A recent shopping experience in Man to Man has left me out-of-pocket, with nothing to show for it and my hands completely tied. I have been cheated, simple as that.

Whenever considering the laybye option in a store I always make certain to ask precisely what the terms are. When making a laybye purchase recently at ‘Man to Man' I was informed that a 20% deposit was required for an eight week payout period. Suitably adequate to my needs, I paid my $20, signed the receipt and walked away in anticipation of being able to wear my new jacket in just a few weeks time. Mistake.

Three weeks later, when walking past the store, I spotted another jacket, much more to my liking and going for less than half the price of that which I had on laybye. I toddled in and asked if I might cancel the laybye I had and transfer the $20 deposit over to the new jacket, pay out the difference and take the new jacket with me immediately. No problem at all, except for one little catch;

“A $30.00 cancellation fee will apply so you will need to pay another ten dollars off your laybye to cancel it. Then you can purchase the jacket.” This cancellation fee was non-refundable and would not be credited to my new, preferred purchase. I would lose $30 from my original laybye and pay another thirty for the jacket I wanted, so in essence my new jacket would cost me sixty dollars. I was furious, firstly at being mislead when making the laybye and secondly at the attitude I received upon pointing how unjust this was and how unimpressed I was about this fee I knew nothing about.

I had the store attendant put me on the phone to management (never, ever be afraid to do this – as a customer it is your right to speak to management at any time you wish). After some discussion the manageress agreed this once to refund my twenty dollars the following day herself when she would be in-store working a full day and allow me to credit that towards the new jacket I wanted; in other words, in this circumstance she would approve the straight swap I had initially wanted.

The next day I walked into the store as arranged, receipt at the ready, only to be told my laybye had been cancelled, the twenty dollars taken in part (reduced) payment of the cancellation fee and if I wanted the jacket I could buy it outright. The manageress stood in abject denial of any telephone agreement stating same and advised me to go to the Department of Fair Trading if I had issue with her or with her business.

According to the Department Of Fair Trading;

It is a requirement of retail law that all shops who offer laybye present a clear, legible laybye receipt at the time of purchase outlining price, product, terms and conditions, payout date and cancellation fees. Man 2 Man had done this. They had also asked me to sign the laybye receipt, which I did and in so doing unknowingly agreed to the cancellation terms outlined in fine print on the bottom of the receipt which I stupidly had not read before signing. SNAP! Neck in the noose of hidden clauses. The mistake I had made in this circumstance was actually signing the laybye receipt; retail laybye law states that a customer IS NOT required to sign a laybye receipt. Something one should bear in mind for any future laybye purchases.

So, whilst 'Man to Man' did not inform me verbally of the excessive cancellation fee, the fact that I signed the receipt means I have no leg to stand on and have lost my twenty dollars. I did not purchase the other jacket and while twenty dollars is a relatively minimal loss, it is the principal which is of importance here, not just for me, but indeed for any consumer. Never rush a purchase, always read the fine print and sign nothing!

The attitude given by Man to Man was completely uncalled for and the lack of vocalising the cancellation fee at time of asking laybye terms was cunning, if not deceitful. I would not recommend this store to anyone, ever. At ‘Man to Man' one will not find human decency or indeed ‘customer service' of any kind.

This store is profit driven and not customer oriented; not something any business can afford to be in an age where consumers are opting more and more for decent service and fair prices over fancy labels, hidden clauses and stuck up attitudes. Such an attitude and approach to business as that which ‘Man to Man' has shown, comes with a price that is all its very own.

Approximate cost: $Only to them!