Store told me to travel 500 miles for a refund
Angie’s fury as Debenhams refuses to reopen local store for returns
A SHOPPER has been told she must travel from Aberdeen to England to return two unwanted shirts to Debenhams.
Angie Steel, 62, bought the shirts as a Christmas present in November but after finding they were unsuitable has been waiting for shops to reopen.
However, Debenhams has since announced its stores in Scotland will never reopen after the firm went bust.
Angie contacted the company to ask what she should do and was told in a letter: “If you need to refund for a purchase of a store bought item, you may travel to a store in England for a refund.”
Her nearest store is now a 500-mile round trip away in Newcastle, which has reopened temporarily after lockdown rules were relaxed in England.
She said: “The whole idea is stupid. They cannot discriminate and we can’t travel to England right now.
“It’s outrageous. You’d think the person that’s written this response just hasn’t got a clue what is going on in the world right now.”
Angie, from Peterculter, bought the shirts from her local Trinity Centre branch. Her gift receipt originally gave her from December 17 to January 15 to exchange or return the goods in store.
But the shop had to remain closed after Boxing Day under coronavirus restrictions. In January the chain was taken over by online retailer Boohoo, which is not taking on any of its stores.
A notice online announced stores would reopen for a week once lockdown restrictions were lifted to clear stock and honour exchanges.
In February, Debenhams said it would not reopen any of its 15 stores in Scotland even once lockdown ends. The letter to Angie said: “I am sorry to say our Scottish stores will not reopen.
“This is due to the Scottish Government’s timeline for the reopening of non-essential stores not aligning with the planned wind-down of the Debenhams business.”
Angie said: “I don’t think anybody high up in the company has thought seriously about the suggestions they’re making.
“They’re blaming the Scottish Government not aligning with England in terms of opening up at the same time.”
The retired oil and gas worker has been unable to speak to anyone at Debenhams by phone but emailed to point out that she was banned from travelling from Scotland to England.
Angie said: “They replied to that saying their judgment is final and not changing, and that’s that.
“What they should be doing is sending Scottish customers a prepaid label and letting us post goods back for a refund to be processed.
“Instead nobody in Scotland is getting refunds at all.”
Debenhams was asked for a comment but failed to respond.