New Returns Policy FYI (2018)

Inside Lovehoney
21

Lil_MissNaughty wrote:

me me me me wrote:

What will happen with those who have ordered end of last year who ordered under the old policy also so if you have gone for a subscription since you don't know what your getting are you still ok to return free and have a refund like advertised and what happens if you receive a free gift with your order and you've used it but then have to return the bought item if it's faulty or not what you expected eg size bigger smaller but not used yet you've used the free gift as im aware when buying any offer if you received a free gift when spending such amount if you had to return any of the items ordered you'd have to return the free gift also

I agree that this needs clarifying - is the new policy only for orders placed from today onwards?

With regards to the subscription deals: I guess if you don't use the item and tell them within 30 days that you don't want it then they'll give you a refund?

Hopefully Leanne or someone will come back to clarify the issues we're all raising. But if you're in any doubt then contact Customer Care as they're really helpful.

Thanks Lil_MissNaughty

i hope so don't want to cancel but if it's changed then will have to don't want to get suck with stuff that's no good but hopefully it's sounds like it's fine to return if needed unused so should be fine if it happens i went for the years sub which could be womens mens or both so don't want to be stuck with things that are useless for our needs i'm in no need to return anything was just wondering where people stand to be honest it's a shame really not the worse change but the main reason we stayed with lovehoney was for there policy even knowing somethings we could get cheaper elsewhere also the the 30 day thing yeah it's the norm in most places we will get used to the changes made but would like to know like i can guess a lot will want to know also won't be going anywhere we love how lovehoney works and there customers service is brilliant

22

Lovehoney - Nick wrote:

The new policy is effective for orders placed from today.

The old policy stands for orders placed for up to a year from yesterday.

Hope that helps.

Please contact customer care if you have any further queries as they are best placed to answer them.

Thanks!

Lovehoney - Nick

That's great to hear thanks for confirming clears up a lot of questions

23

Sad times

The writing's been on the wall for a long time though...!

24

I can't say its not a little sad but it's expected. I read a post on the forums back when I was a newbie where someone was "saving up" their purchases to return before the year was up. Seemed a bit like it was treated like a library.

Still a great policy in place, I don't think any other company would offer a great deal. I'm sure it will take a while for all to get used to.

25

We have all enjoyed an exceptionally generouse returns policy until now. The new policy makes more financial/business sence and we (customers) are not going to miss out.

Personally I have only ever returned a couple of toys, but a fair few pieces of lingerie. I find it very difficult to know if an item will fit, and nothing says it will fit 36g bust, so it's a bit of guess work, trial and error for me with clothing. So I'm pleased to hear you can try an item on (with your own underwear on first) and if it doesn't fit you can still return it. Had this not been the case it may well have been the end of my clothing purchases.

Thanks for letting us know, I appreciate it.

26

I understand the new policy from a business point of view and agree that we have had an exceptional policy before now (one of the main reasons why Lovehoney is my first choice), but I can't say that I am overjoyed by the new policy; something that we will get used to of course but it is quite a change. I am aware that this comes across as negative but I believe that Lovehoney appreciate honest feedback be it good or bad.

I strongly believe that the new policy will have an effect on my future purchases as I took great comfort knowing that the lingerie that I was buying was in no way "second hand" due to Lovehoney not even taking the risk on certain returned lingerie but now I don't have that comfort; there is no way to be certain that people have stuck to the policy (unless it is soiled) and I ask myself if I would buy an intimate item in a shop if it had possibly been tried on and the answer is no. I know that the risk of this is small but to me, it is very much there and one that will be in my mind when making future purchases.

I do think that the new policy is still very good, the best compared to other companies and I fully understand why the policy has been changed to the point that I expected it to change but I wasn't expecting to possibly be purchasing tried on intimate clothing; probably not an issue for most but I don't think that I am the only one with such thoughts.

I have hesitated about posting this so I hope that my post here does not have a negative effect towards me (being the most negative post on this thread) as I am just sharing my honest thoughts and opinions as a customer.

27

I'll join you MKK in being a bit negative. I realise the previous policy was very good for consumers, and expected it to be adjusted at some point.

One aspect which hasn't been mentioned which applies to me is purchases where I am not 100% sure about the product. I'll buy it knowing that i could return it if needed. From a business pov this is a risk for the retailer, but often (pretty much always) results in me buying an item which I'm not sure about, and then actually keeping it. The new policy moves the risk to the consumer (maybe correctly) but in my case, i am less likely to buy those borderline products.

Interested to hear others buying habits?

28

Fun Louise wrote:

We have all enjoyed an exceptionally generouse returns policy until now. The new policy makes more financial/business sence and we (customers) are not going to miss out.

Personally I have only ever returned a couple of toys, but a fair few pieces of lingerie. I find it very difficult to know if an item will fit, and nothing says it will fit 36g bust, so it's a bit of guess work, trial and error for me with clothing. So I'm pleased to hear you can try an item on (with your own underwear on first) and if it doesn't fit you can still return it. Had this not been the case it may well have been the end of my clothing purchases.

Thanks for letting us know, I appreciate it.

Just being devils advocate here .

How does one know if the lingerie return has not been contaminated by the previous triers genetelia? Not everyone would go to the trouble . I certainly wouldnt want my Mrs wearing something that has already been worn by another party .

We all know we need to wash out hands after using the loo. In practise this doesnt alweays happen.

I think this is a grey area which needs some sort of clarrification .

29

I agree with runner123.

I have ordered products I was not sure about in the past because I had the option to return them and I've kept all of them (although I've returned some products a long time ago).

I'm pretty sure that I will err on the side of missing out (i.e. not buying those products) because of this change.

30

This is a change we will just accept like we did when the 'goalposts' were moved to qualify for free delivery. I can't say I'm thrilled by the news but it certainly won't stop me buying from Lovehoney. This is a business after all and these changes make 100% sense.

31

I too agree with with runner123. Whilst I understand and appreciate we had a very unique policy and still do to some extent, I have bought toys that were hundreds of pounds and only returned one I just couldn't get to work for me in any way, and in fact I actually exchanged it and spent more. I would be much more hesitant to take a chance on something new even though it takes a complete failure for me to return it.

I'm sure we will adapt but I do think sales will drop.

32

I am just wondering if the change in policy is to control the returns spoilage mountain? This must have cost the company lots in the past. Cost like this from a business point of view need to be minimised.

33

Fully understand the change. A little sad, but I realise it was unlikely to last forever.

However, I do think 30 days is rather short, given there is postage involved, and for some of the toys, you need to be in the right mood to use them. I would have thought 90 days was a more appropriate figure.

34

Lil_MissNaughty wrote:

mysteron wrote:

There is just one word for me that needs clarrifying that is "unused" .which is stated in the 30 Day return policy. In the example stated would this have to have been used to determine that its too big? Also this goes for clothing items like lingerie. Whereupon when it was tried on it was found to be too small/big whatever the case may be. In his instance this would have to have been used to determine that the item of clothing doesnt fit.

I wondered about lingerie/clothing too, so I've just asked Livechat. They said that items can be tried on and if necessary returned within the 30 day period as long as "they are in re-saleable condition i.e. tags and labels intact, no damage, no soiling, not washed" (and you need to keep your own knickers/undies on so new item doesn't touch genitalia). Hope that helps :-)

I'm not surprised the returns policy has changed although the new one obviously isn't as generous as the old one!

This in particular worries me. On the one hand, I really want people to be able to try on lingerie and then return it if it doesn't fit. On the other, I really don't want to buy some lingerie that has touched someone's genitals. There is no way of enforcing that people wear underwear when they try it on. Perhaps gussets need to be covered with sticky plastic like when you try on swim wear? And you can only return if the plastic is in tact?

A similar worry crosses my mind about toys. There are several I can think of that would be easy to replace perfectly in the packaging as if they had never been used. Perhaps sticky lables need placing over the parts of the box you would open to make sure it hasn't been touched if they are going for re sale?

I'm sad that the policy has changed, it made me so confident in both my own purchases and in recommending LH to my blog readers. However, I understand the new policies are much better for profit margins, and that's what businesses are all about after all. I think it's great that there is a decent return policy at all.

35

So, I hear that this should be resolved now. 

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36

Sum Sub wrote:

Sad times

The writing's been on the wall for a long time though...!

+1 Couldn't agree more.Think a lot of people are now going to be more cautious about what they purchase rather than just taking a chance.

37

To all the people who worry about trying on lingerie that might have been tried on before:

You are aware that LH has taken back tried-on and even used lingerie for years (when I checked the policy, back when I first started buying, it already said "for trying, keep your own knickers on")? If anything, your risk is now reduced because the customer can't keep the item for 364 days, but only for 29...

Secondly, are you trying on clothes in stores? I generally only buy knickers when they are really cheap, and if in doubt I'll take an M and an L, but swimsuits, for example, I have to try on. Cycling shorts as well. Over my knickers, so I've never seen a problem.

Actually, you are not even sure that the person who tried on that pair of jeans before you wasn't going commando (I would hope not, and the thought had never crossed my mind before, but while we are on the subject it occurs to me that there's no guarantee...)

Thirdly, you, as well, are going to try on the lingerie over your knickers! And then, if it fits, wash the item before wearing it. Because the residues from the production process - excess dye, eventual insecticide treatment, heaven knows what else - are risky enough, even without possible human "contamination" (I suppose they are more dangerous, actually).

So I really don't see why you suddenly all have a problem with this aspect of Lovehoney's policy...

However, I think Lovehoney needs to spell out what can be returned under which circumstances a bit better on the Help page - I think the current wording is too general.

(As for the sex toys: I've only ever returned some cheap sh*t, and I've learned to not buy that stuff. So the new policy won't change all that much for me - though of course I'll never try that nJoy Pure Wand now...)

38

Talia wrote:

To all the people who worry about trying on lingerie that might have been tried on before:

You are aware that LH has taken back tried-on and even used lingerie for years (when I checked the policy, back when I first started buying, it already said "for trying, keep your own knickers on")? If anything, your risk is now reduced because the customer can't keep the item for 364 days, but only for 29...

Secondly, are you trying on clothes in stores? I generally only buy knickers when they are really cheap, and if in doubt I'll take an M and an L, but swimsuits, for example, I have to try on. Cycling shorts as well. Over my knickers, so I've never seen a problem.

Actually, you are not even sure that the person who tried on that pair of jeans before you wasn't going commando (I would hope not, and the thought had never crossed my mind before, but while we are on the subject it occurs to me that there's no guarantee...)

Thirdly, you, as well, are going to try on the lingerie over your knickers! And then, if it fits, wash the item before wearing it. Because the residues from the production process - excess dye, eventual insecticide treatment, heaven knows what else - are risky enough, even without possible human "contamination" (I suppose they are more dangerous, actually).

So I really don't see why you suddenly all have a problem with this aspect of Lovehoney's policy...

However, I think Lovehoney needs to spell out what can be returned under which circumstances a bit better on the Help page - I think the current wording is too general.

(As for the sex toys: I've only ever returned some cheap sh*t, and I've learned to not buy that stuff. So the new policy won't change all that much for me - though of course I'll never try that nJoy Pure Wand now...)

+1

Apologies to everyone who felt upset by my post which clarified that lingerie can be returned if tried on - I thought this had always been the case anyway as I've returned items which were too small once tried on. I simply wanted to find out how the 30 day return policy affected tried-on items as they could be described as 'used'.

I also agree that the wording of the new policy is a bit too general and needs to be expanded (although if in doubt you can contact customer care).

I'm sure there's a good reason for the policy change. The hardest thing will be that a decision whether to keep something has to now be made within 30 days rather than having up to 12 months, and for toys that isn't always easy.

39

Well folks I am not shocked by this change and it is sitll beyond fair as a loyal customer I am not going anywhere... but this is what happens when people abuse the goodwill of a company in my opinion. I am very conservative about returning things anyway. But I am not clear here on how anyone will be the "panties police" on how people choose to try on lingerie they may return.

For future lingerie orders I would like clarification on if I can return something that does not fit if all tags in tact, etc? This is not always possible as some sets attach the gstring to the shoulder straps so you have to remove it to try the other main garmet on. (I am NOT trying on this silly pirate eye patch gstrings anyway). Other times lingerie items are secured inside a cardboard sleeve that is sealed shut... how does that work?

Any additional insight as I will be much more careful on sizing because I dont want to get stuck with something I can return due to packaging.

40

Well folks I am not shocked by this change and it is sitll beyond fair as a loyal customer I am not going anywhere... but this is what happens when people abuse the goodwill of a company in my opinion. I am very conservative about returning things anyway. But I am not clear here on how anyone will be the "panties police" on how people choose to try on lingerie they may return.

For future lingerie orders I would like clarification on if I can return something that does not fit if all tags in tact, etc? This is not always possible as some sets attach the gstring to the shoulder straps so you have to remove it to try the other main garmet on. (I am NOT trying on this silly pirate eye patch gstrings anyway). Other times lingerie items are secured inside a cardboard sleeve that is sealed shut... how does that work?

Any additional insight as I will be much more careful on sizing because I dont want to get stuck with something I can return due to packaging.

You've raised a couple of good points there. Maybe Customer Care needs to expand on their definiation of "in re-saleable condition" and explain what they wouldn't accept especialy in regards to packaging (what if you accidently split the clear bag?)

It seems like lingerie is raising alot of issues at the moment!