Should a lack of technology be a license to rip off customers?

How a Mean & Stingy retailer fails to invest in technology or customer service.

Those of you who know me are well aware of how positively I feel about the advantages, benefits and convenience of modern technology.

Imagine my disbelief when I discovered a well-known shopping store had an alternative, and very negative purpose for technology – or lack of it.

Scenario: Item of clothing bought and presented as a Christmas gift. Attached is a till receipt offering a full refund if item is returned by 16th January. Due to diagnosis and treatment of serious illness the item is not returned until 12th January. Store claims that as they are an outlet and not a main store they cannot exchange or offer a credit note, because they do not have the technology to read the receipt! Due to on-going illness and caring responsibilities there is no time to go waltzing around city centre stores to obtain refund.

The store manager decides as ‘a gesture of goodwill’, he will authorise a credit of £7 - for an item which was purchased for £22 !!

Another store which sells both food and clothes refuses a refund because they have a policy of only refunding items sold from their store.

Clearly, Customer Service this is not!

An email is sent to customer services who respond:

“Unfortunately, our Outlet and *** (name of store erased for privacy) Simply Food stores do not have the technology to issue refunds for items which are purchased from a main store”

Should the fact a business has failed to invest in technology grant it a license to short change customers?