Comments on: HMV UK return policy – beware

By: Get your facts straight

Get your facts straight — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:18:39 +0000

To the owner of this site, the customer exchange policy has changed in the FOUR years since he started this thread. So in fact you are consistently misrepresenting company policy every time you make some sort of ‘point’ regarding the refund you didn’t receive. The new policy which has been amended several times since your first posted was in fact in response to this type of problem. Yet you maintain that it is unchanged. It makes you look very petty indeed
‘I find this worse service than other shops and want to alert potential buyers to this’-in fact you ‘found’ this experience over FOUR years ago. Have you been in HMV since? I would say not considering your post. In fact Virgin, Zavvi and Game all operate the same policy as HMV now.
There is a company wide policy that will give you vouchers/store credit though it is entirely up to to the manager if you get a refund. I think this is not entirely ideal, but nonetheless, if you come in with a civil tone then you should have no problem getting one.
As a manager i would advise anyone who has been dissatisfied with your treatment to phone head office whose number is on the back of the receipt. I am usually well mannered, but to my shame one one occasion i found myself short tempered and to be honest rude. I received a real dressing down from the area manager and rest assured it had a positive affect in the future!
To Payum since no one else has responded to you, in fact we would not have made the same profit. Bundles are sometimes set my the games distributors themselves and therefore we receive discount on specific games. For example, there is an EA bundle at he moment so therefore only EA games are included in the bundle. It is simple economics I’m afraid and is the same for all stores. That is why by enlarge, most bundles are the same no matter the chain.

David says:
Thank you for the update Janeen. I have in fact not been in HMV for the last 4 years. I have amended the article.

By: share holder

share holder — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:07:26 +0000

David
Have you got a life ? or do you just sit at your pc each day?
Have you checked the share price at present, and do you know the current performance of HMV – obviously not ?
HMV are the only high street retailer left, with the depth and range to be a credible entertainment retailer look what happened to Fopp musiczone even virgin (no zavvi) – yes they have gone.
Do you think that your thread will put HMV out of business – I do not think so
Do want people to loose there jobs ?
Were do you work ? so that myself and fellow hmv colleges can pick fault
If you came into our HMV store and asked politely and professionally you would have got a refund.
The refund policy is only there to stop people persistently bringing goods back – as HMV is not a Library

David says:
What I care about when I choose to purchase media is the price and the level of service.
If you care to read my article it says that I went back to HMV with a factory sealed item and a receipt the day after making the purchase and was refused both refund and credit (vouchers).
My options were to change the item for something else (same value or less) or come back another day, once again bringing the purchased item with me.
I find this worse service than other shops and want to alert potential buyers to this.
If the HMV management notices my poor shopping experience and decides to review their return policy it is a bonus!

By: Caz

Caz — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:38:39 +0000

I just received a DVD as a gift that I do not want, but do not have the receipt (and the person has lost it), so would HMV still allow me to exchange it?

David says:
It seems that the HMV returns policy varies from store to store and depends on what manager you talk to. Go and ask in your local store and make sure to be polite.
If the DVD is still wrapped in plastic and maybe even carrying an HMV sticker it should be easier to replace it!

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:18:57 +0000

What a ridiculous thread this is, I am embarrassed to be adding to it! But I think it is important to remember that the customers are at fault here. If someone gave me a gift I did not want, a) they clearly don’t know me well!, but also b) returning it for cash is not very grateful. The law is simple… if something is faulty then the store must offer a like-for-like exchange or a repair. What HMV offer far exceeds this.
I am recently retired and am buying more DVDs of late, I find the staff in my local store (Leicester High Street) incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. I treat them with the respect they deserver while they run around finding my old films and trawling through computer screens, and I find it very sad to see other customers being so unpleasant!
A word of advice – be cordial and polite. In the past few months I have very easily exchanged items and even received a cash refund. So I urge you not to go in all guns blazing and torment the sales assistants, no wonder you find the staff uncooperative!
And perhaps think more carefully before making a purchase – I wish that I had the money to go and chose 7 cds at random for my cousin without first checking the returns policy!
Mary L

David says:
Thank you for your comment Mary.
You will always find many negative comments on the internet about a product or a company but very few positive ones. I suspect that we often find time and strength to be vocal when we feel that we have been treated poorly or unfairly.
So thank you for the positive comment about HMV, it is nice to hear that your local HMV branch has great staff.
Just to make clear we are not claiming that what HMV is doing is necessarily illegal; just that it is of lower standard than other media shops and the customer should consider her options before shopping at HMV next time.
If you look at the dropping HMV share price one might think that many customers already are looking elsewhere than at HMV shelves!

By: Paul Williams

Paul Williams — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 13:26:52 +0000

It makes me laugh that HMV will give a refund if you buy online..Have a duplicate xmas pressie and had no refund as asked for instore on the Isle of wight..Will advise people and will never buy from HMV again..BEWARE

By: HMV Staff

HMV Staff — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:00:19 +0000

Actually we do give store credit if you have purchased or are bringing back an unwanted item. Also the item doesn’t have to be in its original packaging but it does have to be in perfect condition which is a very reasonable thing to expect!
The owner of this site is making out like it’s the people that work in HMV that are the bad guys. The HMV store in Bath has high standards of great customer service and those people that ask about our return policy get a full and honest answer.
If the HMV stores suddenly closed down you would be complaining a whole lot more.
If you ask about the return policy we always say “You can exchange your item for another or you can have store credit but we do not give refunds” If you do not ask us then it clearly states it on the back of the receipt for you.
I’m just another member of staff and the reason I am writing this is because I feel that the owner of this site doesn’t know what he/she is talking about.

David says:
The owner of this site knows exactly what he is talking about because he brought back a duplicate present to the Oxford Street store the day after purchase in original shrink wrap and with receipt but was refused in store credit.
Buyers beware!

By: M Bhalay

M Bhalay — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:53:04 +0000

On the 9th of Dec I spent £40 on two DVD boxsets as Christmas presents on HMV online. The DVDs hadn’t arrived on the 21st of Dec. Rang HMV online and they told me to buy them from a HMV store because they wouldn’t arrive in time for Christmas. I bought the same DVDs from the store on the 22nd of Dec. However, the ones that I had ordered were delivered on the 23rd! So I took a copy of the email from HMV online confirming my order, the DVDs and the receipt back to the store. I explained what had happened and I asked for a refund. The manager refused to give me a refund. After a lot of arguing he eventually relented and gave me a refund. I was going to spend more money in the store on some video games but I certainly won’t be shopping at any HMV store again, that includes the online stores as well!

By: nina

nina — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 16:32:43 +0000

wish I’d read this before I purchased the same cd for my daughter as my husband for Xmas. returned to HMV, within two hours of purchase, where to be honest the sales assistant offered a voucher but no refund- not a problem really as we needed a ds game too. however the game not in stock and so when i politely asked the sales assistant when they started policy of not giving refunds he started to explain only to be rudely and agressively interupted by one of the store managers asking if i had a problem (up until then i hadn’t had!!) he was so rude to me that my husband intervened.he asked the guy his name and was asked what it was to do with him? he was really rude and very intimidating told us they’d been on their night out last night and it was a busy time for them and he had better things than to deal with awkward customers who were only trying to make trouble! Wish i had thought to exchange the gift voucher with somebody in the Queue as i really dont feel like going back ever
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY DO NOT USE HMV IF YOU EXPECT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! (Apologies to the Sales assistant who was polite)

By: Fedel Morrisey

Fedel Morrisey — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:28:49 +0000

‘customer service’ is by no means the same as ‘company policy’. my daughter is home from working in hmv this evening in tears as she got screamed at and spat at in hmv today as spoilt customers did not get what they wanted. Shop policies are not the doing of young sales assistants please keep this in mind ! we,in contrast to this small minded blog, are researching laws that may help to protect young sales assistants against the vicious tempers and attacks of cranky customers who are responsible for humiliating these young people as they do not have the courage to walk in and calmly debate it with the management. this time in ten years there will be no cd shops to be seen as the download generation takes hold, and all that will be left is the unconfidence instilled in these helpers by miserable people with nothing better to do than complain complain complain. lighten up, these people are our future. Mr. F Morrisey

By: Shakera

Shakera — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:32:58 +0000

My God there are some idiotic people on here. EVERY customer should be able to refund products and needing to doesn’t make them stupid either.
I recently bought my brother a game, which he paid for, but it turns out he’s not allowed it which means I have to pay him the money back while the game lies there useless. Every other shop on the high street provides refunds so HMV have to realize that customers, like myself, will no longer buy from them which in turn will lower their profits, the only thing they care about.