Another 'Mishap'

I ordered a Clogau ring on QVC last week which was in the clearance section, it was one I'd wanted for a while and the price was good so I took the plunge and ordered it.

The package arrived today, all the clogau packaging but no ring!!! They'd sent me an empty box!

I immediately rang CS and told them, they then said they'll send me a prepaid returns label and send out a replacement for free immediately so I don't need to wait for the return to reach them before getting the replacement. However what I found unbelievable was that the lady I spoke to said "when you receive the prepaid returns label included in the envelope there will be a declaration form for you to sign so we can see how we managed to send out an empty box after the item was returned to us"

The way she said it suggested to me that some customers knowingly send back empty boxes to get a refund! Surely when an item is returned they open it to check its there? Especially if it has a high value!

It then reminded me a few years back I'd ordered a diamonique ring and a pair of diamonique earrings, I decided to return them both as they just weren't what I was expecting... when packing them up I must have accidentally placed the wrong return label into the wrong envelope... it was at least 10 days before I'd heard anything so I called up only to have someone tell me that they were investigating the returns as I may have been trying to claim more money back than i was entitled to by sending the cheaper items back with labels for more expensive ones... It was only after I asked what they meant that I realised what I must have done and explained to them and then they were a bit more understanding...

It's one extreme to another...

What stood out to me in your post was this bit
"when you receive the prepaid returns label included in the envelope there will be a declaration form for you to sign so we can see how we managed to send out an empty box after the item was returned to us"
So they are actually ADMITTING to sending you a RETURNED item, even after ALL of their reassurance that they NEVER send out returns !!

madmax said:

What stood out to me in your post was this bit
"when you receive the prepaid returns label included in the envelope there will be a declaration form for you to sign so we can see how we managed to send out an empty box after the item was returned to us"
So they are actually ADMITTING to sending you a RETURNED item, even after ALL of their reassurance that they NEVER send out returns !!

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well spotted madmax
i had to read it three times as i couldn't make sense out of that sentence
and i went 'ahhhh' when i saw your post ....
the brazen cheek of it ...

Given the number of forumites who have received used items from Q it does now seem beyond question that they don't perform even a cursory check on returned items anymore. They must go straight back on the shelf for clearance and sending back out to the next, unfortunate, customer. That could also explain why they no longer ask you why you're returning an item.

I had something similar with an Origins item.It was a double item face cream and serum I think .A plain cardboard box arrived a jar of cream loose inside but no serum.I called Q and got the impression they didn't really believe me .

They couldn't send me out the missing serum, I had to return the cream and box then they would send a replacement.I decided in the end not to bother ,it was too much hassle .

I still have the half used jar in my drawer.I lost the enthusiasm for it after that.It needs throwing out.

Perhaps this what they want? To make it difficult and uncomfortable for customers with complaints, so they hope said customers will not bother in the end because of the added QVC-made hassles.

i believe that the whole process is computerised so the packages just get scanned and put back on the shelf until someone orders it again.

Moth said:

Given the number of forumites who have received used items from Q it does now seem beyond question that they don't perform even a cursory check on returned items anymore. They must go straight back on the shelf for clearance and sending back out to the next, unfortunate, customer. That could also explain why they no longer ask you why you're returning an item.

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I have yet again received a used item today and am pretty p***ed off about it - It's a Together top, no label, looks like it's been worn and is covered in fluff. It was shoved in a tiny bag and is screwed up and has the tell tale label on the bag that I now know means it's been returned. I don't mind getting returns per se as we all try things on in shops and online buys are tried on at home - but when something is blatantly used and they just put in back in stock, that's completely wrong!! I am worried about ringing Q as I may just lose my s**t!!!:mysmilie_51::mysmilie_10:

I know I've said it before but that was one of the main reasons I closed my account over two years ago, four out of the last five things I ordered from QVC were returns, also lost count over the twenty years shopping with them how many returns I had recieved, they weren't even disguised as new either, you could tell they were tying to get full price for a second hand items. The reason they're investigating your return is not because they think they've sent you an empty box, but because they think you've kept it and said they sent you an empty box, that's just how they are though, they're the only company I've ever dealt with were "the customer is always wrong" Years ago they took too much money from me, I knew it, the bank knew it, my bank statement knew it but would they accept it? absolutely not.

Any clothes I've ordered in clearance have clearly been tried on by someone else, if not worn. Most of them are just stuffed back in the plastic bag and not even folded. I did once get a top that smelled of smoke so back that went. I do expect returns when things are in clearance but they have to be saleable and they do have to exist!

One year I twice ordered a strawberry planter and twice it disappeared. There was this air of suspicion that I had received them, which of course I didn't, and I had to sign all manner of forms and wait a while until they'd investigated the courier. I did get a refund but I don't like the kind of attitude that I might have stolen them. IF I was going to steal something it would be a two grand diamond ring, not a thirty quid plant pot.

CC

i had a top from a dog owner. smelled to and had dog hairs on it

I have an idea - when we return something, how about hiding a slip that says - this is a return - QVC should have found this when checking the returns.

Maybe it would catch on... can you imagine if people took pictures of their item, with the little slip and posted it on Twitter or Facebook? Incontrovertible evidence that they do send out returns, and that they do so without checking...

Yes CS staff are trained to say they don't send out returns, but when you challenge them, it then turns to "oh, I don't know how that got through" I'd be here for a week if I told you every return I'd got in twenty years I was a customer, but I'll just pick my worst one, it was dog poop (well I'm hoping it was dog poop) and gravel stuck on the sole of the Birkenstock Betula I ordered. There was also no little cardboard label, but I didn't need that to tell me they were returns, the next call they got form me was telling them to close my account, and the letter requesting it too went in the post.

Must be the "magic" of the rare Welsh gold. The ring just vanished!

Catherine was asked, via a Tweet, what happens to returns during the outerwear clearance show and said that the returned goods are either returned to the manufacturer or were sent to their outlets. She also said that some charities benefit. She neglected to mention that some customers receive returned goods. No surprise there then ........ because QVC customers never get someone else's rejects, do they? :wonder: Hmmmm ............

Moth said:

Perhaps this what they want? To make it difficult and uncomfortable for customers with complaints, so they hope said customers will not bother in the end because of the added QVC-made hassles.

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Like anyone's not going complain over a MISSING RING! Those Clogau pieces cost a small fortune for they are touted under an air of exclusivity. People relish having a microscopic fleck of rare Welsh Gold, even though it's an element - Au - which is the same as gold all over the world. It's just romanticized, that's all.

I used to look at those clog eye rings with utter amazement..........I was amazed at how a silver ring, with a touch, and I literally do mean a touch, of "rare" Welsh gold made in China can run into hundreds and people do buy them, yep, totally amazed.

shopperholic said:

Yes CS staff are trained to say they don't send out returns, but when you challenge them, it then turns to "oh, I don't know how that got through" I'd be here for a week if I told you every return I'd got in twenty years I was a customer, but I'll just pick my worst one, it was dog poop (well I'm hoping it was dog poop) and gravel stuck on the sole of the Birkenstock Betula I ordered. There was also no little cardboard label, but I didn't need that to tell me they were returns, the next call they got form me was telling them to close my account, and the letter requesting it too went in the post.

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This is really gross. I've noticed they stopped mentioning their 'random quality check'.

My bus travelling companion received earrings from QVC as a Christmas present from her sister (they were for pierced ears and actually very pretty it must be said) BUT they had dried blood on the post! She did ask my advice about cleaning them and I informed her NO WAY - send them back. Given the rise of protein based infections (which are practically impossible to kill) there is no way she could clean them at home. Her sister contacted QVC who actually accused them of lying - needless to say an account was closed never to be opened again.

QVC seem to have a track record of accusing their customers of lying. I had a situation a couple of years ago with a tablet that was misdescribed on air and I received a letter advising me of this. I phoned CS to discuss and was told QVC had never sent out such a letter, soon shut her up when I read it out to her along with name of signnee. Why do they have to take this attitude, does nothing for the company's image.