Wednesday, 5 May 2010

There is no such thing as "No Return, No Exchange" policy

You read it right. Under Philippine laws, there is no such thing as a "No Return, No Exchange" policy.

I'm off to SM Megamall in a while to return or exchange a newly purchased laptop cooling fan. I learned so much about this deceptive policy as I was looking for strong (legal) words to say in case Company X (which I will reveal if they'll give me hard time on this) insists the "No Return, No Exchange" line.


 

I have little knowledge of the so-called policy. I thought you can only return or exchange defective items within seven days together with the packaging and receipt as proof of purchase. Normally, if these things were not acknowledged by the seller, I would create a scene (hehe!) ensuring that customers are around listening. If it still doesn't work, my last option is to drop the magic word, "If we can't settle this today, I will report you to DTI!"



Now that I know there is a specific law to correct this misconception, my new line would be:

Pursuant to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, specifically Title III, Chapter 1, Rule 2, Section 7 of Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2, Series of 1993, the words “No Return, No Exchange”, or words to such effect shall not be written into the contract of sale, receipt of sales transaction, in any documents as evidence of sale, or anywhere in the store or business establishment.

Such statement is considered deceptive because consumers may return or exchange the goods or avail of other remedies, in case of hidden faults or defects, or any charge the buyer was not aware of the time of purchase. By provision of law, sellers are obligated to honor their implied warranties and grant corresponding remedies to consumers. 
>>> Department of Trade & Industry (DTI-NCR) Official Website
That I would have to memorize...haha!

For more information, DTI has an FAQ page solely for this. Click here...

Enjoy shopping, returning and exchanging but please do not be abusive... :-D

*Migrated blog post

3 comments:

  1. but sometimes consumer abuse this law.. sometimes they return or exchange the bread they bought to the bakery because of their own fault or sometimes their change of mind ..then always says its prohibited and will report to dti... i hope dti will include this on their FAQ.

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  2. Thanks for your comment Charrymorry. Yes, I agree. At times, there are consumers who abuse this law. At the end of the day, the merchant should excercise good judg(e)ment and customer service to appease the customer. Just the same, karma will prevail one way or another. =)

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  3. i dont agree with this law... other countries accept a return or exchange simply because you have a change of mind. This is very useful when buying hardware products for computers, more often than not we buy things that turn out to be incompatible with our existing pc or system. In this case, the consumer is left with a wasted purchase.

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