Thai Merchants "no Returns" Policy

[rideswings]

One of my noted frustrations about buying things in LOS is the inability to return an item I bought from a vendor. Yesterday I bought an item from a very large store, and I asked my wife if it did not work for what I needed it for can I return it, and she said no, the store does not accept returns. I have noticed this in many instances, or is it just me? In the USA you have 30 days or sometimes 90 days to return something for a refund.

[Soutpeel]

One of my noted frustrations about buying things in LOS is the inability to return an item I bought from a vendor. Yesterday I bought an item from a very large store, and I asked my wife if it did not work for what I needed it for can I return it, and she said no, the store does not accept returns. I have noticed this in many instances, or is it just me? In the USA you have 30 days or sometimes 90 days to return something for a refund.

I suspect your Mrs may have it wrong, I have bought stuff in Thailand and have taken it back and either received a shop credit on something else or got the money back

You dont mention which "large store", but certainly Tesco, Big C and Carreforre will give you your money back, but will say..... you do have to push them a bit they are very reluctant to do it..

[WinnieTheKhwai]

That's why you should only buy from stores like Tesco, Carrefour, Big C etc. This advice applies to Thais just the same.

Let the small time stores AND their ridiculous policies go to hel_l.

[Sadako_Sasaki]

I'm not so sure...although places like Central have agreed to give money back (on a poorly made item which fell apart), this was through a credit note...with an expiry date! (Very short deadline).

Meanwhile there are a LOT of places that have "No return or refund" prominently marked on their receipt. Kinokuniya books is a prime example - they refused to take back a book where we had duplicate copies (Christmas presents). Shops that do accept to refund you make it clear that they are doing you a favour...

It's not such a big deal for small purchases but what happens for expensive equipment? Presumably if something is faulty you can get a refund but this doesn't appear to be a given (presumably why shops often give a demo of electrical equipment before you buy it). Anybody know the legal situation?

[polecat]

Wife is wrong, in Thailand you have a certain amount of time (2 weeks?) to return anything. Check it out yo!

[sriracha john]

One of my noted frustrations about buying things in LOS is the inability to return an item I bought from a vendor. Yesterday I bought an item from a very large store, and I asked my wife if it did not work for what I needed it for can I return it, and she said no, the store does not accept returns. I have noticed this in many instances, or is it just me? In the USA you have 30 days or sometimes 90 days to return something for a refund.

Welcome to Thailand...

You're not in Kansas, anymore....

[PattayaParent]

Wife is wrong, in Thailand you have a certain amount of time (2 weeks?) to return anything. Check it out yo!

I beleive it may be 7 days, at least that's what's written on PowerBuy receipts.

[Beardog]

Even Homepro-Tesco lotus Big C Carrefoure will take back a non working item. They will tell you no way & you may have to show them the bad farang side to get it resolved & even worse when your Thai girl has to get up in their face. At Tesco on the 7th day of purchasing a weedwacker. They told me no return item after 7 days. I explained that it was 6 days & 7 hours & had not tried it out. When I did the guts blew out of the nylon spool. After Alisa told the tramp we would stay in the store till they gave us a refund(which we discussed before the purchase with the supervisor) After an hour they got a new supervisor to deal with us & got a refund. Big C sold us a horrible Phillips TV. & we wanted a Samsung to replace it. They held us up for close to 3 hours telling us they could get us 1 in 3 weeks from BKK.

They tried to slam us into a Panasonic or a Lg. After being persistent & disruptive to announce the store was corrupt a new mgr gladly gave us the money back just to get rid of us.

Most clerks are trained to have the one way sphincter & get you to accept defeat.TIT. Do however make sure before you buy what the real warranty is. A lot of times a 5 year shovel is covered only if you send it back to the U.S.(True value) & a strimmer(weed whacker Black & Decker CLONE) the 2 year is really a 1 year & they hold you up for 3-6 weeks to send it 200 kilo's away & make you wait for 3-6 weeks to get you to cave in & buy another one.

To bad they don't use professional business sense & see that a happy customer not only comes back but brings business their way & an unhappy customer tells many people that they are schiesters!

Edited March 12, 2009 by Beardog

[flying]

Even Homepro-Tesco lotus Big C Carrefoure will take back a non working item. They will tell you no way & you may have to show them the bad farang side to get it resolved & even worse when your Thai girl has to get up in their face.

Funny the other day at Home Pro I tried to return a drain set for a kitchen sink.

You know the white hose & screw on tail piece deal.

Still unopened in its package with receipt.

Bought the day before. Turns out the old one was still fine so I didnt use the new one.

They say no can do at the return department. I didnt care as it was not much $$ but the Thai wife went ballistic............... WHAT.........WHY??........Im never shopping here again !!!!

Of course I have been back 3 times since

They said something about you cannot return something from that department? Pretty weird since it was unopened with receipt.

Last year at Suriwong I bought the high zoot 10,000 Baht Talking Dict.

Got home & the charge circuit did not work.

I took it back they say no refund & check it. Of course it worked then.

So I leave the country & of course not working any more.

Not the charger & not the battery since both work with wife's unit.

So this year Im back go back in see the same guy & say hey this is that unit blah blah blah.

Ok of course still no refund but now that it is over 1 year no warranty either

540 baht to fix

[rideswings]

Thanks for all the comments. Ok then I guess a "no refund policy" is not a national policy, so I will ask before I buy anything and then theres probably still no guarantee of a refund without a fight if I ever try to return it. I already know to ask the price of everything before I buy it including taxis, food, hotels, and even then that doesnt always mean thats what I will be charged in the end.

Edited March 12, 2009 by rideswings

[barky]

That's why you should only buy from stores like Tesco, Carrefour, Big C etc. This advice applies to Thais just the same.

Let the small time stores AND their ridiculous policies go to hel_l.

agree winnie. I've never had a problem with this in any of the large department stores or western owned operations here. However, in the small stores once they have your money they don't want to know you.(unless you got some more money for them)

[Travel2003]

I think the rule is, as soon as the goods have been used, it can not be returned.

[Texpat]

No shortage of petty, shameless merchants with zero appreciation for customers.

I'm embarassed for them, actually.

[Travel2003]

No shortage of petty, shameless merchants with zero appreciation for customers.

I'm embarassed for them, actually.

Unfortunately that will have a rather minor affect on them.

[Heng]

You can definitely get returns if you blow your top long enough, but the tradeoff IMO is that it's probably not worth it, unless your happy place is in the "loud and blood veins popping out" state. Anger tends to shorten your life / worsen your health.

Have done so a few times just for grins, but more often than not will just shrug it off it's just a couple hundred or thousand Baht or so... obviously probably would "whinge-boom" for higher priced items.

[Scott]

It's such a hassle to return things and I very, very seldom have any luck. It's easier to exchange items, however. For example, wrong size etc.

[Hssl]

One of the problems it comes from the top ie the distrobution company.

I have had heated conversations with a certain distrobution company of which i am a dealer for..............

International warrenty on the product is 12 months from date of purchase by the customer, a product with 3 months warrenty still left on it spat the dummy, then after calling the distrobution company in Bangkok i get told its only a 6 month warrenty, dispite the fact all over the owners handbook, web site, packaging, dealer information pack its 1 YEAR!

2 emails and a long telephone call back to Taiwan and i got it resolved with major face on the floor for the distrobution company.

Will I be renewing my dealership with these jokers...........NO!

[GungaDin]

OP.

always ask if the store has a customer service dept.

HomePro át Pet Kaseam do & I got a refund of 10,000bt for a mattress after a couple of calls & threats.

If no CS, ask to speak to the manager, it's no good talking to sheep.

I've tried to support the mom & pop shops but they will screw you, never a refund, so I stick to the majors now.

BTW, the credit note caper is pure BS, dont ever accept a credit note, stick to yr guns and refuse anything other than CASH !

[JetsetBkk]

Wife is wrong, in Thailand you have a certain amount of time (2 weeks?) to return anything. Check it out yo!

I beleive it may be 7 days, at least that's what's written on PowerBuy receipts.

Isn't that a "7 day exchange for new" policy - the same as Big C, Robinson, etc.

I always ask about the warranty for large purchases and get them to stamp the warranty card. I also ask where do I take it if it needs fixing. I won't buy it if I have to send it somewhere - I like to take it back to where I bought it.

[Beardog]

OP.

always ask if the store has a customer service dept.

HomePro át Pet Kaseam do & I got a refund of 10,000bt for a mattress after a couple of calls & threats.

If no CS, ask to speak to the manager, it's no good talking to sheep.

I've tried to support the mom & pop shops but they will screw you, never a refund, so I stick to the majors now.

BTW, the credit note caper is pure BS, dont ever accept a credit note, stick to yr guns and refuse anything other than CASH !

Glad to hear you scored at Homepro. As much as they love to keep your money , they dislike when other customers hear that they are possible thieves. Too bad it has to go as far as threats.

[Tod Daniels]

Two recent experiences come to mind.

My Samsung washing machine drain line started leaking (dumping 2 inches of water onto my kitchen floor). I took the drain line off went to Home Pro, where they promptly said, "No hab..", but pointed to the generic drain line saying, "gor-chai-dai" or I could use that one as well. Dubious after comparing the diameter of the lines, I purchased one anyway for a whopping 89 baht. Upon arriving home, of course it was too small to fit the line coming out of the washing machine.

I carefully repackaged it, stapling it back into it's bag with the cardboard header, then took the Sky Train back to Home Pro. I had it in the original bag, with the receipt and had purchased it LESS than an hour before. I went to customer service and asked for a refund. "We give you credit..", which I politely declined, "We give you coupon..", again I declined saying I want a cash refund.

Now at that point someone would have thought looking at the expressions of the girls behind the counter that I said the world was going to end in 30 seconds. The shock, outright amazement and horrified expressions at my requesting an EIGHTYNINE baht refund was comical. After a 5 minute wait for a manager to come to the counter obviously to approve such an incredibly high refund, he came up and said, "I give you coupon, or credit okay?" Having done this 'dance' earlier with two sets of customer service staff I said, no I want cash. He then asked, "You have passport?". Why would I bring my passport to get an 89 baht refund with the receipt. Thankfully I had my 5 year thai driver's license and showed him that. Anyway, after two forms, they finally gave me the 89 baht. Sadly it cost me more to make the 4 trips to Home Pro on the Sky Train than the refund was worth.

The second incident happened yesterday;

I bought some milk at Tops Market in the basement of Robinsons. I always check the expiration date, and take one from the back of the cooler where it is colder. I get home, opened it and took 3 big swigs of totally SOUR milk! Putting the cap back on, and after brushing my teeth as well, I return to Tops and tell them the milk in this bottle is sour and I want to exchange it for a new bottle.

They said, "You dlink some already." <deleted>, how would I know it is sour if I hadn't? By psychic ability alone? Thankfully they did exchange it, and even encouraged me to open the bottle and try it there to make sure it was not soured.

I worked for too many years in a Customer Service position, and learned how to be a horrid customer if I wanted to get my way in the US. I found out early on it doesn't work like that here, and I rarely show emotion or get flustered, but I stand on principle. If something is defective I'll go as high as I have to so I can get a refund or replacement.

[eyebee]

I bought a new shower set (and cubicle) from Home Pro in Pattaya last year. When everything was set up I found out that the shower head was leaking, and all the water came out the side rather than through the jets. Took it back to Home Pro thinking "this will be a battle". But no! The young lady who served me originally took one look at the shower head, confirmed that it was broken, and gave me a new one without any problems at all. No forms to fill in, no hoops to jump through, just a pleasant smile and "there you go sir". Very impressed!

[dave111223]

Although i dislike the "No Returns" policy if an items is defective/falls apart etc...

But i also hate the returns culture in the US/UK. Of thinking it's your god given right to return anything for any reason at any time. Retail stores serve at your pleasure, and "how dare they turn a profit off of me".

"I don't know which shirt to buy, so i'll just buy 10 and return 9 next week" type of attitude. When i used to work in retail in the US it was absolutely sickening to see the total abuse of the returns system by many people.

You don't even require a receipt at many stores in the US. I used to work at Staples, and you wouldn't believe the number of people who would buy sh*t at Walmart then bring the item to Staples without a receipt, return it (pocketing the different in price between the 2 stores)

Also, kind of related to my above rant, I can't stand the mislabeled pricing culture in the US. Where say an item worth $20 is mislabeled as $5. And customers demanding the item be sold to them for $5, and most of the time stores will allow them to buy for the labeled amount.

Edited March 13, 2009 by dave111223

[JimGant]

What about if you buy with plastic (credit or debit card)? I've never tried it over here, but I thought Visa and MC stood behind you on defective purchases with their cards. Yeah, they want you to first try and settle it with the merchant. But, if no joy, they'll withhold payment, using their 'extra' guarantee in your favor -- part of the contract for using their card.

I'm pretty sure my US bank-issued MC would support payment withholding if I had a conflict with a merchant over here. Now, with a Thai bank credit/debit card -- I don't know... But it would seem Visa and MC, being international, would have similar worldwide policies. And I would hope so -- as I would really enjoy seeing the expression on Khun Dickweed's face when, after a brief discourse, I say: 'Ok, I'll have Visa withhold payment.'

[coventry]

I had an air con fitted. After one week the thing wouldn't work due to a leak in the pipe from the bedroom unit to the cooler. They repaired the leaking pipe under the guarentee but insisted on my paying 500 Baht for re filling with gas. Their fault but I still have to pay. Only in Thailand ?

[Heng]

I bought a new shower set (and cubicle) from Home Pro in Pattaya last year. When everything was set up I found out that the shower head was leaking, and all the water came out the side rather than through the jets. Took it back to Home Pro thinking "this will be a battle". But no! The young lady who served me originally took one look at the shower head, confirmed that it was broken, and gave me a new one without any problems at all. No forms to fill in, no hoops to jump through, just a pleasant smile and "there you go sir". Very impressed!

That's one great thing about Pattaya... whether it's Home Pro or Sabai-Room, you know XXX+ guys have been there before you complaining about this or that, hence 'honing' the customer service experience.

[longtom]

Although i dislike the "No Returns" policy if an items is defective/falls apart etc...

But i also hate the returns culture in the US/UK. Of thinking it's your god given right to return anything for any reason at any time. Retail stores serve at your pleasure, and "how dare they turn a profit off of me".

"I don't know which shirt to buy, so i'll just buy 10 and return 9 next week" type of attitude. When i used to work in retail in the US it was absolutely sickening to see the total abuse of the returns system by many people.

You don't even require a receipt at many stores in the US. I used to work at Staples, and you wouldn't believe the number of people who would buy sh*t at Walmart then bring the item to Staples without a receipt, return it (pocketing the different in price between the 2 stores)

Also, kind of related to my above rant, I can't stand the mislabeled pricing culture in the US. Where say an item worth $20 is mislabeled as $5. And customers demanding the item be sold to them for $5, and most of the time stores will allow them to buy for the labeled amount.

That's exactly what I was thinking. For me as a non-American it is really amazing what people there think is their god-given right. Turn on the brain before buying might help in many cases. When the product is OK there is no reason why the shop should take it back, 'because I got 2 same items for Christmas' is really not the shops mistake!

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

I am regularly confronted with this nonsense. Without trying to "abuse" a (non-existing) return system, it is EXTREMELY annoying that returns are almost always flat refused.

Item dead-on-arrival? No refund, no exchange, even when returning on the very same day.... they send it off for checking, wait a couple of weeks or six and get it exchanged (computer hard drive, main board, thumb drive). Want to work in the meantime? Go buy another one!

Item does not serve it's function? Sorry, no refund or exchange for different one, only exchange if not working and then also only for the exact same model (again computer mainboard which didn't fit in the computer case because it was larger than standard).

Item broke on first use? Sorry, no refund or exchange as "item has been used" (various tools, bicycle (!!))

By now i am buying all new computer components at the same stall inside Panthip because they are friendly and DO refund money if an item is obviously un-used or d.o.a. (i.e. i return the same day) or simply doesn't fit the purpose, i usually exchange it for a different one which does and either pay the difference or get the difference back (depending the new one is cheaper or more expensive).

Oh, and NEVER had a problem with second-hand stuff - i got the odd non-functioning bit and it was refunded or exchanged no-questions-asked.

Best regards.....

Thanh