# Marks & Spencers. Receipts at till on request.



## Laramie

I was down in my local M & S in Blackrock making a few small grocery purchases. When I paid for these items at the till I was handed my change but no receipt. I looked at the cashier and anticipating what I was going to say she asked me "Oh do you want a receipt"? I said "Of course I want a receipt. What would happen if I was stopped by security on the way out and I had no receipt"  She just shrugged her shoulders. I then said that "Would you remember me if I had to come back to you with the security person"?   She just shrugged her shoulders. Apparently by public demand they have stopped issuing receipts unless one is requested. I would have thought that everyone should be given a receipt automatically without question. What if.........


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## Lightning

A lot of people don't want receipts because it is unwanted paper in their pockets.

Security won't stop you without evidence. 

Your purchase is, in most cases, recorded on CCTV, the M&S system and on your credit / debit card records. 

Paper receipts are a bygone in this day and age of digital recording. Mobile payments, in the future, will make it even easier on retailers to do away with paper receipts.


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## Meme80

Their debit/credit card records wouldnt be much good if they were stopped there and then on the way out of the store. I can understand people not wanting the paper but surely people should be savy enough to ant  areceipt to ensure they have been charged correctly etc and also, as OP mentioned, as proof of payment.


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## mathepac

This is a growing problem. I use receipts to track my spend on certain categories of items as I work to a budget. I also want to ensure I've been charged the correct price as discrepancies between shelf stickers and till prices are becoming more common (my local CENTRA dread seeing me). Filling stations are the latest "no receipt" culprits. I track my fuel usage and MPG tank-to-tank (I don't do top ups) and need the receipts as my memory isn't always the best. Did I pay 116.8 per litre for diesel or 118.6? The local pharmacy is the worst as their receipts, if you ask for one, just says "23.25 paid". Is there not an obligation on retailers to issues a detailed receipt when you buy stuff other than routine groceries?


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## Monbretia

I like my receipts too and notice I sometimes have to ask for them now.  I track everything as well, old habits die hard, 30+ yrs of spending diaries in the press!  But I'm afraid I am the person the government wants rid of, take out cash every week and work from that, no debit card and I only use credit card for online or on hols.


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## thedaddyman

Petrol stations are doing this more and more as well.


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## Grizzly

A receipt can help sometimes.

Like Monbretia above, I pay for practically everything using cash. Holidays, airline tickets, are paid by credit card.

What I found interesting was that M & S say that they asked their customers about this. The cynic in me thinks that someone ran the numbers and thought that the saving of paper would add to their bottom line. A bit like my Saturday newspaper only has one staple in it instead of the regular two. Or a bit like the Hotel saying that they have an ECO policy so try and reuse your towels. 

If the staff member at the till gives the customer a choice then this might be O.K. but it looks as if in the case above the cashier had decided to only give it when asked. At the checkout you are trying to pack your groceries, check your change, deal with cash and debit cards and possibly look after children. You need to be reminded about receipts. In my local Aldi and Lidl these guys on the tills move so fast you can hardly keep up with them. You also have the disadvantage of not having any space where your groceries can move to before bagging.

Kind of like the two minutes you spend going through security at airports with all the things you have to deal with.


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## Sue Ellen

Does this happen only in the supermarket as receipts are required to change clothes?


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## Sue Ellen

A 


Grizzly said:


> In my local Aldi and Lidl these guys on the tills move so fast you can hardly keep up with them. You also have the disadvantage of not having any space where your groceries can move to before bagging.



A friend who worked in Aldi a few years back (and hated it) told me that they are on a timer with the register open.  If you listen the next time you're there I think there is a low bell ringing while the till is open.  At the time she worked there competitions took place to see who dealt with the highest number of customers in the quickest time.


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## pudds

I heard that in Aldi they have to get an average of 1200 items through the till per hour.


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## mathepac

They still have time to issue receipts though.


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## MrEarl

Hello,

Am I wrong in thinking that legally, are you are entitled to a receipt ?

It strikes me that you should automatically be given a receipt, or at least offered one at the time of transaction, for future proof of purchase etc.


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## noproblem

What if people want to return goods that are faulty, stale, inedible, or under guarantee, etc, etc, etc? Some of the people we deal with on a daily basis in stores hardly have the manners to say hello, or even acknowledge that you're  there at all.


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## Black Sheep

One of the joys of living outside the pale is we operate at a slower pace and there isn't the same rush in the shops. Receipts are always given and I never leave a supermarket without checking that receipt as there have been occasions when an incorrect price was charged.

If you have to return something (faulty or out of date etc.) to a shop proof of purchase is always requested so if you have no receipt what next?


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## Andy836

Most stores should be moving to email and text receipts. 
If you want a receipt, just ask for it. Not the end of the world. Most people won't want one for everyday items.


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## Gordon Gekko

In the US, you're usually asked whether you want the receipt by email


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## Sue Ellen

Gordon Gekko said:


> In the US, you're usually asked whether you want the receipt by email



Argos and Power City are supplying receipt/guarantee by e-mail now which is very handy.


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## elcato

Sue Ellen said:


> Argos and Power City are supplying receipt/guarantee by e-mail now which is very handy.


Oh great, so now we also have to wait on the customer to give their email as well as paying by card which is always at the bottom of the handbag and 'Do you want cashback ? Ehhhhh yeah a tenner loike'.


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## mathepac

Andy836 said:


> Most stores should be moving to email and text receipts....


Why?


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## Sue Ellen

elcato said:


> Oh great, so now we also have to wait on the customer to give their email as well as paying by card which is always at the bottom of the handbag and 'Do you want cashback ? Ehhhhh yeah a tenner loike'.



No generalisation here or anything 

1.  I gave my e-mail address to the person serving on the main floor not at the cash desk in Power City and it took about 5 seconds to give the e-mail in Argos.
     It can be very handy to have the guarantee details on e-mail where some electrical items can be covered for up to 3 years.
2.  I always have my card ready and keep it handy in my purse which is never at the bottom of the bag.
3.  As I generally use my Visa credit card for this type of payment it wouldn't make sense to ask for cashback.


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## Leper

We bought a tv set recently in one of those huge stores. The salesman completed the sale and gave us the packed tv and brought us to the cash till (we pay in cash). I was asked loads of questions, telephone number, email address, mobile telephone number, was I the main breadwinner (now there's a word we don't hear too much of these days) etc.  We spent more time at the cash till than in the process of buying the item.  Obviously, we were supplying the outlet with loads of stuff which they use for future sales drives and sales tracking.  Great! But not on my time please Rant Over


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## elcato

Sue - It was a general statement and not directed at you and handbags are no longer a female only item.


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## MrEarl

Sue Ellen said:


> ....
> 
> 2.  I always have my card ready and keep it handy in my purse which is never at the bottom of the bag.
> 3.  As I generally use my Visa credit card for this type of payment it wouldn't make sense to ask for cashback.




Sounds like you are the dream customer


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## Sue Ellen

MrEarl said:


> Sounds like you are the dream customer



Eh, don't think Him Indoors would agree with that in light of the over-use of the credit card especially at this time of the year


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## mathepac

@Sue Ellen I am amazed and disappointed. After years of promoting the benefits of this wonderful piece of legislation, are you now telling me that you default to the lesser protection offered by condescending retailers?


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## Marion

The 1980 Act only requires proof of purchase if goods are not merchantable. The Act doesn't mention a receipt per se.

This *proof *in the past was always considered to be a receipt or a credit card statement, bank statement, cheque stub, or unique Retailer Label on a product.

Today, e-mails are currently accepted as proof.

Also as mentioned by Sue Ellen, I think it's a great idea to have the guarantee detailed in the e-mail together with details of the product purchased. Of course we know from The Act that guarantees are in addition to the rights afforded by the Act. So, it's all good news for the consumer - particularly by having these now available in electronic format. 

Having e-mails and texts as proof of purchase is an excellent idea and will be particularly helpful for those who pay by cash and or those who otherwise cannot provide paper proof (for example a lost receipt).

For those who prefer a receipt provided at the till - they should definitely ask for one if they are not currently being offered one.


Marion


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## MrEarl

Hello Marion,

While the above may be true, I think the majority of us who have ever tried to return an item in a shop have found the staff members first question to be - have you got a receipt.  Those who do not have a receipt and may have paid for the item by cash, then sometimes find themselves struggling to secure their rights with retailers trying to push credit notes rather than refunds etc. 

For this reason more than others, I think retailers should be compelled to issue them, or at least automatically offer them and if a customer refuses then it's at their descretion.


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## Jude444

You pay you should get a receipt unless you say specifically you don't want 1. I was in the foodhall and the cashier was asking each person do you need a receipt, but receipt was already printing so hardly to save paper! I took mine and with the receipt was a £5 voucher for next spend which is quite common. So if you don't take a receipt you don't get that either then. Who gets those? Staff? The woman in front of me clearly had a voucher printed with her receipt which was not given to her.


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