How many times have you gone out to do a run for necessities and come back with a trolley full of things that you really don’t need? Yeah, me too. I wouldn’t call myself a slave to consumerism, but yes, I do enjoy a bit of shopping. I suppose whether you enjoy it or not it’s something that needs to be done.
Nowadays though, a good shopping day involves me getting cosy on the sofa with a cup of tea and my laptop or tablet fully charged.
Shopping online can be much more time and cost effective than going to the shops. But it can also be a complete and utter headache. Not the shopping part, they make that part easy. The tedious part is when you realise that the dress that you fell for on the website doesn’t fit like you thought it would. Or that those headphones you were longing for arrived with a defect.
Online returns can make you feel a bit isolated and wondering how to right the wrong.
I suppose that we mistakenly expect things to be straightforward, but I once had to return a coat I bought online that was sized wrong and it was a complete nightmare. I thought logging back onto the website where I bought the said coat and searching for their contact number would be simple. Unfortunately, it was a nightmare!
Firstly, the number that I called (which was the only one available) wouldn’t connect me to online returns. And the agents that I spoke to because I was transferred multiple times, didn’t offer any assistance. All I got was the runaround and it took an escalation of the issue to be able to get things sorted.
It hasn’t all been doom and gloom though. There have been good instances and experiences. Like a recent medical product I returned unused for which I received an instant refund, no questions asked. But the main thing is finding the right people to speak to about the problem. All I really want is to be able to talk to someone who is fully committed to helping resolve the issue.
The Solution
I’ve often wondered why there isn’t just one place online where you can easily just find the number of the retailer you are looking for. Without the hassle of having to trawl through the retailer’s site (no, I don’t want to have an online chat with a member of your team…I just want your telephone number!)
I’ve teamed up with Contact Numbers UK. I think it’s really important that there is that somewhere you can get easy access to a spectrum of popular retailers’ contact numbers, such as Amazon and Very.
The reality is that with the very welcome increase in consumer rights we’ve seen in recent years, returning merchandise through online returns should be a simpler process than ever before. And that starts with knowing how to find out what number you need to punch into your phone.
collaborative post
