Faulty shoes replaced but bag exchange a non-runner

A reader contacted us because she was “fuming”. She bought a pair of children’s shoes and a handbag from a shoe shop. The shoes were only worn from September 1st but “became faulty within three weeks and I rang the shop. They told me to come up, which I did,” our reader writes.

It was a 50-minute drive, but, “to cut a long story short, they eventually agreed to replace the shoes, and I compromised and took a different style”, she says.

Then she asked if she could exchange the handbag which she had with her “as it was the wrong colour”. This was refused because she had no receipt and exchange was only allowed up to two weeks after purchase if there was a receipt. “I pointed out the bag was still in the packaging with the price tag on it and still in stock at full price, and it was clear I bought it there. I didn’t want a refund: only an exchange.”

She was told that if the shoes had not been faulty she would still have the bag “but as I had to make journey anyway with faulty shoes I thought they could accommodate me, especially as I compromised on the style of shoe”.

A row ensued. “I am aware that the no-receipt issue did exist, but it was clear that the bag was purchased there, with no damage and all labels and packaging still in place. And I made a compromise after a battle to get the shoes replaced in the first place. Is there anything I can do?”

Sometimes knowing the rights you don’t have is just as important as knowing the ones you do have. First off, the shop is not under any obligation to entertain any request for a refund, a repair or a replacement if someone cannot provide proof of purchase. It does not have to be a receipt, but you have to be able to prove you bought the product there.

Second, a shop is under no obligation to offer a refund or an exchange just because the shopper has changed their mind and no longer wants the product.

A lot of shops offer exchange because they think it makes good business sense by fostering goodwill and encouraging people to continue to shop with them, but they do not have to.

Dial H for ‘how much did you say the phone call cost? 

A reader called Deb got in touch. "I've recently returned from a holiday to the US, Florida to be precise," she says. She "naively thought" that using the landline in her hotel room would be cheaper to call a landline in Ireland – "just to let them know we'd arrived safely" – than using her mobile.

“Oh how wrong I was. I was charged $102 plus tax which brought my 15-minute phone call to $117. I figured maybe it would cost $15-$20 max. After I picked my jaw up from the floor and a “goodwill gesture” from the manager on duty, I ended up handing over $80-odd dollars for the phone call,” she writes

She says she didn’t have the energy to argue “and because we were leaving to come home, I didn’t want to end my holiday on an argument with an indignant manager. There was a welcome binder in the room on our arrival but there was no indication of charges if you were to make a call on the hotel room’s phone,” she says.

Prior to going to this particular hotel she spent the first part of her holiday in Orlando and bought a $10 call card “and after approx 45 minutes’ usage, I still had a balance of about $4. This card wouldn’t work outside of the Orlando area, and we couldn’t see where to buy a similar one so I, perhaps naively, assumed that a single call wouldn’t bankrupt us.”