Getting your money back

[Gangster Octopus]

I'm so English that I don't think that I ever have asked for my money back for anything.

[WOM]

Did I prompt this?

[Gangster Octopus]

'Appen...

[WOM]

Regardless: we had a shit experience at Universal Orlando last year, so I wrote a well-crafted letter outlining the experience. I wasn't expecting my money back, but I left it open-ended in case they suggested that. Instead, they comped us when we visited this year. So I'd call that a win.

And yes, I demanded my money back at an utterly awful theatre play we attended. Got it, too.

It probably helps that I write letters for a living, but I also try to be reasonable and not get all hysterical about savaging them online and maligning them to all my friends. Basically, they just want you to go away happy.

[WOM]

When I was in grade school, someone gave me a car model kit that had a headlight missing. So I hand-wrote a lovely letter with the model's name and the part number, etc. and asked for them to send me a replacement headlight. Within two weeks I'd received, I think, 4 complete new model kits. Pretty much everyone who read the letter felt compelled to fulfill on it. Not just the headlight, mind. The whole kit again.

[ursus arctos]

Or even just go away.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I'm quite conflict-averse so I've let small stuff slide, but I'm OK to complain and request recompense when the situation really demands it.

One thing that I have recent cottoned on to is asking for a discount for a damaged item. If something I wanted was a bit marked or imperfect in some way, I'd either not buy it or buy it but feel a bit humped off that it wasn't in pristine condition. Then I discovered that retailers will quite readily give you a discount in such cases.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Lots of places seem to have a "no refunds only credit on your next purchase" policy nowadays, which I always thought was against consumer protection law, but evidently not.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I've also found that manufacturers will often send you (small) replacement parts for items bought long ago, or even inherited when you bought a new house.

[ursus arctos]

Sunlit uplands and all that

[Sporting]

Lots of places seem to have a "no refunds only credit on your next purchase" policy nowadays, which I always thought was against consumer protection law, but evidently not.

Are you sure about that?

[Ginger Yellow]

If it's actually defective, or distance selling, it's against consumer protection law. But I don't think there's anything requiring a bricks and mortar store to take back something just because you don't want it.

[Amor de Cosmos]

I got $1400 back from Volvo after the experience I related last month. I didn't ask for it directly, just politely pointed out this wasn't what I expected from company with their reputation.

[caja-dglh]

I think I am about to get ~$7000 back from insurance related to shipping of a painting. See some fine art thread from two or so years ago. The third version of the paining it due to arrive in a few weeks.

[WOM]

I wrote a complaint letter to the Honda dealership after a crappy experience last month and got a free oil changes and free 'Silver Package' detailing job into the bargain. Once you put it in writing and cc someone's boss, wheels begin to turn rather quickly.

[JVL]

If it's actually defective, or distance selling, it's against consumer protection law. But I don't think there's anything requiring a bricks and mortar store to take back something just because you don't want it.

Most stores over here are much more relaxed about that than I had previously experienced in the UK or Germany. I've had to return stuff to various hardware stores a few times since moving here, as I'm still making mistakes about the names/sizes or whatever of tools or items that I need to fix things around the house. I've returned skirting boards, staples, glue, tiles, all sorts of stuff, and never been involved in the kind of interrogation that a product return to Toom Baumarkt entailed: sometimes they ask to see the original receipt, sometimes they deduct whatever points were awarded on the purchase from the card, and sometimes they just hand over the cash or say something like "Sure, just go and swap it for another one from that shelf over there". Never a problem.

Reclaimed PPI a few years ago and also got EUR1000 back from a previous mortgage company thanks to an incorrectly-worded clause in the contract. Have had to claim on travel insurance a couple of times over the last few years as well.

[WOM]

I'm king of returning things, that my wife has bought, after the 30-day window has closed. She'd flat-out get refused, while I get the full balance, but usually on a gift card.

Once I got sent to buy fresh bread for stuffing the thanksgiving turkey because 'the woman who runs the place is an old bitch and I don't want to deal with her'. I got chatting with the old dear and mentioned that it was bread for stuffing, so she ran it through the slicer three ways to cube it for me. My wife and her mother almost shit themselves.

[Nocturnal Submission]

The old bag had doctored the bread? The crafty sod!

[treibeis]

Once I got sent to buy fresh bread for stuffing the thanksgiving turkey because 'the woman who runs the place is an old bitch and I don't want to deal with her'. I got chatting with the old dear and mentioned that it was bread for stuffing, so she ran it through the slicer three ways to cube it for me. My wife and her mother almost shit themselves.

What's the point in using fresh bread to stuff a turkey?

[WOM]

I'm just the monkey. You want to speak to the organ grinder.

[treibeis]

Get her to make a guest appearance about fresh bread and turkeys' arseholes. I'll sort it out.

[Nocturnal Submission]

A quality offer.

[diggedy derek]

I asked for my quid back from the collection box at a cat’’s funeral.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

hold on, what?

[Benjm]

I went to see The Fall in Worthing in 1996, a performance so bad by conventional standards that the venue offered refunds for the first time in its 60 year history.

I never got round to going to collect mine though.