M&S angers shoppers as it cuts return times

Customers will have 35 days to get a refund

Marie Claire Fashion News: Marks & Spencer
Marie Claire Fashion News: Marks & Spencer

Customers will have 35 days to get a refund

Marks and Spencer has put a 35 day limit on its legendary no-quibble returns policy.

The retailer, which has always pampered its customers, is looking to cut costs. It recently upset shoppers by phasing out in-store ordering. It also tried to charge extra for larger-size bras, but quickly reversed the policy.

The change to the returns policy has provoked a lively on-line debate, according to The Times. One shopper said she would boycott M&S, since she doesn't live near a branch, and it is difficult to return items quickly.

And one customer, in Beaconsfield, who was told she couldn't return a dress because it was outside the time limit, told the Bucks Free Press that she was "so upset".

"I don't want someone else to go through what I had to go through," she said.

Other shoppers were unsympathetic, however. "35 days too short a time to be able to return a dress?" one writer on the MoneySavingExpert website wrote. "Flipping heck, how long do you want?"

M&S has already softened its new deadlines for Christmas. Any item bought between Thursday and December 11 can be returned until January 16, provided the customer has a gift receipt.

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