"Love It or Your Money Back" Guarantees

heysoph9 on 06/01/2020 - 19:01
Last edited 06/01/2020 - 20:06

Has anyone ever had experience with "Love it or your money back" guarantees for a range of products? So many companies offer it these days.

As I sit here eating a bland Youfoodz meal, I noticed their "Best meals or it's free" promise…

In a lot of cases, the product is used, or eaten, and can't necessarily be returned. Can I just buy a loaf of bread from Coles, eat it all, then say I wasn't satisfied and get a refund?

Interested in people's experiences with these guarantees/promises. What have you 'returned' with satisfaction guarantees?

Edit: also interested in non-food products. Can I try a vacuum cleaner, not like it and get my money back? A toothbrush? I guess this is different than a regular return because you are acknowledging it has been used.

General Discussion

Comments

  • Ughhh on 06/01/2020 - 19:08
    +6

    I've returned a cake before because it was way too sweet and rich for me. But I only had 1 tiny peice.

    I would be annoyed if stores got rid of this goodwill offer because a bunch of scums abused it and wanted free food all time.

  • c64 on 06/01/2020 - 19:14

    Can I just buy a loaf of bread from Coles, eat it all, then say I wasn't satisfied and get a refund?

    yes, i've returned half eaten stuff

    • markathome on 06/01/2020 - 19:40

      Yes I have also - Coles-brand English muffins were, when I tried them, shockingly bad.

      Coles took them back exactly as they advertised and are therefore legally obliged to.

      I guess an issue might come when you've eaten/used a whole product but, even then, I suspect their instructions would be to process the refund. So, in the rare case an employee refuses, just go back and see another employee.

      The only time I suspect they'd refuse is if you went back week-after-week to return the same product. I think you might find that in this case not even the law would side with you.

  • John Kimble on 06/01/2020 - 19:21

    Was eating at Mamak when I saw the police rock up, apparently a woman refused to pay for a kopi cham because she said it was mostly ice. The thing was she drank most of it before she complained. The restaurant called the cops on her because she wasn't paying/was causing such a scene!

    • deme on 06/01/2020 - 19:31
      +2

      That's like complaining to McDonald's that your chips are cold when you have two left

    • crentist on 06/01/2020 - 19:55
      +8

      If it was really mostly ice, then drinking all of it would happen quickly and without much warning. She might have taken 2 sips and had suddenly had nothing but an empty cup of ice, which would look like she drank a whole glass before complaining that there was barely anything to begin with.

      • John Kimble on 06/01/2020 - 19:58

        Yes, I can see this view also. Personally I didn't think the restaurant should have called the cops if it was just about not paying for the drink. Even if the customer was wrong, just give it to her.

        But perhaps there was more to the story eg verbal abuse or something.

        • crentist on 06/01/2020 - 20:01
          +1

          Yea cops are a dumb move just for a drink. Puts the rest of the customers a bit on edge too, trips up the vibe a little, but you mentioned she was causing a scene so maybe no diff.

          • John Kimble on 06/01/2020 - 20:12

            @crentist: They only stayed for a bit, pretty much said "not my circus" I suspect

  • Of Aquitaine on 06/01/2020 - 19:35
    +1

    I was losing money chucking stuff away that was inedible, but no more. Ive done it often since with Woolworths own brand stuff. If it’s that bad that I can’t eat it, I take it back for a refund. They have written on their WW products “If you’re not 100% happy with your purchase, we’ll replace or refund.”

    • peterpeterpumpkin on 06/01/2020 - 20:34
      +1

      You're doing them a favour so that they improve and corner the market.

      My problem is that I'm never more than 97% satisfied so I'd be back everyday.

  • Godric on 06/01/2020 - 19:36
    +8

    If i don't like the product i'll just not buy it again.

  • JimmyF on 06/01/2020 - 19:36

    Can I just buy a loaf of bread from Coles, eat it all, then say I wasn't satisfied and get a refund?

    half eaten yes, fully eaten no.

    • heysoph9 on 06/01/2020 - 19:39

      Do you think that morally or actually a fine print?

      Edit: who are they to tell me when I became dissatisfied with the product? Idk.

      • JimmyF on 06/01/2020 - 19:56
        +1

        Well if you didn't like it, aka not satisfied why did you eat it all?

        Bit hard to say the bread was crap and you want your money back, after you eat 20 slices of it.

        • heysoph9 on 06/01/2020 - 20:02

          I dunno, I just ate my whole Youfoodz meal, but because I was hungry and already cooked it.
          Can't say I enjoyed it, and it wasn't the "best meal" as per their promise.

          • JimmyF on 06/01/2020 - 20:31
            +1

            @heysoph9:

            I just ate my whole Youfoodz meal, but because I was hungry and already cooked it.

            You couldn't stopped any time and returned it.

        • crentist on 06/01/2020 - 20:13

          What if you host a basic bbq and everyone thinks the bread is kinda disappointing but still edible and would mostly prefer not to hold sausages and onions in their bare hands and eat half a meal?

          Or more simply if putting up with crap bread and sticking to your intended meal plan is just a bit easier than squeezing in another supermarket trip within a couple of days

      • ozhunter on 06/01/2020 - 19:57

        Edit: who are they to tell me when I became dissatisfied with the product? Idk.

        No one can and no one cares.

        They are the ones offering a refund or exchange, so when it comes to that, I'd say it's at their discretion.

        • mskeggs on 06/01/2020 - 20:18

          An exchange isn't going to do much good if the complaint is with the standard product qualities (taste etc. rather than something like freshness). You would just return the exchanges if you remained unsatisfied, until they gave you the refund to go away.

      • crentist on 06/01/2020 - 20:05
        +1

        who are they to tell me when I became dissatisfied with the product?

        Or even your definition of satisfaction?
        Maybe you got high bread standards

        • spackbace on 06/01/2020 - 20:13
          +3

          Maybe you got high bread standards

          High-Top bread standards?
          OP has been bread not to accept sub-par food?
          The yeast he could do is just accept it and move on?

          Hey, these buns don't write themselves!

  • spackbace on 06/01/2020 - 20:11
    +4

    I go supermarket shopping about once a week. CBF going back there with a $2 item

    The worst is when you get home and realise the take-away store didn't give you chips or missed something minor :/

    ('Worst' being relative of course)

  • mskeggs on 06/01/2020 - 20:16
    +6

    When I was young and poor(er) and had just moved out of home, I bought the large "Savings" brand tin of instant coffee.
    It was truly, un-drinkably dreadful.
    I took it back for a refund.
    The store manager said "What did you expect for a 1kg tin for $8?".
    I just tapped the logo on the label that said money back if not satisfied.
    Got my $8.

    These days I probably wouldn't have bought the bulk tin, untested in the first place, or bothered to return it if I had been so foolish.
    But I reckon people need to exercise these kinds of rights from time to time, or the vendors will figure they don't need to provide satisfactory products.

    • JimmyF on 06/01/2020 - 20:36

      I took it back for a refund.

      Yes, but you didn't drink entire tin first before returning it :)

  • heysoph9 on 06/01/2020 - 21:01

    How about non-food items - I'm sure I recall Koala mattresses having a love it or your money back guarantee?

    • John Kimble on 06/01/2020 - 21:12

      Yes, the have a no questions asked trial period. Most of the bed in a box companies do.

    • Brightland on 06/01/2020 - 22:05
      +2

      My friend recently bought a Koala mattress, found it too firm. No questions asked, collection arranged and refund given.

    • Bargain80 on 07/01/2020 - 10:31

      I bought the online mattress in a box as well (not Koala but the other brand).
      They have satisfaction guarantee and I can return it after 1 month if not satisfied.
      The mattress is too soft to my preference so I asked for a return/refund.
      They sent a truck to pick it up and sent the mattress for donation.

    • lechuck123 on 14/01/2020 - 11:16

      I'm not sure if they've found something to do with the returned mattresses, but 2 years ago I knew someone who worked there and they essentially just ended up sitting in a warehouse as they couldn't be resold.

  • Smulder on 06/01/2020 - 21:13
    +3

    Wish it applied to marriages.

    • spackbace on 06/01/2020 - 21:32
      +3

      You had enough time to try it!

    • kiitos on 07/01/2020 - 09:00
      +1

      Insert related joke about still having the box it came in

      • Chris Topher on 07/01/2020 - 14:22

        If the box was intact and had not been opened, yes, the contract can be cancelled. Sadly, no refunds though.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/01/2020 - 21:16
    +2

    My uncle got a free baker delight white loaf from a shoppa docket, he returned half of it cause it was too chewy (and yes he is Scottish).

  • BigBirdy on 07/01/2020 - 09:45

    I’ve got refunds for poor food products from both Coles & WW, no questions asked, often no actual food returned, but I’ve presented either a receipt or empty box. One in particular was a Coles $36 frozen turkey fillet, that had a large amount of fat on it. I presented the empty box, explained, and they refunded it. All my refund requests were for genuinely unsatisfactory products.

  • Yola on 07/01/2020 - 10:33

    I once purchased some sliced meat from the fresh food people - Safeway as it was then and it as slimy and smelly. I kept it all and the following week when I went shopping again took it back. I explained that it was off as soon I purchased it. The young girl wanted to know why I did not return it straight away. I explained that I only went to that area once per week. I did not say that it was bad enough I had no filling for kids sandwiches and did not need to waste time and petrol going there. Anyway got the refund.

    • hebron on 17/01/2020 - 17:30

      Even if you can't get back to the store you should have called them so they could log the call and you could then return the item at a later date.

  • CandyMan on 07/01/2020 - 20:02

    Post on their fb and you will get a direct answer

    • hebron on 17/01/2020 - 17:31

      How about giving them the benefit of the doubt and contacting the company first to give them a chance to make good.

  • symo on 07/01/2020 - 21:10
    -1

    What if you passed, and the conditions were not as described (based on religious or other believes), wouldn't it be great if you could be returned to the land of the living!

  • mrtin on 08/01/2020 - 21:57
    +3

    I provided feedback on clothes pegs from big w. Didn't want any money ($4) but they sent it anyway.
    My message to them was they need to know how bad the product was so they can take it off the shelf. If no one provides feedback then the store may assume all is good.

  • lainey13 on 14/01/2020 - 10:03
    +1

    Boost have something similar and I have opted for a different drink when the green smoothie I tried was truly disgusting.

  • hebron on 17/01/2020 - 17:28

    I have taken things back to Coles, Woolworths and Costco that I have opened and not liked. To date Costco is the only one that refunds your money every time. The others do so occasionally but usually only if the majority of the item is returned

    I have done this for food producing companies that sell direct to public as most food companies have a quality team that deals with all complaints and feedback from customers so if you don't like a product but have opened it, freeze the remaining portion and contact them directly. I don't agree with posting to social media first as I sell used items on ebay and get frustrated when customers file an ebay complaint without even contacting me so I can deal with whatever issue they are having. One lady filed a complaint asking for a refund because she didn't receive her item within 1 business day. She bought on a Friday late afternoon and because it didn't arrive on the Monday complained that I was scamming her. Tried explaining that it was one business day but all she saw was that it had been 3 days. Even though I was proven right I still have a filed complaint against my profile on ebay and she left negative feedback when it wasn't deserved.

    Overall, give any company the opportunity to make things right and if they refuse to then maybe look at social media but not as a first option.

  • leiiv on 20/01/2020 - 17:16

    If it is a branded product that promises the money back guarantee, can you take it back to the store or do you have to call up the brand directly?

    • Yola on 21/01/2020 - 13:30

      You take it to the store you purchased it from.

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