Tips on Refunds & Exchanges
Or “I Want my Money Back”
Buyer Seller Contracts
Every time a sale is made there is an agreement , in effect a contract, between a
buyer and a seller. This is true whether you pay cash, make a deposit to confirm
your purchase, pay by installments or charge it. It is true, generally, whether the
agreement is made verbally or signed, although some agreements or contracts
must, by law, be in writing and signed. You make thousands of contracts during
your lifetime, many of them verbally. For example, when you buy a dress, a pair
of shoes, a hammer or any one of thousands of other items, you make a
contract.
There are two parties to a contract, the seller and the buyer. Each has the same
right to expect the other to live up to the contract terms. Once the contract is
made, neither party can properly break, cancel, change or revoke the contract
without the written permission of the other party, unless fraud or
misrepresentation is proved. ( Should this be shown it may well invalidate the
agreement). The seller is expected to deliver the goods or services which you
have bought in accordance with the terms under which the sale was made. If
you, the buyer “change your mind” or, because of some unforeseen
circumstance want your money or deposit back, or an exchange or credit for
return of the goods, the seller is not called upon by the law to give it to you. You
are asking the seller to cancel, break, or change the terms of the contract; they
have the legal right to decide whether or not to do so.
Buyers Rights
In agreeing to make the purchase you as the buyer have undertaken to pay for
the item and you have the right to assume the product or service has not been
misrepresented. Is not defective or inadequate for the purpose for which it is
being sold. Is delivered to you at the time and in the condition agreed to, at the
time of sale, and is in effect, exactly what you purchased. Otherwise the seller is
not living up to their obligations under the agreement. On occasion it may
become impossible for the seller to complete his obligations - if they run out of
stock for example, you have the right to expect that they will fill your order with
goods equally satisfactory to you or release you from your part of the agreement.
The Seller's Rights
In making goods or services available to you, the seller has incurred costs - their
cost of making the goods or purchasing them from the manufacturer, of setting
up and maintaining their sales premises, employing sales and other personnel
and/or contributing their own time and knowledge to the business. Whether the
seller is a small retailer or service person, or a large corporation, they do all of
this to make a profit. That is what they are in business for and the prices they
charges you, the buyer, are directly related to all their pre transaction expenses
as well as their markup or profit The seller therefore has a right to expect that the
costs they have incurred will not he further increased by having to cancel the
transaction and take back the goods, losing their anticipated profit and having to
absorb the additional costs of restocking and reselling the items.
Return Policies
Our laws governing business transactions do not require the seller to undertake
this additional expense - always providing that they has been honest in carrying
out their end the contract. Many stores and businesses have, however,
voluntarily set up policies to let you return articles that you have purchased from
them. This is one way in which they seek your continued patronage but it is a
privilege extended by the seller and not an obligation. Generally the seller will
do one of three things, depending upon the policy they have adopted in
dealing with their customers:
1. Some stores follow the policy that all sales are final. They will not refund
money, permit exchanges or give credit slips.
2. Some stores refuse to make cash refunds but allow exchanges, or give
the purchaser a credit slip which may be applied then, or at some future
time, toward the purchase of other merchandise in the store.
3. Others unhesitatingly give refunds or credits, or permit exchanges and
they will return deposits of money made by their customers.
As stated, exchanges, returns for credits, and refunds are services which some
stores provide to encourage you to shop there. Return privileges vary from store
to store so you should be sure to ask about a store's return policy before you
make a purchase.
The three types of return policies generally in effect operate like this:
Exchange
The item may be returned and another item of kind may be taken in its place.
This privilege is usually extended when the buyer has, for example, made I
mistake in the size or color of the item. For obvious reasons many stores which
normally make exchanges do not extend this privilege with respect to goods
which are custom made or which are cut to measure textiles bought by the yard,
for instance; to do so would leave the store with a number of odd-sized and
unsaleable items. Similarly some articles of a personal nature (underwear or
bathing suits for example) are often not returnable even in stores which generally
are ready to make exchanges or accept returns.
Return for Credit
On return of the purchased item, the customer is given a credit slip, or his charge
account is credited with the amount paid. Then the customer may apply that
amount to the purchase of any other item in the store. This privilege is usually
extended when the store wishes to adopt a more liberal policy than that of simply
making exchanges.
Refund
Under this policy the customer gets his money back. This is the store's way of
assuring its customers that they will get complete satisfaction when shopping
there. Refund, exchange or return-for-credit policies usually require that the
goods be returned within a specified time period and invariably that they be in
unused condition. In most cases the store will require a sales slip or some other
evidence to show that the article was actually bought there and not at some other
store, the amount paid for it, and the date when the transaction was made. (in
one instance coming to the attention of a Better Business Bureau a purchaser
wanted to return a man's suit purchased four years earlier on the basis that it no
longer fitted his requirements!)
All Sales Final
For some items, or even for all items in some stores, the policy may be "all sales
are final". The store has the right to do this and will often have such a policy for
goods which are on sale, sold at the end of a season, used as floor models, or of
an intimate nature to be worn of used by only one person. It is important for the
buyer to inquire, before completing a purchase, what policy the store follows with
respect to returns.
Abuses of Return Privileges
In this effort to provide customers with better service, businesses have made it
possible for some people to abuse the privileges extended to all. When such
people return items without good reason, they increase the cost of all items in the
store to all customers. They also cause some stores to adopt less generous
policies than they might otherwise follow, because of the increased cost.
How to use your Return Privileges
Regardless of the store's policy, if the goods you have purchased were
misrepresented or are defective, you have legitimate reason to expect the store
to provide a suitable substitute or refund.
Honest mistakes over items that don't fit or match or serve the purpose for which
they were purchased, or inappropriate gifts from a well meaning spouse or friend,
do suggest that you use the privilege of the store's return policy provided they
have one. However, if you find that you are returning things regularly, perhaps
you should ask yourself whether you are depending too much on a store's liberal
return policy rather than upon your own good judgment in making purchases.
Written Contracts
Written contracts which often call for payment by the buyer over a period of time,.
sometimes have special provisions for the return of goods. If this becomes
necessary, a contract usually provides its own conditions under which goods can
be returned this entails cancellation of the agreement. Be sure that you:
• Read and understand the contract thoroughly before sign;
• Never sign a blank contract;
• Make sure that all spaces in the contract are properly filled in;
• See that the seller, as well as the buyer, has signed the contract;
• Always keep a copy of the contract.
If you are not familiar with the seller and their business practices call your Better
Business Bureau of Manitoba. Your Bureau will not help you shop, or assist in
altering a store’s refund/exchange policy, or recommend any particular place to
shop, but we will tell you, from our extensive experience, the business reputation
of the merchant with whom you propose to deal.
Remember, when you make a purchase you enter into a contract. It is in your
best interests to make it work fairly to both parties.
