and is now 14 days at the new store. Our returns policy is clearly stated on all our receipts which are given to each customer electronically when they make a purchase. I worked in the pop up six days a week and personally explained our policy to each customer when issuing a credit note.

It's six months since I closed the pop up so unfortunately the credit note has expired.

As a gesture of good will I am more than happy to offer you a 20 percent discount on your next purchase."

Hmm. If the goods are not of sufficient quality, the customer is legally entitled to a refund. Providing a credit note that expires in 14 or 30 days is obviously not the same. At the very least this seems like sharp practice and a good reason to avoid this shop.

[KatieGG]

Hi guys

If goods are faulty (which unfortunately does happen very occasionally when dealing with clothing) then we absolutely do offer a refund. This is stated clearly on all our receipts.

@catgirl when you came in earlier today we didn't discuss the details of the initial purchase. Perhaps you'd like to pop in for a chat in person this weekend or send me your number and I can give you a call? I'm sure we can work something out :)

To all who have commented, thank you - as a new business it's always good to have customer feedback. I will review the credit note policy for the new season and look to extend it.

Many Thanks

[dbboy]

Just refund catgirl her money and hope this incident hasn't tarnished your "new" business too much, also perhaps check the quality of what you sell to make sure it is fir for purpose.

[Alan Medic]

I don't understand why anyone would accept a credit note in lieu of returning a faulty product.

[Drxyster]

422 People have viewed this thread between it's inception at 2:18 yesterday, until now 14:50. Saturday July 8th 2017

[binkylilyput]

Seems owner KatieGG has taken on board some feedback from EDF posters and invited the OP back into the shop to resolve the issue.

As a new business I believe they deserve another chance now- it is hard setting up!

[ken78]

catgirl

read this as it was faulty you do not have to accept a credit note or a voucher. you need to take this to trading standards.why should you lose money.keep this thread going to let other buyers beware of this shop. good luck.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_complaints/replacements_refunds_and_credit_notes.html

[IlonaM]

ken78 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affa

> irs/consumer_protection/consumer_complaints/replac

> ements_refunds_and_credit_notes.html

That's a Republic of Ireland site! - Different law. Would suggest looking at link on earlier post

[NewWave]

a credit note expiring in 2 weeks is ridiculous!

I've worked in retail for years and the norm has been 14-28 for RETURNS.

And credit notes lasting 6-12 months.

the OP said there was no expiry date on the credit note so therefore its out of order to turn round and say "oh-its expired"

As a small local buisiness you should treat your customers with more decency.

not honouring a ?49 credit note has no doubt lost you much more than ?49 worth of lost sales and local goodwill.

BIG FAIL!

[KidKruger]

Power to the ED Forum !

As a diammetrically opposed example, I had a ?48 credit note from Plough DIY which I used 4yrs after it'd been issued - that's customer loyalty.

[catgirl]

Just to clarify a few points:

The terms were not explained to me when I accepted the credit note. If I'd been told that it was 14 or even 30 days only then I would have pushed for a refund as I would know it was unlikely that I'd even get back to the shop within that time let alone get back and find something I wanted to buy.

I wasn't offered a refund - you said that the jacket would have to be sent back to the manufacturer and they would then decide if faulty or not, it was not your product to authorise a refund. As I said before, I was happy to re spend the money in there to support a local business so didn't argue the point.

I didn't receive an electronic receipt - you may have offered one but I never accept these in shops as I get enough spam email as it is.

New Wave - she told me that it was common in retail that credit notes only lasted 14 - 30 days! I did say that this was rubbish and most were 6 - 12 months but she insisted that this wasn't the case. I do understand that small businesses don't have the same financial stability / clout to accept credit a long time after the original money was spent but then an expiry date does need to be written on the credit note so that it's clear.

I don't want to damage a local business which I'm sure is run in very good faith and with a lot of hard work. I don't know when I'll next be near the shop but will message you my number Katie, thanks for the offer.

[dbboy]

Suggest speaking with trading standards to see what they say, at least it will inform them of the short practices this business owner operates. IMO I'd expect you to get a full refund, a replacement of the item or goods to the same value, PUSH for a full refund though.

[missmack1981]

Mac & Miller is a great little shop which I have found to offer a friendly, personable service. I've bought many items and never had a problem but it's a shame you've had a bad experience Catgirl.

The owner has offered to talk directly with the OP and has offered to review the policy. Please let's support our local businesses in their fledgling months.

[dbboy]

with a minimalist website,mnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn????????

[bsand]

Shot themselves in the foot there. My wife bought a Tempur pillow from John Lewis in Oxford St a couple of years ago which has a 3 year guarantee. A few weeks ago she said her neck wasn't gettting the support she had had previously from the pillow. We have long since lost the receipt but we took it back to JL just to see what they thought about the change in the pillow. Without demur the guy let us exchange it for a new one adding "we trust you as a customer". Obvious delight all round and me waxing lyrically to the queue about how amazing JL are with customer service. We have of course bored all our friends with the story and now are on social media singing their praises. Go on Mac and Miller do the right thing , garner a load of good free publicity and exchange the damn thing.

1196 views now and counting.

[Abe_froeman]

I dont know much about fashion but I'm pretty sure this is not a good look.

[bsand]

There is a point beyond which MM will look like they have been bullied into the refund or they don't refund and so we will all draw our own conclusions. Don't think we are there yet - a mea culpa , we want to do the right thing , maybe even a discount code PM to posters and who knows they could even have a sales rush on their hands. Like Abe says not a good look for a local no dount customer centric business.