Have you ever bought something impulsively and later when you return it to the shop the manager tells you they can only refund you with a voucher and not cash.

This happened to a Joburg woman who bought a R1,100 golf-shirt from Tommy Hilfiger store in Sandton City for her boyfriend recently. Her man declined the gift because he did not like it and he also found that it had minor stitching flaws around the buttons.

The Sandton shop is a franchisee of the American luxury fashion brand.

When the client, Nonceba Solomon, returned the T-shirt 10 days after she had bought it, the salesperson informed her that the store only refunded in vouchers and not cash. This meant she would have to spend the voucher at the same shop.

However, this is in contrast to the franchisor’s return policy, which states that items can be returned for a cash refund or voucher within 30 days. The policy further states: “Most returns are processed within 7-14 business days after we receive your package. We’ll issue the refund to your payment account in advance. Once your refund has been issued, you will receive a confirmation email.”

The same policy is reflected in the SA version of the website which, however, the shop claims is fake.

“I could not understand their ‘voucher only’ policy on returns because nobody told me about it before I made the purchase and there are no visible signs saying the same at the shop. Now I’m stuck with a voucher from a shop I don’t want to buy from again,” said Solomon.