[monster]

UK and US consumers laws and normal practices are so far removed from one another it's bizarre. Consumers here (US) have very little legal protection comparitively, and what they do have is hard to pursue, but most stores offer an extremely lenient return policy and it is expected by customers. In the UK there are many legal protections, but stores rarely go beyond those requirements.

For example, in the UK, if a clothing store has a fitting room available, the store is not obliged to offer any form of refund or exchange for an item returned because it doesn't fit, even if the tags are still on and the customer has a receipt. Most will offer an exchange, some won't. if you push them they might refund. But they don't have to and you willprobably have to work for it. Here in the US, you'd get a refund without question for up to 90 days after purchase without even being asked for a reason beyond stating whether the item is faulty or not. but there's no law enforcing that. legally, you bought it, it's yours, pretty much. The requirement of having a receipt has only really been introduced in the 7 years we've been here. And it's still not entirely necessary, even for stuff you've just "changed your mind about".

At first I thought stores here were crazy, but...

in the UK, I maybe returned one thing a year, if that. here, I'll return several at the same time. Why? because I can. I probably spend more as a result. Beest needs a new shirt -I'll buy several and return all the ones he doesn't like. No hassle and the store gets the sale. If I didn't know I could return the rejects, I'd probably look, go home, tell him about them and maybe not come back. no sale.