# Dispute with Debenhams instore advertising



## Brendan Burgess (21 Jan 2020)

I had a row with Debenhams yesterday.





I bought a shirt for €62 and looked around to see if I could  bring it up to €90 . I found a shirt for 28.50 .


They refused me the discount as the €28.50 shirt was from a      concession - Craghoppers.


I said that the sign was clear.  They told me that the small      print was clear.








I told them that the sign was clear and they could not make      exceptions based on unreadable tiny print.


I have no problem with their pricing policy, but their ad should      read


"€25 off when you spend €90 on selected Menswear lines"


I asked for the floor manager who dismissed my argument. And then      for the store manager but she was off yesterday.

Where to next? 

I don't think that the ASAI deals with in-store advertising. 

Brendan


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## RedOnion (21 Jan 2020)

Contact the CCPC 





						Misleading advertising - CCPC Consumers
					

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is an independent statutory body that enforces competition and consumer protection law in Ireland




					www.ccpc.ie


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## Leper (21 Jan 2020)

Sorry Brendan, I'm with the store here. Read the small print.


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## odyssey06 (21 Jan 2020)

Leper said:


> Sorry Brendan, I'm with the store here. Read the small print.



How are you supposed to read it... bend down with a magnifying glass?
Pick the sign up?


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## aristotle (21 Jan 2020)

Once you see the little asterix you know you need to read the small print.


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## elacsaplau (21 Jan 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> I asked for the floor manager who dismissed my argument.



During this "argument", I hope you didn't lose your sh*t










* i not ir


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## Buddyboy (21 Jan 2020)

Or do what I did, vote with your feet and never shop there again.  I hate their pricing policy, and everything is always "reduced", on sale, or multibuy.  I find their own brands to be very disposable, and prefer to support my local clothes shops, where I can pay a small bit more but get much better quality which lasts longer and therefore is cheaper in the long run. Their more classic menswear , Hamiliton I think it's called, is inevitably polyester. And their cheaper casual wear (Blue Harbour) will fade/bobble.

Other staples e.g. undergarments, I get in M&S  (I know it's not local but, it's M&S for Gods sake).

/Rant over


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## Andrew365 (21 Jan 2020)

Brendan,

Did you actually need two shirts?


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## Brendan Burgess (21 Jan 2020)

Andrew365 said:


> Did you actually need two shirts?



Yes.

One for Bitcoin
And one for Tesla. 

Brendan


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## mathepac (21 Jan 2020)

I'd report them to ASAI as well who can force them to change the sign so no-one else get caught.


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## Andrew365 (21 Jan 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Yes.
> 
> One for Bitcoin
> And one for Tesla.
> ...



Did you lose the shirt of your back with those trades already?


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## noproblem (21 Jan 2020)

Should have gone to Mr Humphrie's if he was free


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## peemac (25 Jan 2020)

Debenhams and many British chain stores (Currys, DFS etc) are all the same.

The simple answer is never buy from them

DFS are the worst - 50% off "after event price".  Some people think they are getting something for half price.

In terms of dept store, Debenhams are always at the same lark. Tiny asterisk on the main text followed by miniscule print with indecipherable text that absolves them for offering you the promotion unless you have jumped through several hoops whilst holding two cups of water and your hands tied behind your back.
Personally i think that so many people have got tired of this false advertising that they just don't go there anymore and this is one of the reasons from the current difficulties.

And don't get me started on their 1.55/1.60 Stg-Eur exchange rate. That €62 shirt is probably £39 in their UK stores


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## Brendan Burgess (25 Jan 2020)

peemac said:


> DFS are the worst - 50% off "after event price".



Wow!

I have no idea what that means? 

Brendan


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## peemac (25 Jan 2020)

read it and weep  https://www.dfs.ie/garcia/gcr13aadl?origin=All_Offers 

How they get away with that is mesmerising.


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## PaddyBloggit (25 Jan 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Where to next?



So ... did you complete the purchase or vote with your feet?


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## Brendan Burgess (25 Jan 2020)

PaddyBloggit said:


> vote with your feet?



I voted with my feet.  I bought a pair of shoes instead. 

Brendan


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## Brendan Burgess (6 Apr 2020)

Debenhams is going into Administration for the second time in a year. 









						Debenhams set to go into administration in the UK
					

UK department store chain Debenhams is preparing to enter administration for the second time in a year to protect the business from legal action from creditors during the coronavirus emergency that could have pushed it into liquidation.




					www.rte.ie


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## Leper (6 Apr 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Debenhams is going into Administration for the second time in a year.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



. . . . . . and all because of a €25.00 discount dispute!


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## Setanta12 (6 Apr 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> One for Bitcoin
> And one for Tesla.



I'm reminded of a friend who always kept a made-up tie in his office-desk ... ... for when the boss was visiting the office.  

I was ribbing him about it, saying he'd probably only the one tie - to which he replied , 'NAAAH, two ties!  One for work and the other for court !'


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## elcato (8 Apr 2020)

This is old news. Sports Direct took over and are probably using this crisis to their advantage to delay payments among all the other shenanigans.


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## RedOnion (8 Apr 2020)

elcato said:


> Sports Direct took over


Nope, that's House of Fraser.

Sports Direct had built up close to 30% stake in Debenhams during 2018 which was effectively wiped out in their administration last year.


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## elcato (8 Apr 2020)

RedOnion said:


> Sports Direct had built up close to 30% stake in Debenhams during 2018 which was effectively wiped out in their administration last year.


Ahh, I stand corrected. Thank you


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## odyssey06 (9 Apr 2020)

Debenhams has told its staff that the company is to go into liquidation and *will not be reopening* its 11 Irish stores after the Covid-19 emergency.  








						Debenhams is closing all of its Irish stores and will go into liquidation
					

The company operates four stores in Dublin, two in Cork and others in Galway, Limerick, Newbridge, Tralee and Waterford.




					www.thejournal.ie


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## mtk (9 Apr 2020)

damn just ordered on line yesterday!


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## MrEarl (9 Apr 2020)

mtk said:


> damn just ordered on line yesterday!



The RTE article says that you can still buy online, maybe they mean from the UK website post liquidation of the Irish operation though?


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## mathepac (9 Apr 2020)

I'd hazard a guess that all the online operations run from the UK or The Netherlands like other multiples.


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## elacsaplau (9 Apr 2020)

The commentary from Debenhams regarding the rationale for this decision is interesting.

Apparently, they found certain Irish clients very argumentative, especially those with poor eyesight. They further cited suffering bad press on social media - personally, I didn't know such a thing was even possible.


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## Saavy99 (9 Apr 2020)

Sorry to see them go and also very saddened to see all their staff currently off due to Covid now jobless. Thoughts are with them all during these difficult times.


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## konline (10 Apr 2020)

mtk said:


> damn just ordered on line yesterday!



I too ordered last week, no delivery yet and I can't track my order. 
Is it risky to place another online order at this time?


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## Brendan Burgess (10 Apr 2020)

No, you should not be worried about ordering online.

You are paying with your credit card and get a refund from the CC company if anything goes wrong.

Businesses are suffering and we should not put off shopping when we can do it online.

Brendan


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## elacsaplau (10 Apr 2020)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Businesses are suffering and we should not put off shopping when we can do it online.



Hi Brendan, 

I am being serious this time! and apologies if this has been covered elsewhere.

Is this the right thing to do? I ask, not from a business support viewpoint, but rather from the covid-19 containment aspect - do we want folk going to work to fulfil orders and others to go around distributing these orders? What have the health authorities said about this?


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## peemac (21 Apr 2020)

I'm in retail for over 30 years now and debenhams closing was the most unsurprising news ever. Even some landlords had already new plans for their outlets it was that expected. 

It barely got mentioned within the trade except "how did they last this long"

They "competed" with me. I charged a standard €23 for a specific item which is my biggest selling line. They charged €32 "for the same item.

People here was mostly not fooled by their Paddy tax of €1.50" exchange rate.


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