Consignment notice
“Help”, the Ö1 consumer magazine, every Saturday at 11.40 am in Radio Ö1. Also as Podcast.
–
The traditional brand Palmers stood for quality for a long time, now it causes frustration among many customers. When it was discovered at the beginning of March that the domestic manufacturer Hygiene Austria, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Palmers, had relabelled Chinese masks and then sold them as “made in Austria”, many customers felt duped.
Consumer protection: a clear case of warranty
After all, they picked up an Austrian product and accepted the higher price of up to five euros per FFP2 mask. Consumer advocates see this as a clear warranty case, since an essential product property – the manufacture in Austria – was not met. Customers have the right to return their masks to the retailer and have the purchase price reimbursed.
While the return in supermarkets and drugstore chains is not a problem, the two companies Hygiene Austria and Palmers, of all companies, took a stand and refused to take back masks that were bought directly from them. It was only after pressure from the Chamber of Labor that Palmers finally paid some customers their money back.
Some customers got money back, others didn’t
“In a first step, we intervened for six consumers at Palmers and stated that the consumers wanted their money back. And that was also promised to us by Palmers customer service, ”said Gabriele Zgubic, head of the consumer protection department of the Chamber of Labor (AK) Vienna, opposite help.ORF.at.
But that did not last for long: Since then, the Help editorial team has received new complaints from Palmers customers almost every day, which the company rejected. Much to the annoyance of consumer advocates. “We assumed that this regulation naturally applies to all customers. Why only for six and not for everyone? But that’s not the case, there should have been an internal change in the strategy, ”Zgubic continues.
Intransparent zigzag course in customer service
The underwear company no longer wanted to hear about a guaranteed reimbursement. Not only that: In e-mails to affected customers, Palmers customer service even bluntly describes our report on the guaranteed reimbursement, which was also adopted by many other media, as a false report.
Instead, Palmers now offered some customers vouchers instead of money for returned masks, but even this offer did not last long. “Another offer from Palmer was that masks that were bought from January onwards could be exchanged for masks that were definitely made in Austria, others not. A little later, the strategy was apparently changed again. Then they said there was basically only one voucher. And now we have a fourth variant, namely that customer service tells the consumer that no, there is nothing at all – no money, no voucher and no exchange – because the masks are okay, ”says Zgubic.
Also unclear how to recognize masks from China
One could “guarantee that only Austrian products were delivered,” said Palmers in the emails to the customers. Therefore, neither an exchange nor a return is possible.
However, Palmers does not reveal how you can tell whether it is really a mask made in Austria. “Of course, this promise alone is not enough, you can believe it or not. Despite being requested to do so, Palmers and Hygiene Austria have not yet submitted any comprehensible evidence or documents, ”said Zgubic.
No answer from the underwear company
Help.ORF.at asked Palmers why some customers get their money back and others don’t. In the end, do you hope that affected customers will give up at some point? We also wanted to know how one comes to accuse us of spreading false reports. Palmers did not comment, our request remained unanswered.
Concerned customers were less taciturn. In the letters we have received from Palmers customer service, the culprits for the debacle are identified: us. Customers are “unsettled due to false media reports,” it says.
Customers turn their backs on Palmers
Nothing there, says the Chamber of Labor. What upsets Palmers customers is the company’s behavior. “Customers are upset because they feel misled and expect a customer-friendly solution. This customer-friendly solution from Palmers does not come, ”says lawyer Zgubic.
Consumers draw their own conclusions from this. “We keep hearing that consumers say: ‘I don’t go shopping there anymore. This is no longer a company that I would like to leave my money with. ‘”, Said the AK consumer advocate.
AK: “We will certainly not let up”
As part of another collective intervention, the Chamber of Labor now wants to get the underwear company moving. Affected Palmers customers can contact the e-mail address [email protected] Report.
“We will certainly not let up. We have again collected a number of consumer complaints and will continue to try to find an out-of-court solution – for all customers, ”said Zgubic. It is hoped that Palmers will decide on a customer-friendly solution after all, not only in the interests of consumers, but also in their own interests. If Palmers still does not give in, the AK will consider filing a lawsuit.
–
