Don't know if anyone else has had this experience recently but when I tried to buy some doors recently from my local B&Q in Leeds(On the ring road) they rejected some of the £20 notes I offered because the Queen's Head watermark was not dead centre in it's circle! The bank where I got the money from told me that the notes were absolutely genuine. While I was at B&Q I saw two other people having their notes rejected. If I needed any additional incentive not to shop at B&Q apart from the rip-off prices, this cavalier humiliation of their customers is the final straw.
P.S. does anyone know who the MD of B&Q is - I intend to let them know in no uncertain terms what I think of this practice.
Half the notes in my wallet don't have the Queen's head dead centre in it's circle! I think they should put a sign up informing customers that they face public ridecule if they cash is not in perfect condition.
While I seldom use cash for anything or write cheques any more, this is unacceptable.
I suspect that the manager or area manager has told the staff to be on the lookout because they've had some experience of some duds recently.
However, they get 0/10 for customer relations - there are much better ways to handle a situation like this.
I would contact their head office on 023 8025 6256 and ask to speak to the PA of the chief executive (whose name is Ian Cheshire). Let her know in no uncertain terms and ask to speak to the honcho himself. Don't accept being fobbed off to a customer service dweeb if you feel strongly.
It would also be worth asking them for some form of compensation for the embarassment. You may well find that a £20 voucher is forthcoming.
Alternatively, you could contact their parent company, Kingfisher. Gerry Murphy is the chief executive, there. However, I doubt if this would be fruitful somehow.
I think I'd have asked the bank to swap them for ones with the Queens head water mark was dead centre. Remember the person/bank in possession is the one out of pocket... don't trust banks.
Makes me wonder -- IANAL, but if you offered valid legal tender for the goods, I rather suspect they would find it very difficult to prosecute you if you just walked off with them.
| Don't know if anyone else has had this experience recently but when I = tried | to buy some doors recently from my local B&Q in Leeds(On the ring road)= they | rejected some of the =A320 notes I offered because the Queen's Head = watermark | was not dead centre in it's circle! The bank where I got the money from= told | me that the notes were absolutely genuine. While I was at B&Q I saw two | other people having their notes rejected. If I needed any additional | incentive not to shop at B&Q apart from the rip-off prices, this = cavalier | humiliation of their customers is the final straw. |=20 | P.S. does anyone know who the MD of B&Q is - I intend to let them know = in no | uncertain terms what I think of this practice.
There are lots of very good forged 20 pound notes in circulation, B&Q are just being careful. Best stop accepting 20 pound notes until things clear up.
--=20 Dave Fawthrop Sick of Premium SMS scams, SMS marketing, Direct marketing phone calls, Silent phone calls?=20 Register with
I suspect there has probably been a run of good quality dud notes in the store and the staff have been bollocked by middle management for accepting them.
Most likely the staff feel agrieved because the fakes notes are really good and maybe not easily detected by the equipment at hand.
So the staff will now be acting to the letter of their new instruction rejecting lots of legitimate notes for even minor faults thereby leading to lots of complaints and maybe even a turndown in takings. Thus leading to even higher management bollocking the middle management and so taking pressure off the staff and maybe leading them being provided with decent quality counterfit detection equipment.
I suspect that if you where running a buisness you would do the same thing as B&Q has done, as anyone else would do, NOT ACCEPTING IFFY LOOKING NOTES!!
AIUI the display of goods is an invitation to treat. The customer taking them to the register is the offer, and the cashier ringing them up is the acceptance.
I don't think so. You have not made them an offer by giving them the cash - the offer has already been made by B&Q to let you have the items for appropriate renumeration. You have accepted their offer by giving the cash. It's very simple:
B&Q: I will offer you this door for £10 You: I accept that offer. Here is ten pound. B&Q: Err, we don't like the colour of your money. You: Tough. It is valid and legal cash and you must take it now that we have accepted your offer. B&Q: I've changed my mind... You: You should have done that before I gave you the cash that we agreed.
Does it not start once it is rung through the till? If you come up with the payment, then I can't see how they can refuse to let you take the goods away. They may argue that the notes are forged, and if they are then you are in trouble (i.e. you have broken the contract). However once you have handed those notes over, and they are valid and legal, then that door is yours, surely, otherwise B&Q are just changing their mind after you have bought the thing. Just run for it, door under arm! ;-)
When they give you your change, hold every note up to the light and reject any that you do not like. Mention in a loud voice why you are doing it and suggest all others in the queue do the same! I tried it this morning and they had to call out the manager as all the tills had stopped!!! Really funny to see dozens of people holding their notes up to the light...try it!
compensation for embarrasment! never heard anything so funny. Next you will putting up a list of no win no fee finance agreement claims companies, Just get over it. It's one of those things, no need to get all worked up, just speak to B&Q.
Perhaps not. However, presumably you wouldn't be interested in receiving a small ackowledgment that they have screwed up as I have on several occasions.
I'm not getting worked up over anything, and in this area, never do.
However, I don't accept poor service any more than I accept poor goods.
In the OP's example, they handled the situation poorly and insensitively as far as he was concerned and I think that that is unacceptable. Given that, I think that it is perfectly reasonable that they should recompense him in some way as at least a goodwill gesture.
It is even more reasonable to expect recompense for inconvenience.
For example, I had occasion to return a faulty saw to B&Q. Twice. I'll allow once, but twice is not reasonable. They provided me with a £20 voucher on a simple request.
On another occasion I was after a shirt from M&S in a particular colour, size and type identified by stock code and description. I called the store to check availability and was told that they did and would hold one for me. When I got there (an hour's round trip), there wasn't one. I talked to the department manager and £10 in cash was forthcoming, more than compensating for the fuel to get there, albeit not for the time. I had to go to an alternate store and overall the exercise cost 3 hrs.
The point is not about the amount involved but the principle. Mine is simply to do what you say you are going to do. That can be planned for and everything taken into account. I see no reason why a store or a trader should expect to get away with poor goods and especially poor service, and I think that it is quite reasonable that they lose some profit margin when they fall short of doing what they say they will do. There's no emotion in that principle at all - it's part of a normal business transaction as far as I am concerned.
The display of goods on the shelf is an invitation to treat only.
The offer is made by the customer when he takes the goods to the till and offers payment.
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at the case between Boots and the PSGB (1953)
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can't insist on buying something either. The shop is completely within its rights to refuse. They are also within their rights to ask for legal tender as opposed to a credit card for example.
This is not to say that following this whole line is commercially a good idea, since in practice there would be no point in displaying the goods if they didn't want to sell them, but that is the legal situation, AIUI.
Of course, this doesn't provide any excuse to treat customers poorly.
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