Myer and Australian Retailers: Time to Rephrase Your 'no Returns/Exchanges' Policy on Clothing

Ljam scone on 10/09/2025 - 11:57
Last edited 10/09/2025 - 13:03 by 1 other user

TLDR: Australian retailers should clarify "no returns/exchanges" policies to explicitly state that consumer rights under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) are always protected, especially for faulty, unfit-for-purpose, or misdescribed items.

I wanted to start a discussion about how some Australian retailers, particularly Myer, word their "no returns/exchanges" policy. While I understand their expectation that customers should use change rooms to ensure the correct size, this doesn't override consumer rights under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) regarding goods that are not fit for purpose or of acceptable quality.

The Issue
Many retailers, especially those selling clothing, often display signs or state verbally that there are "no returns or exchanges" on certain items, particularly if a change room was available. The implicit assumption is that if you try it on and it fits, you've made your informed decision. However, this wording can be misleading and potentially deter customers from exercising their rights.
Australian Consumer Law (ACL)
Under the ACL, consumers are entitled to a remedy (repair, replacement, or refund) if goods:

Are not of acceptable quality (e.g., faulty or damaged).
Are not fit for their disclosed purpose (e.g., if you specify you need a waterproof jacket and it leaks).
Do not match the description (e.g., online sizing charts are inaccurate).
Do not match any sample or demonstration model.

The Sizing Conundrum
A common scenario where this policy causes issues is with clothing sizing. Even if a change room is available, sizing can be "abnormal" or not as expected/described. For example:

Inconsistent Sizing: A size 10 in one brand might be vastly different from a size 10 in another, or even within the same brand's different lines.
Manufacturing Defects: A garment might be labelled as a specific size, but due to a manufacturing error, it's actually smaller or larger.
Online vs. In-Store: If a customer purchases online and then tries it on in-store, they might discover the sizing is completely off despite their best efforts to measure and check size guides.

In these cases, where the sizing is abnormal or not as expected/described, the item could be considered not fit for purpose or not matching its description, and therefore covered under the ACL.

What Retailers Should Do
Retailers like Myer should rephrase their policies to clearly state that consumer rights under Australian Consumer Law are always upheld. Instead of "no returns/exchanges," they could say something like:

"We encourage customers to use our change rooms to ensure the perfect fit. Please note that for hygiene reasons, we may not offer returns or exchanges for a change of mind if you have worn the item. However, your rights under Australian Consumer Law regarding faulty, not fit for purpose, or incorrectly described goods are always protected."

This wording would be more transparent and avoid misleading customers about their fundamental rights. It still encourages responsible purchasing while acknowledging legal obligations.

Thoughts?

Fashion & Apparel

Related Stores

MYER
MYER

Comments

  • Far Cough on 10/09/2025 - 11:58
    +18

    Another ChatGPT AI forum post.

    100% Ai confirmed by GPTZero

      • Anthonese on 10/09/2025 - 12:06
        +17

        But ChatGPT is not editing. It has unnecessarily prolonged the length of your post which did not need to be 500 words to get your point across. We come on OzBargain to speak with humans, not chatbots.

          • Anthonese on 10/09/2025 - 12:09
            +5

            @jam scone: lolwut
            Are you a human or bot? I'm guessing the former which is better than a chatbot. I think you've got the wrong end of the stick

      • Far Cough on 10/09/2025 - 12:07
        +1

        Grammarly helps, it doesn’t write everything for you.

          • Anthonese on 10/09/2025 - 12:12
            +6

            @jam scone: We get your point. Clearly you have had some grievance with a purchase from Myer. What do you want us to do about it? Your post did not need to be 500 words. People generally value their time…

            • Dr Phil on 11/09/2025 - 12:12
              -1

              @Anthonese: Exactly.
              This post is not going to change anything and is a complete waste of everyones time

          • pegaxs on 10/09/2025 - 13:21
            +6

            @jam scone: And boom, just like that, I'm out of neg votes again in a single thread thanks to a single user.

            FML.

          • SlickMick on 11/09/2025 - 08:52

            @jam scone: I use ChatGPT to word stuff for me too, so don't take the hate personally.
            What we hate here is when people post ChatGPT's thoughts rather than their own.Some are accusing you of that.

          • Muppet Detector on 11/09/2025 - 11:05

            @jam scone:

            How about commenting on the topic, guys? It's why I posted here, not this fodder.

            LOL, You must be new here…

            Remember when you were taught to "read the room" before talking/acting? Applies online too.

            Besides, as long as posters are responding within the forum guidelines, what makes you think that you get to tell anybody how or what they should contribute?

            Posters are telling you what the accepted etiquette is for using this forum, either take it on board or grow a thick skin.

      • mskeggs on 10/09/2025 - 12:17
        +7

        Lots of people aren't interested in talking to an LLM. You can paste your question or topic for discussion into an LLM if whether a computer or person responds doesn't matter to you.

        That you posted it here suggests you actually do see that a human response is important. So please consider others think a human question is the only one worth bothering with.

          • mskeggs on 10/09/2025 - 12:39
            +5

            @jam scone: You wrote and made a heading saying "The Sizing Conundrum"?
            Ok, then you write like a clickbait article.

          • Muppet Detector on 11/09/2025 - 11:20

            @jam scone:

            In my opinion,

            And you are entitled to your opinion.

            Others seem to disagree with your opinion and theirs are just as valid as yours.

            my post is human

            I actually believe this bit because clearly you did no research before you posted and just posted a heap of stuff you made up and presented as fact.

            Personally, I don't care if you use AI, as long as you know that it isn't always accurate (as evidenced by the content of your post) and makes you look a bit lazy.

            Fair enough if English is your second language, using the AI tools for forum posts is actually quite considerate of you if a language barrier would otherwise prevent you from communicating effectively.

  • freefall101 on 10/09/2025 - 12:12
    +3

    This is already the law and Myer already do it.

    https://www.myer.com.au/content/returns-exchanges

    As a customer, you are entitled to certain guarantees whenever you make a purchase from Myer. These guarantees are called Consumer Guarantees and they are not impacted by the change of mind policy or the 30 day return limit.

    You can read more about your rights under Consumer Guarantees and how we will work to fix issues relating to damaged or faulty goods in our Returns Policy.

      • Muppet Detector on 11/09/2025 - 11:27

        If you weren't confident with your purchase at point of sale, why would you proceed with the purchasing contract anyway?

        If they breach that contract, of course your legal rights apply and if someone does refuse to comply/breaches a contract, this does not prevent you from pursuing your rightful remedy through the legal system.

  • payless69 on 10/09/2025 - 12:19

    If Gerry gets away selling broken stuff with no warranty so wants Myer!

  • MS Paint on 10/09/2025 - 12:36
    +2

    So what actually happened to you at Myer?

    🎻

    • Far Cough on 10/09/2025 - 12:42

      OP felt like being called out for posting AI slop

  • Far Cough on 10/09/2025 - 12:47
    +7

    Omg ChatGPT asking to make it a forum post for ozbargain, all I did was ask for a “consumer advise post” with the OPs title.

    https://imgur.com/a/BXvm7Zw

    @scotty time to put in rules about AI posts.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 10/09/2025 - 13:16
      +6

      and auto tag it as 'AI Slop' so it can be filtered in no show filters.

      • Far Cough on 10/09/2025 - 13:42
        +2

        Would be nice if they incorporated an Ai Checker for forum posts.

        • Muppet Detector on 11/09/2025 - 11:33

          I think AI for forum posts does have its place.

          I'm thinking about people whose first language may not be English or have other reasons for finding it difficult to communicate effectively.

          Just annoying when capable people use AI to research their thought bubbles or use it to actually create content that they then pass off as their own.

          Kinda funny when that content turns out to be incorrect though.

  • Hybroid on 10/09/2025 - 13:09
    +1

    Your post implies consumers are too stupid to understand the difference between change-of-mind and defects. I don't believe that's the case.

  • theHMASfriendship on 10/09/2025 - 13:30

    Hi this is Ozbargain not those retailers please direct your enquiries to them.

  • Ughhh on 10/09/2025 - 14:25

    https://www.myer.com.au/p/basque-crushed-acetate-twist-back-…

    Here's a product on clearance at Myers. It clearly states the return policy for a clearance item. Myer is one of the stores with very relaxed Change of mind policy, unless things have changed in the last few months.

  • MeesusEff on 10/09/2025 - 14:25

    Myers, are the 'certain items' you are describing clearance/reduced to clear stuff?? Because thats all thats restricted for clothing return, which is reasonable as who wants to deal with an even older clearance stock once you decide to return it.

    Big w also doesnt let you return clearance items.

  • wetsandwich on 10/09/2025 - 15:19
    +5

    AI slop is immediately noticeable and bad.
    Anyway, are Myer actually saying no returns anywhere? Or are you just inventing things to be mad about? This is one thing that all large retailers really don't ever try it on with. Except for Kogan maybe.

    And who shops at Myer anyway.. everything is triple the price and they don't seem to have any staff that can actually help you because they only work for one brand in one little corner.

  • timthetoolman on 10/09/2025 - 18:30
    +1

    Even if a change room is available, sizing can be "abnormal" or not as expected/described

    So you try the clothes on, they don't fit well, you buy them, and want them returned as they're an abnormal fit?

  • Muppet Detector on 11/09/2025 - 10:49

    Another person who doesn't understand their ACL rights.

    Clothing that doesn't fit will almost always be change of mind.

    No secret that different brands have different measurements and sizing, heck, there are even some acceptable variations within the same brand and style.

    Unless some kind of manufacturer defect in material or production, clothing sizing is within a range of measurements, not limited to a specific centimetre.
    At best, sizing is simply a guide.

    As you said, for in store purchases, plenty of opportunity to select clothing that fits you.

    Thank all the swindlers who buy stuff, wear it and then return it for why the stores crack down on those types of returns, or the lazy arses who inflate costs by selecting a variety of sizes to "buy" and take home, to try on at home and return the ones that don't fit.

    If you don't want to try on and measurements aren't available, know your own measurements and measure the damn thing before you buy it.

    For online purchases, if measurements aren't provided, ask for them before purchasing.

    Really not that hard.

    Then if item doesn't match measurements, clearly it is SNAD and subject to your consumer guarantees.

    ACL provides refunds for SNAD and NFFP, not because you can't be bothered knowing your measurements.

  • Muppet Detector on 11/09/2025 - 10:58

    While I understand their expectation that customers should use change rooms to ensure the correct size, this doesn't override consumer rights under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) regarding goods that are not fit for purpose or of acceptable quality.

    Hate to disappoint you, but it actually does.

    Don't want to try it on? Measure it. Your laziness doesn't make something SNAD or NFFP.

    Many retailers, especially those selling clothing, often display signs or state verbally that there are "no returns or exchanges" on certain items,

    If this is true, report them to ACCC, because they are supposed to also say something like "doesn't erase your consumer guarantees".

    Manufacturing Defects: A garment might be labelled as a specific size, but due to a manufacturing error, it's actually smaller or larger.

    Clearly this is covered under ACL. You've even acknowledged that.

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