Next conversion rates

Mrs W

I bought a suit in Next ROI and went to change it in Newry today, the girl told me they convert it back to euro from the sterling so I said fine.

Then she scans the jacket that I paid €82 for and told me it's £42????
I know the rate is bad at the minute but that's just disgraceful.

L1011

British retailers make hey here; always have always will.

athtrasna

Mrs W wrote: »

I bought a suit in Next ROI and went to change it in Newry today, the girl told me they convert it back to euro from the sterling so I said fine.

Then she scans the jacket that I paid €82 for and told me it's £42????
I know the rate is bad at the minute but that's just disgraceful.

The official line is that it's not a direct conversion because the cost of getting goods to Ireland and the cost of doing business in Ireland is much higher.

Mrs W

£42 works out at about €55 so a difference of 28 is ridiculous!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

You are not comparing like with like. The item would have been much cheaper in Newry to begin with. Rates, rent, wages, transport costs etc are lower in northern Ireland. You coiulkd argue you overpaid for it in the first place but that is neither the fault nor the concern of the store in Newry.

wmpdd3

next use a rate of 1.50 so there's a mistake there somewhere, your jacket may be a sale item in ni but not in roi.

did you check the website? the UK one.

delahuntv

Mrs W wrote: »

I bought a suit in Next ROI and went to change it in Newry today, the girl told me they convert it back to euro from the sterling so I said fine.

Then she scans the jacket that I paid €82 for and told me it's £42????
I know the rate is bad at the minute but that's just disgraceful.

Ever thought it might be a mistake? People can actually make mistakes.

In any case, they don't have to do anything in another country, that is purely a customer service decision. Why can't you bring it back to the store you purchased it in and get the €82 back?

As for how they price - currently it seems they use about €1.30 to £1 from labels my wife got recently. Considering the exchange rate is about €1.28 and vat is 3% extra, the prices are almost identical.

Dubl07

I returned a product purchased in NI to a Dublin branch a couple of years ago. I had a gift receipt but the junior sales assistant was astounded at the price difference between Belfast and Dublin and initially refused to give me a refund because the discrepancy was 'outrageous'. It took the intervention of a manager to calm her down.

delahuntv

Dubl07 wrote: »

I returned a product purchased in NI to a Dublin branch a couple of years ago. I had a gift receipt but the junior sales assistant was astounded at the price difference between Belfast and Dublin and initially refused to give me a refund because the discrepancy was 'outrageous'. It took the intervention of a manager to calm her down.

back in 2007-2010 there were huge differences between north and south. debenhams is still a big offender however some are now cheaper in south than north - b&q is one

wmpdd3

Something has gone wrong somewhere:

http://ie.nextdirect.com/en/x5334s1#889063

http://www.next.co.uk/x5334s1#889063x53

A red mac for €82 is £60 in the UK. A rate of 1.36.

GerardKeating

Mrs W wrote: »

I bought a suit in Next ROI and went to change it in Newry today, the girl told me they convert it back to euro from the sterling so I said fine.

Then she scans the jacket that I paid €82 for and told me it's £42????
I know the rate is bad at the minute but that's just disgraceful.

You often find that Companies hedge currencies, so only update FX Rates 2/3 times a year, so the rate you get is an average of the rate for the quarter.

Plus as other posters mentions. Cost of Business/VAT differences etc do play a major factor. Minimum Wage in UK is £6.31 (€7.95ish). In Ireland it is €8.65, and in sectors that were covered by JLC's it was higher. I think retail was €9.59