Defective Goods and Disgusting Customer Support

In January, I went to a Refinery store and found some chino shorts that I liked and bought 2 in my size (Size 30), a light blue and dark blue. I noticed they did not have stock of my size in a light grey and decided I would go home and order it from their online store. I received my order containing my light grey chino shorts which was order in a size 30 as well. I wore the shorts 2-3 times before I put it away for winter. Now that it has gotten hotter, I started wearing my chino shorts again, except the light grey one I ordered online does not fit me the way the other 2 do. So, I decided to line them up to see why and saw that the grey shorts is not the same size yet it is labelled exactly the same as the other 2 (Size 30). Clearly, they mislabelled a size 28 shorts as a size 30 shorts and sold the incorrectly sized shorts to me. I emailed Refinery support, and they informed me that I can take the shorts back to the closest store and they would exchange the shorts for me, I even confirm with them that it is long past their exchange policy time limit, and they advise that it is fine to go ahead to the store and exchange the shorts.

I go into the Gateway branch to exchange the shorts for a correctly sized one and the manager tells me that he is unable to do the exchange as the shorts has been worn and is not in a “resalable condition”. I inform him that there is no way he can resell these shorts as they are defective, they are size 28 shorts that has been incorrectly sized as a size 30 shorts. He agrees that they have labelled a size 28 shorts as a size 30 but there is still nothing he can do and that I would have to discuss it with support and the online store. I ask him if he is able to contact support and discuss it and he tells me that they are closed on weekends and that I would need to email them myself.

I then email in about this and from this point on I get bounced around to different consultants all who don’t know their head from their ass, as they all give me different answers to my email, all of which is clear they have not read the previous emails and just copy pasted a generic reply. One tells me I need to go into store and exchange the shorts, I reply explaining I have done so and the outcome, I then get another email that it is past the exchange/return policy time limit and basically that I am at fault for having defective goods. The next one tells me they will collect the shorts, examine if the shorts have not been worn and the tags are still on the shorts then refund me deducting the costs. I email in again attaching all previous conversations with Refinery support and tell them they have 2 options, either deliver a pair of shorts to replace the defective shorts or to collect the defective shorts and repair them to the correct size displayed on the shorts. I get back yet another generic reply about them collecting the shorts examining if they have been worn/tags still attached and then refund minus the costs if they have not been used.

This is absolutely disgusting service. Firstly, to sell me defective goods. Secondly, to tell me I am at fault for the defective goods and thirdly, have a support team that has no clue what they are doing and just copy paste generic replies instead of actually dealing with a customer’s problem.

My advice is if you do purchase goods from Refinery to make sure you check all the goods you receive from against other similar sized items to make sure you’re not receiving defective goods. I made the mistake of not checking the defective shorts I received but will be taking this matter up with The Office of the Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman to see if Refinery is allowed to sell defective goods to customers and refuse to exchange/fix the defective goods.