Hello,

Please can you provide me with an update on the status of this return? I checked on the website and it said that refunds are processed in 10-12 working days, it has now been 12 working days, and I have had no further updates other than the email below.

Many thanks,

Gareth

Hi,

I have read through the time scales and terms and conditions, and it says 'Once approved we will process your return and issue a full refund within 10-12 working days.'. There is no indication of how long approval takes, but these items were posted 30 working days ago, I believe they were received by you 27 working days ago, and you acknowledged receipt of the returned items 19 working days ago, and I am still yet to receive my refund.

Can you please advise how much longer this is expected to take?

Given that you already take the unusual step of charging customers to return items, to then take 6 weeks to process them is borderline unacceptable. As much as I like the suit that I kept, it is very unlikely you will be seeing any return business from me after this experience.

Kind Regards,

Gareth Davison

Hi Samantha,

No this doesn't help, now you have my money and my suits!

Your terms and conditions state:

Refunds (if applicable) Any item purchased may be returned without question for a full refund within 14 days of receiving the item, reasons include The incorrect size has been ordered The quality of the item is not to the customers satisfaction The item delivered does not match the online description Please note that the customer is responsible for all postage costs.

I received the items on 14th October, and I returned them on 26th October (I have the receipt from the recorded delivery to prove this if required). This is within the 14 days stipulated. I appreciate that the window between me receiving the items, and you receiving them back may be over 14 days, but your terms and conditions do not specify that you have to receive them within 14 days, it just says I may return them within 14 days, which I did.

As I have met the requirements specified by your terms and conditions, please can you revisit your decision to keep both the two suits and the £478.99 I paid for them?

Regards,

Gareth

Hi Samantha,

I returned a few different items on the 26th October, and the receipts from the post office do not specify which is which, but please find attached scans of 4 receipts for returned items on the 26th. As I say, I am not 100% sure which one is for the suits, but the suits were returned on the 26th, so it must be one of them.

If it would help further, I can show a bank statement that also includes the payment I made to the post office in order to return these items. Or I can return to the post office, and try and narrow down which of the 4 receipts is for the suits.

Kind Regards,

Gareth

Hi Samantha,

Do you have an update on this?

Thanks,

Gareth

Thank you for getting back to me.

While I have tried to be patient, that patience is rapidly running out. When it wears out completely, I will bypass your complaints procedure and just use charge back.

I anticipate my patience will have run out by Monday, so if you could get back to me before then with confirmation of your final stance on the matter it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,

Gareth

Why has nobody come back to me yet?

I think you and I have very different definitions of 'soon'. They have been looking into this since the 4th December, so to not have responded by now is definitely not soon.

For my records, and yours, here is my timeline of events:

• 09/10/2020 - Order placed for 3 suits.
• 14/10/2020 - 3 suits delivered to me.
• 26/10/2020 - 2 suits returned to you.
• 02/11/2020 - I received an email from Abitto confirming that the suits had been received, and the return process would begin. This allegedly takes 10-12 working days.
• 18/11/2020 - Having not heard anything for 12 working days, I queried the status of the return.
• 19/11/2020 - Response from Abitto stating that you were just in the middle of processing it, so it won't be long. Again directing me to the website for time frames.
• 26/11/2020 - Having once again received no updates, I queried the status of the returns again.
• 27/11/2020 - Abitto responded stating that no refund is due, as items were returned outside of the 14 day period. Although made no offer to return the suits to me.
• 27/11/2020 - I stated this was not OK, that you can have my suits or my money, but not both, and advised that the items were in fact returned within the 14 day period, and I had proof.
• 02/12/2020 - Abitto requested proof that the items had been returned.
• 03/12/2020 - I sent said proof
• 04/12/2020 - Abitto confirmed that the receipts had been received, and that 'The team is looking to your request and will get back to you shortly'.
• 09/12/2020 - Having again had no updates, I requested one.
• 09/12/2020 - Abitto responded stating the issue was being escalated so someone 'can take a closer look at what's going on right away'
• 10/12/2020 - I said that I am losing patience and expected some kind of response by Monday (14th Dec)
• 10/12/2020 - Abitto respond stating that the related department are already working on it, and will get back to me shortly.
• 14/12/2020 - Still no response received, so I again chased up.
• 14/12/2020 - Response received stating the team is still checking this and will get back to me soon.

Is there any part of this sequence of events that you disagree with? If so, please let me know, and I will amend it, but I want to make sure that we are in agreement that for the last 6 weeks, you have been holding on to both my money and my suits, to the value of £478.99.

This refund is now 4 weeks over due, so on top of the £478.99, I would like £40 extra (the statutory late payment charge), and also interest at 8% above the bank of England base rate (0.1%). As of today, this stands at £3.18. So the total amount now due to me is £522.17.

If you are unwilling to make payment to me for £522.17, please let me know what your final position is on the matter.

I am not interested in being told someone is looking into it, I don't believe you any more. I want your final position on this matter, so that I can advise my credit card provider that I have attempted, on many occasions to sort this out directly with you, and that doing a chargeback is the only way that I will get the money back.

I look forward to a meaningful response.

Kind Regards,

Gareth

Why has this been escalated to director level? That feels like a massive waste of your director's time. This is one of the most simple complaints ever, I returned items within the 14 day window you specified, all you need to do give me my money back. If it takes a director to deal with this, then your entire admin team is probably pointless.

I don't however want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so if you could give me the director's name and phone number, I will give them a call and hopefully put this to bed once and for all.

Thanks,

Gareth

This has now been with the director for over a week. It appears once again, you have failed to do anything.

Your customer service is an absolute joke.