I bought the wrong baby milk stage 2 formula for my baby at Coles. My wife is making me exchange it because I bought the wrong one but I have lost the receipt. We need stage 3.
I went back to Coles and tried to exchange it:
They said they can't exchange without receipt but they can do a refund of up to $30. I originally bought the cans at $34.60 each.
I know I'm wrong without a receipt. But what can I do? Are they allowed to refund a lower amount?
Yes do this I ask for store manager as if was store manager I exchange it for you.
Sorry for highjacking
My take is food and food products should never be returned
There are certain ways the food should be handled
Not saying OP has done it , what if you left the formula in car on a hot day
Same thing applies for milk,cheese, butter,frozen food
Think about the Babies and pregnant women, food handling is utmost important
Not to mention that there're some sick people out there that will go out of their way to possibly contaminate food
Exchange food is Write off Never i repeat never put back on the shelf and resold. Contaminate food is cost company millions and millions.
When I was working at woollies we would refund the lowest discounted price in the recent history (usually 6 monthsish?) if they didn't have a receipt.
Obviously this is to stop people buying at a discount and then returning for a profit.
Not much you can do I imagine, nothing that will be worth the amount of time spent trying to recoup $4.6 especially.
Agree. By writing this topic you've just wasted another $4.60 of your time.
Maybe it will appreciate in value? Try holding onto it for 5-6 years, then return it. I'm sure it will be worth $$$
When I was working for Woolies, there was a lady that would come in every few months to return goods that were about to expire. Ended up getting her banned for being a habitual refunder…
As for refunding the lowest discounted prices…If i remember correctly, you could have checked on EJ providing you had an idea of the date…it would be rather unfair if you bought something at full price to be refunded it only at half price.
UNFAIR? Then don't lose the receipt and you'll get it returned at full price. simple!
Not sure how OP brought it, went home, got told wrong one, and went back to change it, but lost receipt!? anyhow.
It happens. It is unfair if if was an item that was $28 where receipts arent automatically printed.
That's why we have databases, a properly trained supervisor/manager can locate these things if they knew how to use them correctly.
Normally, they refund it at whatever the price is now. So, if it is on sale today at $30, that's what they'll refund it at.
Given it's Coles, have you got Flybuys proof of purchase? Can't remember if they itemise the list though.
But yes, it'll always be the cheapest it scans at. Hence why Target etc has prices of a fraction of RRP once an item is off their lists, so if someone does as you're doing, they don't get anywhere near RRP
Without a receipt they don't technically have to refund you anything, only if there was something blatantly wrong with it like say a dead rat in the can.
With a receipt they don't have to refund him anything as this is essentially a 'change of mind' refund.
the decent thing would be to swap it over if they are the same price, then its not a lost sale and the customer is happy.
One person boycotting Coles… Pfft
you're lucky enough to get a refund without a receipt.
He has many four leaf clovers
Why do you need refund if you want to exchange it?
The best point made. I have exchanged a few things in the past without receipts and never had to worry about their current price.
Different stages of formulas are different prices. The stage 3 would be less expensive than a stage 2.
But I agree with others, without a receipt, the best the OP is going to get is a refund at the current price.
I hope Op you are not trying to return a tin of Stage 2 because it is about to be expired and you never used it and then getting stage 3 formula as a replacement.
Nope just bought it
probably
I went back to Coles and tried to exchange it:
They said they can't exchange without receipt but they can do a refund of up to $30
What is better ? $30 or nothing.
How do you know you paid $34.60 ?
agree. already lucky able to get refund.
next time keep receipt.
That is up to you, but whether Coles does is up to them.
I don't know what you're paid but I'd be surprised if you haven't put more than $4.60 of effort into this post. Life's too short. Take the refund. Learn to keep receipts if it bothers you. Move on.
I know from memory? should i trust my memory?
Well you forgot to get the correct formula and you have forgotten where your receipt is.
You have also forgotten that $30 in the hand is better than $34.60 in the bush.
Hey, I lent you $34.80 last week. When are you planning on paying me back?
It's ok, you can trust my memory.
So much for $4 and that too without the receipt for the item?
I would spend a few hundred dollars getting some legal advise and see what lawyer says.
The UN have a strong stance on this particular issue.
They should impose sanctions on Coles and cut off their supplies of baby formulae.
The Chinese are monitoring this situation closely
I am surprised Coles has offered a refund when there is no proof of purchase or do you have other proof of purchase like a credit card statement?
This would mean I could stuff cheaper else ware and return it in Coles for a profit. If you have a proof or purchase then its easy for Coles to track your order and know what was the price you paid.
To be honest I'm very surprised that he was asked to produce the proof of purchase - I've never been asked for a reciept anytime I've asked for refund/exchange.
i have and still had opposition from coles, they fight tooth and nail. woolworths never seem to have issues though
Odd coles have been very helpful to me, I once left about $30 of meat at the register. Went back 30mins later and they couldnt find it. Told me to go just grab some off the shelf and take it.
without a receipt stores will refund what the current price is. i assume the current price is now $30.
eg we bought something from Target for $30, returned for money refund but item is now $20.
I can understand why,people could buy cheap and get a bigger refund.
take the $30 and buy the correct one you want.
If you do not have receipt, you are entitled to whatever that's scanned. Remember that official policy is that you must have your receipt for refund or exchanges. I had the same problem but with Target (still Coles group).
Coles group doesn't exist anymore. Coles, Target, Kmart are all separate to each other and report to Westfarmers individually.
OK. didn't know about that, but regardless, retail policies that they used to practice still remains.
@Stingy-Oz
If you do not have receipt, you are entitled to whatever that's scanned
If you do not have receipt, you are entitled to nothing. Surely?
Not really. If the item is, say Target exclusive brands. You can return it but with either exchange or refunded (at scanned price). They too cannot prove that you haven't bought this in the last 14 days or so.
If you bought an item that is sold in different shops chain, for example item A can be bought in KMart, Coles or Target - they have rights to reject. If the item is found to be unfit or not as per described, you have to then deal with the brand manufacturer and not the retail shop.
Even if the item is exclusive they still demand a receipt at target. Son got a birthday present that was a double up. Noticed it in the target catalogue where there was a statement next to it "exclusive to target" and they still said it could have been purchased in another store :/
Wasn't asking for a refund either. Just to exchange to something else.
@icyprincess: From what I know. Exchanges really means exchanging to the same product. getting a different product is literally means a refund or credit; means same rules applies.
@stingy-oz:
Ahh but they rejected a target brand. I wasn't asking for a specific price x amount of days ago. Just what it was scanning in as credit to use towards a more expensive toy. Even had target on the packaging. They were just being a male appendage.
I know I'm wrong without a receipt. But what can I do? Are they allowed to refund a lower amount?
They're allowed to refund you nothing at all if they want. Consider yourself lucky to even get $2.
If you paid via electronic means ask them if you can show the transaction in the statement of your banking app - some stores such as harvey norman accept this.
Macadamia's are disgusting.
What's wrong with you.
If I do it, will it be…. ODD?
That is called stealing mate. I hope you don't do it all the time.
No Ned Flanders.
It was merely a joke.
The store can "easily" look up the entire receipt. You'll need to date/time of purchase, method of payment and possibly the register you were served at.
Obviously a cash transaction will take longer to find, than a electronic transaction. Flybys information will make it easier. I'd imagine they only keep online-records for a short time and off-line records probably aren't available in store.
Convincing a store manager to do this is different matter, but I've seen it done at Woolworths.
Agree. I have had this done at many stores. If you can tell them some of the other items on the receipt that can help them find it as well. That's why I never pay by cash as I have the card statement to back me up if I loose the receipt/use the shop-a-docket on the receipt.
We can't actually retrieve the receipt at the store level. The terminals are pretty dumb. The only way to reprint a receipt is if it was the last transaction made.
Might be possible at Woolworths though.
Maybe at a regular register, but there's probably other computers in the store somewhere that can do it.
I've seen the supervisors at the coles self-checkout re-print entire receipts (not sure if it's the last transaction though).
At woolworths, the manager did it at another computer behind the registers.
I spent about 20mins one time trying reprint a receipt for a customer who bought something the day before. I could not find anything on the intranet on how to do it. Unless someone wants to chime in who works there. I don't think it can be done.
It's probably cause you don't have the access.
Depends on the hierarchy. Imagine yourself as a business owner I would never allow entry level staff that amount of power. It's open for abuse.
Not sure about coles, but they can do it at woolies.
self serve checkout didnt print reciept, but i knew the amount. They went over to the computer where the ciggis are sold, and printed the reciept (had to pick up from the BWS)
Sell it to someone in China for $10000000000000
I'm no fan of powdered milk but is the difference between stage 2 and 3 making a mountain out of a nipple? I mean, the kid won't know the difference, and will dribble/spew most of it out anyhow.
Another solution to losing $4.60 on the refund:
- Use it to re-fill the old can, or wait till your wife isn't looking for opportunities to use it up?
Is stage 2 cheaper than stage 3? If so, you are justified in a little switch and cover (as far as any OzBargainers are concerned anyway)
I'm 38 years old and on stage 10, as you can imagine I'm hung like a horse.
If sitcoms have taught me anything, trying to sneak the wrong formula into the kid under the wife's nose will lead to more lies and escalating shenanigans which will cause OP significant stress but ultimately lead to a heartwarming moment.
Maybe, but $4.60 is no less than 460 cents. On OzB that is 460 reasons to live without the (eventual) heartwarming moment. Also 460 reasons to accept a little risk- assuming the powder's physical properties will not make the switcheroo obvious.
If it is whiter, cut it with baking soda or sugar. Some dealers use stricnine, borax and whatever else might be sitting around. (Only use those if you desperate).
If more yellow, use any of the above mix in small amounts of yellow curry powder till it matches.
At some point it becomes easier to add something special to the wife's food so she doesn't notice the difference, rather than trying to make the formula perfectly convincing. Important not to get tunnel vision with this kind of caper. Make sure to have enough of your chosen special ingredient to go around in case friends or relatives drop in unannounced.
Nobody has brought this up but OP mentioned purchasing 'cans', not just 'a can' or 'the can'. We're talking about a lot more than 460 cents here.
"OP mentioned purchasing 'cans', not just 'a can' or 'the can'. We're talking about a lot more than 460 cents here"
Yes, this is fishy now you mention it.
Let's see if the OP's next post will be about managing profits in multiple offshore accounts.
What if I bought it at half price this week then refund it at full price next week OP. Could make a business out of it don't you think.
If you can be bothered for $4 wait for a week and return it when it's full price.
Why did you buy it for $36. You shouldn't be on this site if you buy a $30 for 20% more than it should be.
He didn't.
Chalk it up to lesson learned.
I'd suggest a pencil case or similar, in the car, where you can put receipts so you know they're safe.
I'd recommended sticking it on his fridge as soon as you unload the groceries.
The recipes will probably fade in the hot car.
Someone in china would happily buy your stage 2 on ebay for profit. Use said profit to buy stage 3.
Is this by any chance Bellamys?
You can pretty much return anything at Coles at the normal price (even if not originally purchased at Coles). 4 things need to align - The right Coles, the right person, the right 'story', the right delivery.
Case in point - All 4 things are variable so adjust and repeat depending on how valuable your time is.
You could also ask for an exchange or store credit. Of course not actually being entitled to return it fur change of mind with no proof of purchase you are lucky to get anything
Cant believe someone actually made a post over $4.60 and to make it worse it was them who purchased the item and them who lost the receipt
A tin of Stage 2 is perfectly alright for a kid at "stage 3". You bought the wrong thing, who cares, it happens. Down the gurgler and move on.
If you paid using credit card, bring your statement as thats proof of price paid on the same level as a receipt.
^ This - how did you pay for it because if you paid for it electronically they will honour the price you paid if you show them a statement.
Not exactly as it's no itemised. Total shown on statement could relate to a combination of any purchases done at Coles.
i took back a shirt that still had the tag on it showing the price and the name of the shop.
when they scanned it the price was about 40% lower as it was on clearance because i bought it so long ago.
i even said to the attendant that it clearly shows the price on the tag and they firmly explained that without a receipt i would be charged what their price was showing.
i didn't go home and make a post about it on Ozbargain though because its fair enough and its their policy.
I do refunds at coles sometimes when its busy, I don't really give a shit if you have a receipt. It does depends though how attractive and/or polite you are. The terminal lets you adjust the refund price without any troubles. The general policy is that the customer is always right so there is lot of flexibility, although if you're a c*** i'll tell you where to go.
Zing! Exactly my point above :) People don't seem to realise everything is just shades of grey. That's why intelligence+Charm will get you places. Arbitrary rules and policies are just for the masses and dummies.
Top advice even going above and beyond this stupid thread, the world is never black and white. If there is a will there is a way.
So how do u deal with an attractive c*** vs an unattractive c***?
stand in front of coles and sell it for $40.
someone will grab it - stage 2 formula is a rarity at coles these days.
get your $5.40 profit and post your story here on ozb.
go for a like-for-like exchange? Never had any issues doing that… nappies, etc
"I know I'm wrong without a receipt. But what can I do? Are they allowed to refund a lower amount?"
They don't have to refund jackshit. That is actually quite amazing that they will refund back $30 for an item that could theoretically be stolen from any supermarket or pharmacy.
At my pharmacy we won't refund or exchange a single thing if you don't have a receipt.
I would take the item to woolies and exchange it , I have heard of exchange but no refund but not refund and no exchange, I would not hand over my goods. That can be scanned back into there system and sold for $34.
On the plus side, once your child is old enough to not need 'stage 1' formula, it no longer matters what stage (if any) is used, they mainly exist as advertising for the first stage, which they are not legally able to advertise.
If they are at the age where they are advertising for stage 3 they are also at the age where they don't even need formula and should be on the way to being weaned off formula altogether.
I would have personally just kept the tin and used it since it won't make a difference anyway, it's a marketing gimmick.
Coles dont care - but we do - have you considered a gofundme page for 4 bux
Think of your hourly wage. Now calculate how much time/energy you've spent thinking about this, creating this post, posting replies etc.
If you think of it that way, you've already wasted far more than the $4.60 you originally lost. Best to spend your energy elsewhere and suck it up.
To be honest they are allowed to do this. They don't actually have to offer any refund without a receipt, so they are offering the cheapest price it's sold for recently as a gesture of goodwill.
If you lost receipt I think you're doing pretty well considering it's only a few bucks. Personally.If you've got a bank statement i'd take it up with a manager and see what they can do.
keep an eye on the product on price hipster and take it back when the price back to what you paid for it
or to be annoying, take it back if the price ever goes higher than what you paid for it
Try a different Coles maybe?!