My family recently lost a child to still birth. My mother subsequently had to retun purchased items only to be subjected to the vile attitudes of the staff at the Peterborough UK store. Please read her complaint below... And be warned about purchasing from this store!
Dear Sir/Madam
I visited your Peterborough store on 10th October with my partner to ask if it would be okay to return a cot and mattress that was purchased from the store on 16th June.
I spoke with one of the managers there and explained that the reason I was returning the item was due to the fact that my granddaughter passed away on the same day that she was born. Whilst this is a very painful and stressful time for my family, we have no other option than to return all of the items we’d previously purchased in preparation for her birth.
The manager told me that this would not be a problem as long as I still had the receipt, which I did. I told her that I didn’t have the cot with me but would be able to return it at the weekend. She told me that this would not be a problem and I was to bring it to the front desk for my refund.
On 13th October, I returned to the store with my son (who is the father of my granddaughter). I had the items, both of which were still in the original packaging and once again explained to the member of staff our situation. She then went off to get a store manager taking with her my receipt.
The store manager eventually came over to see me only to let me know that it wouldn’t be possible to return the items because they’d been purchased in June!
Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked with his blaze and what I consider to be slightly rude response, especially under the circumstances!
I found myself explaining my situation once again, also informing him of my earlier visit to the store that same week, when I was told ‘it would not be a problem’ to bring the items back. During this conversation, it all got a little too much for me and I openly broke down and ended up in floods of tears.
At this point, another 3 members of staff appeared from nowhere to see what was going on, so I found myself explaining my situation for the 4th time!
Just when I thought matters could not get any worse, one of the women who’d come over to see what was going on started to question me about the cot packaging! I was absolutely horrified especially when she told me that the packaging was a mess and then implied that this was somehow down to me! So now not only faced with the disgusting lack of empathy from these people, my integrity is also being questioned!
Although I was still very upset and crying, frankly almost to the point of being hysterical, I told this woman that the cot and mattress were both still in the original packaging and that nothing had been opened since the day I’d purchased it! The items were exactly how they were when I first bought them. They were taken from the shop, stored in a room at home, and then unfortunately brought back due to the circumstances.
I was so disgusted when she then said to me that I should have queried the state of the packaging at the time of purchase!!! My God could this woman be any more inconsiderate, condescending, rude and extremely heartless?!!! I felt very intimated by these 4 staff members who were quite openly discussing the ‘state of the packaging’ in front of myself and my son, whilst they were opening the box containing the cot to see if I was telling the truth!
I just completely broke down at this point and could barely even speak as once again I was told in no uncertain terms that a refund was just not possible and that I should take the cot and mattress home with me!!!
Is this your idea of good customer service?!!
I told your staff that I couldn’t bring myself to take it home to just be constantly reminded that I had no baby to put in it. One of them then suggested that they could ring ‘head office’ to ask if a refund could be given, but it was Saturday, and head office wasn’t open till Monday.
I was told I would have to wait till then for a response, but that someone would contact me first thing on Monday morning. They also told me that I could leave the cot in the store, took my details, and gave me a receipt to confirm they had the cot and mattress in the store.
Prior to leaving, I was reminded that someone would definitely call me back first thing on Monday morning to get this sorted out.
I left your store in tears and had to drive home in that state.
I was so shaken by what I can only describe as a horrendous ordeal which has left me very shaken and extremely angry at how your staff members treated me.
My family have been devastated by the loss of my granddaughter and whilst we are all trying to come to terms with it and get back to some sort of normality, it’s still very raw and extremely distressing.
It’s been very hard and heartbreaking for us to go back to all of the stores returning everything that we’ve purchased over the last few months. I can honestly say that in every single one of the stores that we’ve been to, the staff have been extremely understanding, courteous, caring and sympathetic. None of them have questioned my integrity nor made a fuss in way whatsoever when we’ve asked them for a refund and in fact we have not been turned down by anyone!
The whole disgusting scenario at your Peterborough branch has left me with a very bitter taste in my mouth.
I’m still reeling from the callousness of the staff in that store, but I’m also very, very angry.
Toys r Us are a child orientated store so I presume that there must be some kind of procedure in place that should be followed when a tragic incident like this happens….?
I’d intended to put the refunded money towards buying a headstone for my baby’s grave but it seems that I have to fight for something that I believe should have been given back to me without question! I would hate to think that should another family find themselves in this awful predicament, that they would be treated in the same way that I was!
It’s now Tuesday afternoon and I’m still waiting for ‘head office’ to contact me. I can only say that I’m not in the slightest surprised by this if my ordeal in your store is anything to go by…..!
I feel so strongly about this matter that I’m not in the slightest prepared to let this matter drop in any way! I will not be spoken to in this manner, have my integrity questioned, and be belittled in a shop doorway and then just be expected to accept it!!!
If I have heard nothing from ‘head office’ within one week then my next step will be to take this to Watchdog. I’m hoping that this situation does not escalate, especially whilst I’m still grieving for my granddaughter and having to be strong for my son, his partner and other members of my family. I’m prepared to fight if I have to because this has gone way beyond being just about the money!
I’ve spent a lot of money in your store over the years but can promise you that I will never purchase another thing from your company!!!
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