# Harvey Norman doesn't refund or exchange if change my mind.



## Sandy2004

Hey,

Very annoyed at Harvey Norman's return policy. 

Bought bed linen there with two cushions like the linen but didn't like the cushions. So decided to bring them back Saturday and was told that Harvey Norman doesn't refund or exchange if I changed my mind.

Now  if I was told that at the register when I had purchased I would have taken my time over the purchase. And I might add I have bought a bed, a bedroom set and table and chairs there and I was never once told this. 

So if you are going to Harvey Norman make sure you are absolutely certain you like them cause you wouldn't be able to take them back!


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## ClubMan

They are perfectly within their rights not to exchange/refund goods where there is no problem with them and not to state this explicitly above the till!


> *Changing your mind
> 
> *Remember that you have no rights under consumer law if you simply change your mind about wanting to keep the goods.


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## annR

They are within their rights but so many retailers do allow you to return something if you change your mind, it's become a very common practice.  

Having said that, if I'm buying something and I have second thoughts at all, I always double check at the counter what their returns policy is.


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## ClubMan

I agree about checking the retailer's non statutory returns policy beforehand but equally I don't really see that the original poster has a legitimate complaint against the retailer in this case.


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## Sandy2004

I know I should have asked but in relation to good customer relations, I can't understand why they don't give your money back. I now will never buy there again


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## z107

I would expect it's probably to do with their business model. They can offer lower prices or have increased profit, because they don't have the overhead of restocking returns.

It's probably a bit like complaining that you're not getting a meal on Ryanair.


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## jake108

umop3p!sdn said:


> They can offer lower prices or have increased profit, because they don't have the overhead of restocking returns.


 

Lower prices??? Please show me!! LCD and stand E189 cheaper in DID week.


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## gramlab

Wanted a camcorder last year and checked around. Price seemed to be around 600. Went into HN and they said 800. When I said 600 seemed to be the norm he said fair enough. 
Dont know if that was great salesmanship or whether his child had been let loose with the pricing gun. Staff dont seem to know much about thier products in general.

Cheap comes with a price


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## Sandy2004

I wouldn't say that Harvey are cheap far from it to be be honest......


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## nai

bought a large rug from Swords branch last year and when we got it home the colour didn't match furniture so i brought it back and they exchanged without any problem.


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## Sandy2004

I went to the wrong branch!


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## Margie

Excuse my ignorance but i thought it was perfectly within your consumer rights to return the item (in perfect condition and with all tags on) with your receipt and exchange it for something else or get a credit note.  Don't most shops practice this?


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## ClubMan

Margie said:


> Excuse my ignorance but i thought it was perfectly within your consumer rights to return the item (in perfect condition and with all tags on) with your receipt and exchange it for something else or get a credit note.


No - absolutely not. See my earlier posts. 


> Don't most shops practice this?


Some do, some don't. None is obliged to operate this policy.


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## Margie

Clubman, I read the consumer link which you had on one of your earlier posts.  Very interesting.  I would honestly say that most people don't realise this because the bigger chain stores like Dunnes, Tescos etc. will change items no problem.


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## River

Sandy2004 said:


> So if you are going to Harvey Norman make sure you are absolutely certain you like them cause you wouldn't be able to take them back!




They have returned items for me in the past when I changed my mind. I would advise if you are bringing back anything, due to a change of mind, that you come up with a better story to ensure they do refund (however immoral this may be  ) . 

Doesnt fit, partner already bought, yada yada yada.


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## Humpback

umop3p!sdn said:


> because they don't have the overhead of restocking returns.


 
I love this new excuse that shops and businesses are coming up with as a way to screw a few more euros out of the unfortunate consumer.

They're paying staff to work in shops, presumably to stack shelves etc. Why can't the same people put the linen back on the shelf as part of their normal job - why does it cost extra? It's not like adding the item back into the computer stock list is going to take all that long anyway.

Should they in theory be then charging us a "stocking charge" at the time of initial purchase? Maybe they'll be charging us a service charge for checking us out at the tills next as well?


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## ClubMan

ronan_d_john said:


> Should they in theory be then charging us a "stocking charge" at the time of initial purchase? Maybe they'll be charging us a service charge for checking us out at the tills next as well?


Surely a retailer subsumes some part of all overall costs into the price of an item? Hardly rocket science or cause for a conspiracy theory?


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## z107

Indeed.

I doubt shop assistants do much work for free.


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## Humpback

ClubMan said:


> Surely a retailer subsumes some part of all overall costs into the price of an item? Hardly rocket science or cause for a conspiracy theory?


 
I thought I was clear enough in that that was my point. Costs (such as staff costs) are subsumed into the costs of a product we buy from a retailer.

Therefore, charging these extra service charges, and restocking charges, is really charging on the double for the service that we're getting.


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## ClubMan

ronan_d_john said:


> I thought I was clear enough in that that was my point. Costs (such as staff costs) are subsumed into the costs of a product we buy from a retailer.
> 
> Therefore, charging these extra service charges, and restocking charges, is really charging on the double for the service that we're getting.


Who said that they charge on the double for this service?


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## ajapale

ronan_d_john said:


> ... is really charging on the double for the service that we're getting......



Hi Clubman,

I understand "_charging on the double_" or "_double charging_" to be a figure of speech meaning to "_charge twice_" or even "_to overcharge_". It would be similar to the phrase "_double taxation_" meaning the tax is levied twice but the amount on each occasion might be different.

aj


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## ClubMan

That is not what's confusing me what is confusing me is who here has argued that _Harvey Norman _charge twice for restocking? Nobody as far as I can see in which case all this talk of double charging for this service seems irrelevant.


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## Humpback

ClubMan said:


> That is not what's confusing me what is confusing me is who here has argued that _Harvey Norman _charge twice for restocking? Nobody as far as I can see in which case all this talk of double charging for this service seems irrelevant.


 
I said this, indirectly. For the third time, if a shop is including some percentage into the cost of their product to cover the cost of wages, that's charging the customer once. If they then charge the customer again separately for restocking, then that's charging the customer a second time.

I didn't say it was overcharging, or a ripoff or anything like that. I just said that the practice of charging extra for restocking was the equivalent of charging the customer twice for service.


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## ClubMan

ronan_d_john said:


> If they then charge the customer again separately for restocking, then that's charging the customer a second time.


Yes - but who ever said that _HN _(who this thread is about after all) or any other retailer for that matter were doing this on returns?


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## Humpback

ClubMan said:


> Yes - but who ever said that _HN _(who this thread is about after all) or any other retailer for that matter were doing this on returns?


 
Okay, not HN in this instance, but I've come across a retailer on DNS who tried to charge a restocking fee when I went to return something to them.


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## ClubMan

ronan_d_john said:


> on DNS who tried to charge a restocking fee when I went to return something to them.


"On DNS"?


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## jrewing

"De Nort Side"  ??


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## goharveygo

hi sandy, harvey norman does have exchange policies notices on all cash desks. It does state you must return goods within 48 hours if you have simply changed your mind, however we will look after you , if at the time of purchase you tell us your not sure and you may need to return the goods but can,t get in to us for a few days, we can put a note on your invoice stating this. Any manager in any branch of  HARVEY NORMANS would be glad to be of help in any way possible.


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## DrMoriarty

Welcome to AAM, goharveygo.

I'm guessing (wildly) that you have some connection to Harvey Norman — if so, can I ask that you kindly  while posting?


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## Caveat

Restocking charge is not that unusual - we do it.

It depends on the item in question. Anything of an electrical/electronic/mechanical nature will have to be checked for functionality, damage, possibly cleaned, maybe even extensively tested and then repackaged. All takes man (or woman) hours which equals money.

It's a right pain, but again, it depends on the product, e.g. a bit rich charging a restocking fee for a cuddly toy or something.


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## rose147

whatever about exchanges...their stuff is not great quality and very epensive. i went into the new Harvey Norman in Carrickmines yesterday. The only semi-decent suite was €4500. i then went into classic furniture and the same suite was €2500. i was shocked. that and being attacked by all the sales staff is enough to never make me go in there again.


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## Ash

A friend recently bought a new type product in Harvey Norman's.  He wasn't sure it would be quite good enough for what he wanted and said so at the time of purchase.  He was told he could return it if it wasn't.  
The product was in one of those difficult-to-open blister packs.  He used the device and it was pretty obvious then it didn't meet his requirements regarding quality.  
He returned the device, with the receipt and packaging which couldn't be easily replaced.  Luckily he met the same assistant who sold the product to him.  The return went smoothly.
I'm not sure if there was a refund or just a credit note but he chose to buy another product instead anyway.
I imagine the key is to discuss at the time of purchase the possibilty of returning the item and any conditions that might apply.


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## wheels

This thread isn't about the quality of their goods but of their returns policy... To be honest after working in retail for a number of years during school and college it kills me to hear people demanding cash refunds at every turn. The amount of people who would claim to be solicitors just to be smart and "scare" you because you wouldn't give them their cash back was unreal. And the first two words out of everyones mouth was "that's illegal". 

It's not a swap shop so don't expect to be able to just bring it back because you haven't thought your purchase through or decided pink and green don't go together in your living room. I for one would hate to think an item I'd bought had been removed from a store, opened, and then returned simply for me to pay full whack for it. I have on a number of occasions demanded to get 'fresh' items in stores because they were obviously returns I was being offered.


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## foxylady

*Do people still have problems with Harvey Normans?*

I am interested to know the above as I am considering buying a bed here quite soon and just looking to see if peoples experiences have improved with them.

Already I have gotten two different prices for the same goods from two different salesmen


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