Marks and Spencer
Reviews and Complaints

My partner brought a £25 bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape as a treat(far more than we would normally pay for a bottle of wine). On pouring the wine looked thin and on tasting the wine was very acidic and vinegar like. We have had £4.99 bottles from Aldi that taste much better!...This is especially disappointing as we value marks and spencers as a quality shop and have had wine around the £10 mark from there which has been very good. Please see attached picture of wine plus some of the other disappointing reviews on this product. We had no other wine to entertain with so were forced to drink this so can not return

Today I tried to purchase some euro on-line for over one hour, it wouldn't accept my date of birth then Passport or Driving licence end date. I eventually completed form then entered payment details, then it got declined, I tried a different method through my bank app it still wouldn't accept payment. I called my bank they said no problems there end.

I then decided to go to Worcester branch to change the money, due to so many problems trying to get the payment through my bank declined my payment thinking someone was trying to use my card. I then had to go to my bank and sort blocked card out,

I decided to draw the cash and went to collect my euros almost 20euros lost on exchange due to not being able to order them on-line at higher rate.

The guy who serviced my said he had had two other people in with the same problem with your web site, surely it should have stated on-line your system wasn't working.

Having bought the above product at your Dover outlet on Saturday 5/2,I cooked it and found that when I came to carve the joint found it was mainly fat and gristle.my wife and I managed to get 1 to 2 slices each but the rest was unedible.we have always used m and s for its food products but we were really disappointed this time. Many thanks Phil Pritchard

A jumper I bought 40days ago has pilled very badly evne thought I have only worn it a few times.. The local store wouldn’t accept a return even though it is badly pilled.

Update:

This has now been returned by the store at Lowestoft. They said it was a goodwill gestor even though there is an obvious quality problem.

The manager said the jumper was like that and you have to remove the pilling with a brush remover. I don’t think this explanation is reasonable.

I contacted customer service and they told me to go back to the store and for the store to ring them if there was a problem. The manager didn’t do this. But refunded me via cash even though I had paid by card.

I really like your stores but I'm afraid I don’t think I will be buying any goods from you in the future.

I have photos should you want to see them.

[protected]@gmail.com

Janet Smith

Bought two bras at the beginning of January - a pink and a black one - the same as as black one I bought a few weeks earlier that I found very comfortable. I just got home to find my washing machine making a right racket because one of the wires from the pink bra had come out and lodged in the drum. Not only am I now in possession of a broken brand new bra, but it could easily have damaged or broken my washing machine. Now, I know sometimes these things just happen, but seriously, after two washes (not even two because it didn't make it through the second one)?! This is not acceptable. I understand that across the board, almost all brands, quality has very much gone down the pan in favour of bigger profits, but M&S is supposed to offer decent quality items. They are famed for their undies. I only buy from M&S. And this is rubbish. An item of such poor quality is not fit for purpose.

I have had a few items in recent months that very much make me question if to bother with M&S at all (shrinkage at lower than recommended temperatures rending items too small and unusable etc). This one is just the cherry on the cake.

Hi,

I received flowers from my brother and sister in law on Saturday and I was appalled by the poor quality of the flowers. Heads were snapped of the thistles, the roses were dying with brown tinging around the edges and the remaining flowers and other greenery were wilted and half dead. I haven't told them yet because I didn't want to complain after such a nice gesture and give them the hassle of making a complaint to M & S. However, if you are willing to provide a refund then I will provide their details.

Given the reputation of M & S for quality products, I could not believe the flowers that I received!

Regards,

Mrs Helen Macmillan.

I was refunded two amounts from Emirates airlines in August 2022 for tickets purchased prior to lockdown. My account with M&S was closed in June 2021 and transferred to the Halifax. I have chatted with Live chat several times to try to find my refunded money. First time I was told the the monies would be automatically sent to my new account. Second time told that details would be sent to relevant dept and someone would contact me in 7-10 days. No one called. Third time told that monies had been returned to Emirates. Emirates have asked for return details so I sent a letter plus copies of emails from Emirates on 5th December to PO Box no and had no contact from anyone in M&S. The amounts involved are in New Zealand Dollars.. refund 12/8/2022 132.00 and New Zealand Dollars.. refund 15/8/2022 992.85. I would be obliged if someone could take the time to let me know what is happening. Thank you.

My Email address is [protected]@aol.com, Name Janet Hignett, A/C no. 446242******0103. My address is 15 Union Bank Lane, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 5XB. I have been extremely patient up to now and have given you enough time to look into this for me, but now my patience is wearing a little thin. Thank you.

Hi, a couple of years ago I bought a lovely dressing gown for myself. Having more or less lived in it due to having leukaemia, followed by a bone marrow transplant, I decided to buy another. I bought a blue one (my old one was grey), this dressing gown, for all intents and purposes, was exactly the same as my previous one. I went to my brothers caravan last weekend for a bit of respite and took the new garment with me. I threw the old one out. I put the dressing gown on after showering and it only just fit. It is a medium, like my other, and the quality was nowhere near as good. The dressing gown felt really thin on me. I am very disappointed with the sizing and quality of the new item. I buy all my underwear at M and S plus other items and I do my food shopping there. Thank you for reading and I await your response.

The store refused to refund although I had receipt and was in time. Tags were with slippers. They had been tried on and worn in kitchen on hard floor for about 30 minutes to see if comfortable. I am registered disabled and they were too slippy . I took them off and tried to return them. I was kept waiting 10 minutes whilst various phone calls and supervisors were called. They were very assertive and did not listen to my honest account that I had NOT been wearing them. Getting to the shop is a challenge so I was devastated by this treatment for what was an £18 refund.

I ordered flowers on line for a birthday 22,11,22 I had an e mail confirmation delivery on that day. The flowers did not arrive on that day.I have since then sent 2 e mails asking for my money (£35) back every e mail was not answered In the end I sent a letter stating my and my friends disappointment, but the letter was also ignored. I wrote about 3 to 4 weeks ago. Is that M&S policy to ignore long time customers? Please answer this e mail and return my money which was paid in good face,

Thank you I hope to receive an answer this time.

Christmas food order was a disaster.

Hour queue for collection.

Food packaging was all wet.

Then to top it off the (£65 btw) beef was chewy throughout.

I get that these things happen, a bad batch or whatever, but it's how the complaint has been dealt with that really upsets me. I have basically been fobbed off by the customer service team.

I had photos and proof of purchase (order emails and bank statement) which last time I checked was as good as a receipt. However , I have been told that because I don't have a physical receipt (shop didn't give me one on collection) or have the packaging (despite telling them it was wet and had to be binned) then customer service have told me tough and goodbye!

How sad that they treat people like this.

I wouldn't care if we were talking £20 but this is £65 that ended up in the dogs' bowls.

I ordered flowers to be delivered to my stepmum on 21st December, imagine my absolute horror when my stepbrother send me pictures of what my " winter wonderland" bouquet actually looked like...a wilted bunch of weeds would be an accurate description and not a flower in sight. I called the customer service dept on 22nd December, obviously a foreign country, to be told my complaint would be escalated...to date, as if 3rd Jan I have heard nothing. I ordered a bouquet through a company who obviously had pride in the product they deliver but am still out of pocket for the M and S product. Awful customer service

Hi

I purchased an item over postal service and checked out as a guest. I was told to return the unwanted item via my account. I could not log into an account as I had checked out as a guest but it said a log in had been sent. It never arrived. I have screen shots of your website telling me a password reset had been sent. After 4 weeks of not receiving any of my requests I was still left with no options for the item I wanted to return so I went in search of your customer service number. I went around a lot of loops which I do not appreciate. The number I finally found was misprinted. Here it is

https://www.marksandspencer.com/MSContactUsPhoneAndPostView?contactby=phone&storeId=10451&langId=-24&catalogId=11551&categoryId=3238001

I then managed to get hold of an alternartive number that directed me to a call centre in Cape Town. Nelly told me the only thing I could do is return the item via a store. I do not have a way of getting to an M&S store except via taxi so I would never have ordered from them had i Known this. SHe told me there is nothing she could do and a manager would call me back. I am still waiting for that call. I have to say I am thoroughly shocked by the whole thing and am rather peeved at having to waste so much of my time to get NOWHERE. Please advise me what to do and if there is nothing you can do to get a returns label to me then please refund my item. The order number is [protected] and the item that was not suitable was KIDS freshfeet high tops size 5 BLACK. The rest of the order was fine.

This is my second complaint about staffing levels at your Fosse Park Cafe. I use the cafe on a regular basis as do my family. We have again noticed people in the queue waiting for service getting very annoyed. It would appear that when we order a tea or coffee at the till area.. the person serving goes off from the till and makes the drink, leaving no one serving. Why do you not have people designated to making drinks and people on the tills. Why should someone on a till have to then go away and start making drinks.

This is obviously down to poor staffing levels and to be honest it is causing people to complain. If you cannot run the cafe like it used to be run then you need to either up your staff levels or close it.

I and many other people stood waiting in a line because the girl was making drinks so we didn’t get served.

Please put this right or I will not be using the cafe again.

Thank you.

I am writing to complain about the poor service of your staff and your store manager.

When I check out at the till on 6 Dec 2022 (12:22pm). I already told the cashier that I wish to use the 10% off voucher and she confirmed with a “YES”. She then asked me to show my membership barcode in order to use the said voucher. After that I also asked about the 15% off of knitwear whether it is for garment only and she confirmed with a “YES” again.

Right after I settled the payment, I found out that she failed to use the 10% off voucher for my purchase. Soon after that, I found another staff to assist me and she arranged the refund for me. However, I forgot to ask her if the refund will be arranged back to my card immediately as I was using my AE gift card, which is bought from Hong Kong, to pay the bill. And she said a few days is needed to process.

As my gift card has around £120 only, it means that I cannot use it again unless the refund is done right away. So I asked the original cashier why she forgot to give me the 10% off when I checked out. After several conversations, that cashier said I only asked her about the 15 % off discount of the knitwear instead of the original 10% off voucher. The first manager approached is polite and willing to help me, because it was your staff making mistakes and caused me inconvenience and failure in buying the product again due to insufficient fund in the card.

So I complained why the original cashier failed to use the 10% off voucher for me at the very beginning. I further asked if she forgot it or failed to scan my membership card to process it. But she lied and said I did not request to use the voucher and I only ask her whether the 15% off for knitwear is for garment only. I did asked but it is right before I requested to use the 10% off voucher.

Obviously, it is her problem but not MINE! I ask them again if she had forgotten to use the voucher, forgotten to scan my membership barcode or if your till system’s problem for a few times but they NEVER reply me and said only will refunded back to me.

At last, one more manager (I forgot if the spelling is Laura) who was of very poor manner and gave me back the receipt and rudely said the bill had already refunded to my card and I can come again or buy it online. However, my prime concern was to tell her that it was her staff’s wrong doing that caused me inconvenience. But she still insist to give me back the receipt and said over and over again the same speech above. She had failed to address my concerns and what she had given me was her poor service and long faces.

What’s more, I even found out that one kid item cannot be found on online store. Then why your manager told me that I can order online while in fact I cannot? What she want from me is not making a scene and leave, but she never tried to resolve the problem that I encountered. If your staff can do her job right, then this will never happen.

I am now still await for the refund and I was forced to make a long distance call back to Hong Kong to ask about the time for receiving the refund which at last confirmed to be one month after.

This whole incident had wasted my time and money calling back to Hong Kong. And this was entirely your staff’s incompetence that caused me such trouble, including the original cashier that tell lies and the last manager with long face and poor manner. I was extremely upset about this experience and your staff is making me feel like unwelcome and discriminated as I am Chinese.

I believe penalty should be given to them to avoid such undesirable situation to be happen again. Or I can only presume that it is your cross-national company’s negligence to nurture your staff with national discrimination against Chinese.

I purchased the turkey below for my family Christmas lunch:

Order details

PK035 Collection British Free-range Turkey Crown (Serves 8-10)

Catalogue no: [protected]

Qty: 1

Price: £65.00

but we were all very disappointed as the turkey (which had been cooked exactly as recommended) was dry and stringy and unpleasant to the taste. The poor quality of the M and S turkey was very upsetting and ruined our Christmas Day meal. The meat tasted old and of poor quality despite its expensive cost.

I have not had problems with M and S food previously but I will be very wary of purchasing my Christmas food from M and S again as the experience was very disappointing.

The turkey was pre-ordered and collected from the Merry Hill branch of M and S on Thursday 22nd December. I had paid a £25 deposit with the outstanding balance paid on collection.

Order ref [protected]

I placed a order online in 17.12.22 and paid for next day delivery, the order never arrived and on the 30.12.22 rang them up to complain and cancelled the order and they said they would get the courier to deliver the parcel back to them selves. I was not best please with the person I spoke to she was polite, but I felt it was not treated as a complaint and I stated I wanted to make a complaint, so I left a poor review. I then had a £10 gift voucher sent as a e gift by a supervisor (made me feel a little better) The order was was a top for me to wear over Christmas the other item a present which I could not give and had to go buy something else, else where last minute.

Anyway I considered the matter dealt with as I was told I would have my refund processed in a few days and the gesture of good will made me feel a little better. Today however late afternoon (17 days after next day delivery) the courier delivers the parcel, no returns label, so I am now having to chase up getting this returned.

I tried e mailing the e mail I received to be told this e mail is not manned, and there seems no way of e mailing your self on your website. It seems the only way you wish customers to contact you is on the phone. I work all week and do not have time to be queueing for your customer service to be answered. I also stated I would not be taking this back to a store as I did not want to go at this time with sales etc being on and If it were to be delivered I would want yourselves to arrange a collection. I am have to try and get the items picked up and get a returns label from yourselves.

I am really disappointed with yourselves over this matter in that I feel the service all the way through has been poor.

I now await your selves contacting me by e mail, so that I can get this collected and have a returns label sent to, and I would like it to be from a e mail where I could contact you back to if there were any other problems along the way before the item is collected, instead of having to chase ways online to contact M&S customer service.

Very disappointed with how hard it is to make contact other then calling yourselves

Liz

I purchased three packets of your Brussels sprouts on Christmas Eve., December 24th at £2.25 each in your Hastings store.

They were absolutely disgusting on opening to cook. (see images attached)

I have always had good faith in M & S's products. What a great disappointment it was as I could only use a small amount from each package to serve my guests.

It's not about the money, its about the poor quality of the product.

I realise that there are many situations going on at present but I felt I needed to bring this to you attention.

Yours Faithfully,

Jim Saphin

On 23rd dec 2022 I arranged for a plant arrangment to be delivered via the m & s online to my mother in law mrs flo lorenz order num: [protected] it was delivered and my nieces contacted me to say it arrived with the plant bowl broken to the point one of hem cut her finger on it and the plants nearly dead she said it looked as though it had been broken a while as the soil in the bowl was dry so clearly the plants were not checked or watered, if they hadnt been there it may have been my mother in law would have not been able to even get it out of the box and if she had been cut it could have caused a bigger problem as she has a blood problem.

I contacted the customer services and was firstly told they would redeliver the item them said no they cant do that as have no delivery date so would just refund me, I find this very thipant as this has not only upset myself but left my mother in law with out her present and upset her, it seems there is a lack of quality control with products no care and attention taken with deliveries and no consideration to customers it is the first and last time I will use the m & s online services and I will not be recommending it to anyone else poor service all round.

Several days ago I ordered flowers to be delivered to my 93 year old mother in Scotland.. requesting delivery on 20th December.

I received several e mails from Marks and Spencer to say that unfortunately there was a delay . The flowers however had left the ware house and were finally delivered late afternoon on 21 st December .

My sister immediately calked me and sent a photo demonstrating how not only was the quantity megre but the flowers were also half dead on arrival.

Disgusting and shameful quality and bad delivery.