Martin Lewis makes Trading Standard threat to 2 high street brands | UK | News

Martin Lewis has issued a stern warning to two popular high street brands, revealing he is reporting them to Trading Standards. The financial expert claimed fashion retailer Evans and restaurant chain Carluccio’s failed to update misleading information about returns on their websites; It’s a problem he discovered during an investigation earlier this year.

In July, the TV presenter identified 30 companies that were giving false information to customers, but most immediately corrected their websites after his intervention.

However, as of last night, only those of Evans and Carluccio had not been corrected, and the other two firms had ceased trading.

During his ITV program The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, Martin addressed the camera directly and said: “Evans and Carluccio, you are wrong. Your websites are misleading, please change them. I have reported you to Trading Standards.”

His comments were met with applause from viewers attending a segment on consumer rights in Manchester as Brits went Christmas shopping. Martin enlightened both studio audiences and viewers at home about their legal rights regarding returns and refunds, surprising many with his explanations.

The list of 30 companies and their violations, disclosed in July, can be found on Martin’s website, Money Saving Expert. The majority of these companies have made changes to their websites since the article was published.

However, the chart shows that Evans, which is part of Arcadia Group, said: “The standard returns policy for online orders is 21 days.”

But Martin’s website highlights his mistake: “You have 14 days to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item, so 28 days maximum.”

Also on the chart is Carluccio’s, an Italian restaurant chain with an online gift shop, which says something like this: “You may return goods to Carluccio’s Online within 14 days of delivery.”

The Money Saving Expert counters this: “You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item.”

Martin’s team researched more than 400 of the UK’s most popular retail brands and discovered 30 online returns policies were listed that suggested customers had fewer rights than the law allowed. This misleads shoppers about their legal return rights, and some parts of their website list stricter criteria than required by law.

HMV, Home Bargains and The Range were among the culprits, but Martin was quick to point out on last night’s show that they had fixed their websites.

Martin Lewis Money Show Live said it contacted businesses ahead of broadcast.

The Express has also reached out to Evans and Carluccio for comment.