Mother is left horrified after being called 'c***' THREE times in WhatsApp messages from New Look's customer service team after contacting them about a missing refund
- Yvonne Redmond, 39, from Sheffield, was horrified by the rude name was given
- Was greeted as 'hi C***' in three messages from New Look's customer service
- Said she asked New Look to fix the mistake repeatedly but kept happening
A mother-of-six has been left horrified after being called 'c***' three times in messages from New Look ater complaining about a missing refund.
Yvonne Redmond, 39, from Sheffield, had already tried to contact the retailer online and by phone when she sent a WhatsApp message about a refund on her £15 jeans order.
The full-time carer claims she had to 'do a double take' after receiving an automated reply that greeted her with 'Hi C***'.
The stunned 39-year-old responded with her details and quizzed the agent why she had been addressed as the explicit slur - but then received the vile swear word in another two responses.
New Look claim the automated responses generate the name using the customer's WhatsApp profile name and said the offensive word 'did not originate from their customer care team'.
Yvonne Redmond, 39, from Shieffield, was shocked to find the New Look Customer Service on WhatApp was calling her a 'c***' in messages
New Look have said their service is automated to use the name people give on their WhatsApp profile, but Yvonne is not saved under 'c***'
Their customer service team suggested someone must have changed her display name as a 'joke' - however Yvonne says this isn't possible because she could see her name was correct even as the abusive name kept being used.
The shopper even sent New Look a screenshot to prove her name was correct on her end. WhatsApp said it was 'unlikely' Yvonne's profile name was changed on her end because this would be visible to her and all her contacts and they found no evidence her account was hacked.
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The disgruntled shopper claims that someone working for the retailer may have changed customers' names 'thinking they're funny'.
Yvonne said: 'I was mortified. First they take my money for an order they said they couldn't honour, now they swear at me for trying to find out why.
Yvonne, left, explained she was upset because her six-year-old daughter had read the message by accident. New Look have said their customer service is automated to call people by the name they have saved on their WhatsApp profile
'I had to do a double take because the message said "Hi C***." I said "did you seriously just call a customer a c***"?
'Usually I would think it was funny. Once is a mistake, but three times?
'It's concerning that there's someone there that could be changing people's names to all kinds of things, also the fact they're taking money that doesn't belong to them.
'I'm laughing about it but at the same time, it's like "how dare they"?
'I had my six-year-old daughter sat beside me at the time and she saw it.'
Yvonne feared it was 'too good to be true' when she snapped up three pairs of jeans online for £15 last week.
Soon enough she discovered the site was affected by a 'system issue' and the store wasn't honouring the sale.
Mother-of-six Yvonne received an email confirming her order had been cancelled by New Look - but was frustrated to later discover the money was still taken.
After questioning why the money had left her account with New Look's customer services team via WhatsApp, Yvonne then claims she received the messages.
Yvonne said: 'I'd placed an order with New Look because they had a deal on that, to be honest, was too good to be true.
'They said "we are sorry but at the time your order was placed we experienced a system issue which meant you ordered went through at an incorrect price".
Shocked Yvonne asked 'did you seriously just call a customer a "c***"' and was greeted with the moniker once again
'They couldn't honour my order of three pairs of jeans for £15 but they still took the money from my bank account.
'I messaged them about it, I tried to phone them but couldn't get through and I tried to do online chat on the website but couldn't get through on that either.
'Their website sent me to WhatsApp so I sent them a screenshot and said I'd received an email yet the money had still been taken from my bank account.
'Someone is obviously doing that [replying using the term] thinking they're funny.
'When I complained to New Look they came back and said "it appears that someone has changed your WhatsApp name on your phone. Perhaps someone has played a joke on you. Not ideal and I would have been as shocked as you".
'When I clicked on the settings on my app, it's my photo and my name, Yvonne.
A customer service representative wrote to Yvonne to let her know they had changed her name back. But she was still called a 'c***' moments later
'I don't have any kids or a partner that could be joking around. If that was the case I'd be able to see it and it would come up with that word but it's not, it's coming up as Yvonne.'
After complaining about the rude address, a New Look worker said they had 'changed [her] name to your pretty name Yvonne'.
But on Wednesday morning after complaining she still hadn't received her refund, Yvonne says she was again addressed as 'c***'.
Yvonne said: 'I messaged today because they still haven't sorted out the money side of things.
'I said "I'm still waiting to find out why money has been taken for an order I was emailed and told could not be honoured" and again, I've received a message "Hi C**t, thanks for your message".
The disgruntled shopper said New Look claimed someone had changed her name on her own phone, but this wasn't the case
'Yesterday when she said she'd investigated it she said "don't worry, I have changed your name to your pretty name Yvonne our end, so every contact from us will display the correct name".
'If they've changed my name to Yvonne, they can change my name to whatever they like.
'That word is not on my phone, so what other explanation is there? 'They said that someone must be playing a joke on me because that's what my display name is, but it isn't.
'It's also the fact that they've answered me on WhatsApp to say they've corrected it, which they obviously haven't because it's happened again today.'
Since journalists approached New Look for comment, Yvonne has received a refund.
A New Look spokesperson said: 'When customers get in touch with us on WhatsApp, an automatic response is generated using the customer’s WhatsApp profile name, which our systems do not permit us to override.
'We have reviewed all customer enquiries, including this one, over the time period in question, and can confirm this was indeed the case with all enquiries we received.
'Our customer care team have spoken to the customer about her concerns to reassure her that the offensive term could not and did not originate from our customer care team.'
WhatsApp found no evidence that Yvonne's account was hacked or compromised in any way.
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