Matalan chief executive officer

[hazeleyes68]

I hope I have posted this on the correct forum

 

I have recently encountered a very distressing experience with a store manager at my local Matalan

 

upon complaining to customer services the customer services also have pulled rank and has taken the side of the store manager, making me out to be a blatant liar .

 

I insisted the cctv be watched back on of my visit and conversation with the store manager which showed that i was the one telling the truth .

 

They would not allow that I discuss this incident further with a area manager , and getting details of higher managerial to take my complaint to is impossible to come by

 

. Does anyone know what my rights are when requesting information of the Chief Executive of Matalan please ?

like an email address etc ,

thank you

[fkofilee]

misra_a@matalan.co.uk

 

There you go.

[hazeleyes68]

Thank you very ,much for your reply , I think I read hes no longer CEO ?

[dx100uk]

Can you outline the dispute at all?

[hazeleyes68]

I purchased a fascinator for a wedding which I didnt wear ,

I couldnt find my receipt so took it back with original tags on ,

 

I spoke with the manager who firstly said I could not have a refund or exchange without a receipt ,

 

I asked if she could look my receipt up on the system as matalan purchases are done with a matalan card and they have the info of all purchases , she said she could not do that .

I knew she could as a while back a bag broke and that's how they traced my purchase .

 

The manager then went on to say they wouldn't refund or exchange anyway due to hygiene policy. as its an item worn on the head

 

, I explained I hadn't worn it , she didnt even take it off me to inspect , or come close enough to me to look at it

 

, she also stated it was not a Matalan product but one of CKJ accessories ,

 

I told her I could not understand this as I purchased it from Matalan ,not ckj , and asked who I would contact further about it ,was it Matalan head office or the accessory company ,

 

she replied , it wouldnt matter anyway as they wont do anything

. I told her I would be contacting head office about her rude ,unhelpful and took her name off her badge , she replied you do that madam .

I left the store shaken and upset .

 

I contacted head office customer services via email and told them of my whole experience

 

I received a telephone call from a ;lady in customer services whom I guess I was expecting to be helpful ,

 

however I was met by a hostile woman who pulled rank with the store manager claiming the store manager had believed the item had been worn , yet as I stated she didnt even inspect it ,

 

then she stated I asked for a refund and refused an exchange , a blatant lie ,

 

then to top it off she stated that she did check the system and there was no proof of my purchase ,

I couldn't believe what I was hearing , as she had not even got as far as even asking me my name to check it on the system or even what day I entered the store to purchase it .

 

The customer service woman stated she would not have any member of her staff being called a liar , but it was ok for me to be accused of lies .

 

At no point during this half hr call from customer services was any apology given to me

 

.I asked the customer service woman that I be contacted by the area manager of which she replied this would not happen , as it was only her I would be able to deal with .

 

I told her never have I ever experienced such appalling treatment by any retailer or customer services .

 

She stated that evidence may come to light that I had worn the fascinator .

 

I was disgusted by this comment and replied that how can any evidence come to light when the fascinator wasn't even examined and I still have it

she replied maybe a photo or something showing me wearing it .

 

I asked her what right does she or any Matalan staff have to police me in this way .

 

I then insisted the CCTV be looked at of my visit and conversation with the manager of the store , and asked she ring me back .

 

Just over an hour later she telephoned me back apologetic stating there had been cross communication and that my visit had come flooding back to the manager upon viewing the cctv ,and that she hadn't checked the system for my purchase , as she initially said she had , but then changed her story to ,

 

she was going to but I said dont worry I will go home and look for my receipt , which I did not , it was I who asked her to look it up and she refused .

 

The customer services woman then stated that the manager would not exchange as the tag was in a different place to where it should of been ,

 

yet I had already explained to the manager and customer services that on the day I purchased it , every time I tried to walk out of the store the alarms were going off

, 4 xs I had to go back in to the cashier as it was the fascinator setting the alarms off ,

not the cashier or the manager knew why this was happening

 

, it was me in fact who advised that maybe it was the tag setting it off and the tag was removed to see if this was the case , so this was probably the reason the tag was in the wrong place , as it was put back on wrong in the shop .

 

I have found my whole experience from the purchase to trying to exchange it a poor and stressful experience ,and I believe I was treated appallingly , although I have been offered a good will gesture of £20 it doesnt excuse treating customers in this way

[citizenB]

I think the new CEO of Matalan, since May 2015, is Jason Hargreaves.

[ericsbrother]

When you submit your complaint ask him to make sure that copies of both CCTV tapes are kept as you will be doing a SAR for them as soon as he has had a chance to investigate to make sure they are not destroyed.

[hazeleyes68]

Thank you Eric , wouldnt have thought of that, What is the law exactly on me requesting cctv footage inside a store like this please ?

[renegadeimp]

Sar them. Be fast as some companies only keep it for a max of 30 days

[hazeleyes68]

I will post the letter tomorrow , thank you for your advise

[hazeleyes68]

Just curious would the manager who the complaint was about be able or by law be able to just access cctv footage from the day before and look at it herself ? As the customer services calls were an hr apart and the 2nd call she stated the manager had viewed the cctv ?

[renegadeimp]

THey can yes, but if you want to see it, youll have to SAR them for it, as they will have to edit out other people around you, or pixelate them for privacy reasons.

[hazeleyes68]

It's typical when I email customer services regarding the way I was treated by a manager they are straight on the phone to me , I email them asking for contact details of their CEO and they take their time replying . The magaing director is Jason Hargreaves letter sent personal ftao him to matalan ltd Liverpool