PLE 3 day "change of mind" return policy

LDeviner on 14/01/2017 - 17:53

Anyone experience any flat-out refusals to refund an unopened/untouched item because it was after the 3 days?

I bought some RAM from PLE for $75 and, due to the craziness of December and Christmas, only got around to installing it this week - so 4 weeks have passed.

Seemingly my laptop model has heaps of variations, and the one I have doesn't actually have 2 memory slots - I only have 1… so this RAM I bought wasn't going to help me.
I explained it was my mistake to the staff and he scrutinised the plastic packaging for a good minute to ensure I wasn't pulling a fast one… then he went to speak to his manager.

I had been pricing UPS's recently and spotted some on eBay, MSY and PLE and thought… why not just buy the UPS from PLE (even if I'd seen slightly better ones elsewhere) and part exchange the memory for it… makes sense as I have to go into PLE anyways.

So, when the staff member spoke to manager and they said they had a 3 day "change of mind" return policy and they couldn't help me.
For the sake of basically shutting the door on the face of a customer over a $75 item that they could easily restock and resell, and the fact my purchase was going to go from $75 to $119, I think that's pretty horrendous service.

I buy quite a lot of stuff from PLE as they're local and just down the road from me, but I don't think I'll bother going back now after this as I think it's basically like sticking your finger up to your customers when exchanging a relatively inexpensive item like that should be pretty trivial for them.
I know they're probably not obliged to give me anything as it's not defective, but if that's how they operate (take your money and run) then I'm happy to buy things elsewhere.

Computing

Related Stores

PLE Computers
PLE Computers

Comments

  • Daabido on 14/01/2017 - 18:53
    +5

    This isn't America where everybody buys stuff and then returns it whenever they like.

    Four weeks is too long. In the future if you want that kind of option you have to buy form a reseller who has a longer change of mind policy, like OfficeWorks. It is the last big retailer with an open ended policy.

    • Deviner on 14/01/2017 - 19:35
      -2

      Considering smaller local businesses rely on local customers and so on, I'd expect a little better from them.
      I'd actually expect less from a massive chain like Officeworks, Kmart, Target etc… but they have pretty much a no questions asked policy about refunds.

      And the funny thing is, this is probably the first item I have been bothered to return in any shape or form in about 10 years… I normally find a use for the thing, except in this instance.

      • Ughhh on 14/01/2017 - 22:29

        Bigger chains can probably afford the loss…

        You expect them to know your shopping history?

        3 day change of mind is very nice of them. Your complaint is not justified and is unfair to the store.

        • Deviner on 14/01/2017 - 22:38
          -3

          Yeah of course the bigger chains can afford the loss, but I said the opposite in the comment you quoted.
          I said I expect better customer service from smaller, more personal, local shops than I do from big chains - that was the opposite today.

          Big chains can hide behind their policies and screw people over and still make lots of money.

          And as I said, the memory I was returning has gone up in price since I bought it, so they would have made more money on that… and I didn't buy the UPS that I intended to buy as part of the exchange from them…

          So they have made a loss out of refusing the exchange, whereas they would have made more money if they'd accepted it.

          And as far as my shopping history, I think the guy I dealt with today was the guy I picked up the memory from last month … and I'm pretty sure with the invoice he used to check my order that, if he wanted to, he could see from my email address etc that I've a purchase history.
          I'm not saying he did all that, but I'm saying I'm sure he could have if he wanted to.

          So, no, I don't think anything I've said here is unfair to the store at all.

        • Ughhh on 15/01/2017 - 10:57
          +1

          @Deviner:

          So basically, unless they not only bend over, but spread their ass for you, it's bad customer service…

          You also think that the staff should look up everyone's shopping history via email address, and treat them accordingly to how they spend? Everyone should be treated equally, theres a reason why policies exist and staff are told to follow it.

          If they agree to bend over, that's great for you. But if they can't, it's unfair to complain for something they're already pretty generous on (3 day change of mind).

        • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 12:18
          -2

          @Ughhh: Dramatic much?

          I don't think exchanging a $75 item, that they're currently selling for $79 on their site, for another higher value item along with cash that happens to be outside of the timeframe of their return policy is bending over for a customer.

          If that's what you think, your standards of customer service are incredibly low.
          Same goes for your "it's unfair to complain for something they're already pretty generous on" - how is 3 days generous??

          And with regards the purchase history, I actually never said they should look up everyones history… I said they could, if they wanted to.
          And for business purposes, if you were able to identify the two, do you really think a regular customer is the exact same as a random one-off customer?

        • Ughhh on 15/01/2017 - 18:41

          @Deviner:

          Because a store is not legally required to exchange or refund a change of mind… Your sense of entitlement is incredible, it does not make others CS standard low, nor does it make you right.

        • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 20:09
          -2

          @Ughhh: Dude, you're like a broken record.
          I know they are not obliged, I never said they were.
          I also never said I was entitled to one.

          I just said it is more trouble to refuse the exchange than to accept it - that's it.

          I don't see how you can even argue with that… policy is down to staff/management discretion and the item was unopened and has gone up in value since it was bought - end of.

    • Bunnyburger on 20/06/2017 - 15:06

      Yeah here's to Amazon changing the norm

  • Axelstrife on 14/01/2017 - 18:54
    +1

    yeah mate they have a clear policy just like eb games and you didn't pass it but one of two days or even a week you passed it by 4 weeks you do not deserve a refund.
    doesn't matter if you where going to buy something else why should they make a huge exception for you 3 days to 4 weeks is much longer.

    • Deviner on 14/01/2017 - 19:30
      +1

      Huge exception? It's not like I bought an EOL item that couldn't be resold.
      They could chuck it back in stock and think nothing of it if they really wanted to.

      My point was that it's more trouble (and they'd make only $75 and not $119 + future sales now that I'll avoid them) for them to refuse the part exchange than to just accept it and keep a customer happy…. don't you think?

      Anyways, 4 weeks seems long a long time but this was over the Christmas period where people are generally busy and PLE also weren't open for part of that.

      • Axelstrife on 14/01/2017 - 19:49

        think of it this way
        while you might be right they could easily refund you, you could easily tell others of the 4 week refund you got and this could lead to others trying to return things after 4 weeks as well.
        and in one month prices for things can drop alot especially after new product releases.

        this is the way i can see why they are sticking to their policy.
        look at how eb games gets abused with they 7 day policy.
        people abuse things.

        4 weeks is just too long mate sorry but even over Christmas it's two long as the 3 day policy would still work just the days they are shut doesn't count towards those day's

        if it was a couple days more sure not 4 weeks.

  • ozhunter on 14/01/2017 - 19:08

    Simple. Go buy elsewhere, thought I doubt you will.

    Surprising you had to have a rant for such a trivial thing.

    • Deviner on 14/01/2017 - 19:38

      Yeah, I intend to.
      I only go to PLE over MSY because it saves me 5 minutes drive between their shops @ Cannington.
      At least you know what you get with MSY.

      Wasn't really a rant, was looking for other people's experiences of this situation with PLE in case I just got them on a bad day… but I'm guessing this is common practice for them.

      Pretty poor business model because it only discourages customers from making a purchase if they're afraid they have no means of returning it…
      Also sends customers to competitors if something like this goes sour.

      • brokenglish on 14/01/2017 - 19:52
        +3

        but I'm guessing this is common practice for them.

        It is their policy.

        Pretty poor business model because it only discourages customers from making a purchase if they're afraid they have no means of returning it…

        No. Theirs is a pretty standard business model.
        As per your title, you do have means to return the any purchased items back to PLE. Within 3 days.

        Generally, a store does not have to give a refund or replacement if a customer simply changes their mind about a product.
        Under the Australian Consumer Law, the customer is only entitled to a refund or replacement for a major problem with a product covered by consumer guarantees.
        Source.

        Which further proves that their return policy is actually a generous move from them.

        If you do not like their policy, you shouldn't have made the purchase from them in the first place.

        I am waiting to hear you say you got a parking fine because you parked 5 mins over the limit. Then complains that it is only 5 mins and say that it's not like no one is going to park there after you.

        This is a post you shouldn't have made in the heat of the moment…Bad call mate…

        • Deviner on 14/01/2017 - 22:26
          +1

          "This is a post you shouldn't have made in the heat of the moment…Bad call mate…"
          Why? Are the policy police going to see this?
          Lol… maybe you're the one who needs to chill out.

          No one is debating their policies, at all.

          I'm sure that a huge number of companies have similar policies that they CAN strictly follow, if they wanted to.
          That particular part is to protect the business from abuse - it was pretty obvious this wasn't a case of me abusing the system.

          My point was that is it normal for a company to be so unhelpful over something that would be so trivial to them, yet mean a lot more to the customer…. especially when they stand to lose absolutely nothing.

          They were being unreasonable for the sake of being unreasonable.

          And your parking fine comment is pretty random and irrelevant.. ??

      • ozhunter on 15/01/2017 - 08:53

        Well, I'm sure there a multitude of pc stores that let you return anything whenever you like, just to go one of them.

  • StewBalls on 14/01/2017 - 21:10
    +4

    Just remember when posting here OP, all you should expect is to have T&Cs parroted back to you; as you can see by the responses, a lot of OzBargainers can have very concrete thinking.

    A lot of these guys don't appreciate how goodwill in business works; yes, PLE had the legal right to refuse your request on a technicality, but from an enduring customer service & repeat business perspective, it wouldn't have hurt to accede given the circumstances…in the real world, continually taking a pointless stand can be a pretty stupid business move.

    Yes, it was an unusual request; and yes, it was outside their usual parameters; and yes, there was a reasonable expectation that they might say no; however, it wasn't a particularly unreasonable request, and on any given day or with a less intractable staff member it might very well have gone a different way.

    • Deviner on 14/01/2017 - 22:20

      Thanks StewBalls that's more or less exactly what I was trying to iterate, but maybe veiled with some frustration.

      A gesture of good will would not have costed PLE anything, they would have gotten more money out of me, and they're also advertising the item I wanted to return for more than I bought it for, so would have made more money on selling it again… and I would've left very happy and would shop there again - a win, win, win, win situation for PLE.

      That's why I was so surprised when they were so unwilling to budge.

      I can understand refusing a cash refund, but I've never heard of return customers (I buy a lot of stuff from them) getting the cold shoulder when they're looking to exchange something + buy something else.

      I would put it down to the fact I'm not from here, but where I work, we regularly go the extra mile or do some small billable requests for free in order to keep a good rapport with clients etc.

      • scrimshaw on 15/01/2017 - 18:51

        You'll have to understand that in the computer and technology product industry profit margins are much smaller than other consumer goods.

        Things like fashion clothing and furniture are typically sold with very inflated margins and with a very low cost they often sometimes can give the customer a great refund policy.

        My retail store is also so lax on returns I have had a customer do a return and exchange chain that lasted 12 months. Yep, a full year. He'd buy something like a lamp, use it for 27 days, come back and swap it for a newer model, then come back almost a month later and do it again.

        Prices of computer parts on the other hand are extremely volatile and if a small business like PLE had to provide refund policies (E. G 30 days return) they would very quickly go bust as customers would return a lot of stuff and rebuy at a cheaper price.

        • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 20:07
          +1

          Yea that's taking the piss so I can see why these policies are in place.

          But in the month that has passed, they've increased the price of this memory by $5 - so this is one of those occasions when they use their own discretion with regards the policy.

  • rompastompa on 15/01/2017 - 00:03
    +3

    refusals to refund an unopened/untouched item

    Is it sealed? If there was no security seal, then they would have to run a memtest. If it's now faulty, they may be able to return it to the wholesaler/manufacturer.. this all takes extra time and resources.

    They have very little markup on components. So the initial invoice, then the return invoice, testing of components, and reselling/re-invoicing to a new client all starts to eat into that markup.

    You're buying from PLE/MSY, and expecting service? There are three types of service: good, cheap and fast. Choose two.

    If you bought the parts from me, I'd sell the parts at a much higher markup to counter the extra time if something goes wrong, so you get that extra service.

    • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 01:09

      Jesus, what material do you think they're printing invoices on that cost so much? :)
      It's a couple pieces of paper…!

      As I said, item was unopened/sealed .. so no testing or anything needed.

      I do agree with your good/cheap/fast comment though.

  • Olokun on 15/01/2017 - 01:04

    A gesture of good will would not have costed PLE anything

    This may be true, but on the same token you don't get angry when goodwill isn't shown or someone doesn't do you a favour, otherwise they lose their meaning.

    • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 01:17

      In a way, yes agreed.

      I think the fact it was in the interest of both parties and was easier to show goodwill than do what they did, is what surprised me.

      As I mentioned, maybe I'm just not used to that kind of service.
      Any other country or business I've dealt with have rarely been that pedantic.

      Either way, I still think it's shit customer service, but maybe that's just me.

      • Olokun on 15/01/2017 - 09:59

        I think the fact it was in the interest of both parties and was easier to show goodwill than do what they did, is what surprised me.

        I agree with this however, at the point of interaction:

        • You want a business to have clear policies and procedures which are followed (even when you don't agree with them)
        • Front line staff are expected to follow company policy and that should also be your expectation
        • Your position translates to 'do this or else I won't be shopping here anymore', that is a threat and not a request for a gesture of goodwill (Most CS staff do not take kindly to this customer attitude and prefer they never return)
        • You should make your purchasing decisions based on store policy before you buy not based on if staff will break it afterwards.

        Also

        and the fact my purchase was going to go from $75 to $119

        There are generally 3 types of CS staff:

        1. The employee only on wages
        2. The employee on commission
        3. The employee who as a stake in the business (ie owner)

        Most employees are no. 1 and will mostly not care about you spending an extra $50, especially in a PC store where the profit on that would be < $5.
        So unless you got employee no. 3 no one is going to care about your potential $119 purchase.

        • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 12:12

          The thing is, the employee went into the back room to ask the manager apparently - either that or he just wandered off for 5 minutes! :)

          So when he came back, he explained he'd asked the manager and he couldn't help me.

          When I spoke to him originally, I started thinking along the same lines as you and got worried.
          But when he said he'd ask his manager, I thought it'd be fine.

  • konradthecat on 15/01/2017 - 08:27
    +5

    I don't understand why you made this post. You've tried to shut down everyone who doesn't agree with you. If you just want to whinge maybe buy a puppy or a pot plant and complain to it (both of which is also not refundable after a month)

    • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 12:03
      -1

      Yeah it was to see if my expectations were unreasonable, or if they were just having a bad day - I'm pretty sure I mentioned that already here?
      And yes, I replied to all comments, whether they agreed with me or not.

      This is generally how a forum works…

      I've taken the comments on board and I'll be more aware of places policies, but I'm still not 100% convinced that I was being unreasonable seeing as every post disagreeing with me here is just "It's their policy!!", which I'm not debating.

      The policy is there to protect them if they recognise they're getting taken advantage of, which they weren't.

  • pjcook on 15/01/2017 - 09:45
    +1

    Mate you asked and the consensus is that you have unrealistic expectations.

    • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 12:05
      -1

      Yeah it looks that way.

      I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, but I just thought they could have easily handled it differently.

  • Noblejoker on 15/01/2017 - 11:31
    +2

    Is the ram untouched - that is the package is unopened?
    If so then I would side with the OP
    I do not think asking for an exchange (not a refund) on a currently stocked item in unused condition is excessive
    Like you I would cop it sweet if they said No to the return
    But I would take my future business elsewhere
    It's not bad service - it's just not good service

    • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 12:23
      -1

      Yea it's untouched, never opened the packaging.

      If I'd asked for a full refund and they said no, I'd have expected that.
      But an exchange or credit note is fairly common place, I would have thought?
      They don't lose any money in the process and they're able to help their customer out.. win, win?

      • Noblejoker on 15/01/2017 - 14:17
        +2

        I don't think your expectations are unreasonable
        You aren't 'entitled' to more - doesn't mean you can't ask

  • decryption on 15/01/2017 - 12:11

    I didn't even know PLE had a 3 day change of mind policy - it's not on their website, is it?
    This is pretty cool for trying out monitors and keyboards and stuff when you can't decide on which one you want!

  • holdenmg on 15/01/2017 - 13:43

    You could sell it on eBay.com.au and mitigate your loss.

    Make sure when listing the Memory you tell people "no change of mind" unless you want someone buying it to be able to come back to you asking for a refund or credit.

    • Deviner on 15/01/2017 - 15:46
      +2

      Hahaha, I'll give you that one.. :)

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