Good afternoon, and I trust you are well.  Unfortunately, today I wanted to reach out to you in relation to incompetent staff and managers behaviour in your newly opened Newtownards shopping centre, Northern Ireland, stores - Unit C-9 especially today, 12/01/2025, at 14:25, as per the attached receipt.  Yesterday, around 5 pm, I went in the shop to purchase a sports bra and tracksuit trousers as needed for my photo shoot with a personal trainer. Found an item that I needed in peace and wanted to try on as I wanted to make sure the sizes would fit due to your policy—no refunds. When I came to the till to ask if I could use the fitting room, the young lady said, Yes, but unfortunately, the door handle is broken, and I would need to lock you in. I wish I had taken a picture, but at this time I did not think I would need it, but surely this should have been easy to find on the store maintenance reports. I said, Not a problem; I will knock on the door once finished. I had started taking off my trousers and noticed that the door was not locked, as I saw a gap, and then went closer to see if she locked it. The lady was away, and to this point, I was not going to try on bras, as I did not want anyone to walk in, and I quickly tried on trousers while holding the hole in the door. When I left the fittings, the lady said, Sorry, I had to jump on the till. To this point, I just did not say anything as the store looked understaffed and no one was minding the broken fitting room, and I bought 2 bras and trousers. This was 11/01/25 17:16. By the time I got home, please see the attached picture, and checked my items, I was devastated as the security tag had not been removed. I needed the outfit for tomorrow's shoot, so I quickly tried the other sports bra, which ended up being too small, which would not have been the case if the only fitting room had operated in full. The items were no longer useful to me, not to mention a tiny makeup stain on a white bra. To this point, I had not taken any pictures because I could not wear it anyway for tomorrow due to the security tag left on. I couldn't return the item as the store was shut by then, as closing time on Saturdays is 6 pm. I could also not buy anything as everyone was shut, so I had to cancel all and reschedule my own plans. Today, 12/01/25, I returned to the store around 2 pm; also see the attached receipt - to exchange the bra, which was too small, and ask for the refund due to staff incompetence, which has caused me personal issues to reschedule my own plans. I walked into the store, and of course, the gates beeped. A man in his 40s, tall, with dark and grey hair and wearing glasses (describing him as he turned out to be a store manager who refused to give his name, so I have no other option but to describe the appearance, so this complaint can be addressed to the right person), with no sympathy to greet a customer, straightaway approaches—''Do you need to get your tag removed?'' With the merchandising rail for visuals in his hand, I lost myself for a second, as I wanted to browse for the smaller bra and exchange a bigger size due to not being able to try that in store. I said, Yes, but I will browse first. I walked and looked for the sizes, and weirdly I felt followed like I'm a thief. There were no sizes I needed, and since he would not leave me out of his sight, I turned around and asked if the store has more sizes—his reply was no—only what you see on the shop floor. Fair enough, and went to the till. Approaching the till, 2 ladies in their 30s and early 20s were serving. I have expressed I would like a refund for the item that had a security tag on from last night—straight away, no apology or anything—no cash refunds. I said I only ask for the item that has the tag; I did not even mention the situation about the fitting room yesterday. She looked at the other lady, and the lady in her 30s said, Please let me ask my manager if an exception can be made. She returned after a few minutes saying, Sorry, only exchange or store credit. I said I'm sorry, but the sale has not been completed in the right way last night, which has affected my very own plans for today, and I had to make an unnecessary visit, and I would like to speak to the manager. Managers come, and it turns out to be the same gentleman at the very start of my entrance in the shop. He has taken items and said, ''You would like a store credit then?'' I answered no; I would like a full refund due to the security tag left on one of the sports bras and the rest—store credit. He categorically refused in front of his staff and other customers, causing me massive discomfort and further ruining my shopping experience in this store. He kept saying, It's our policy, and I replied, I'm sure the policy is to sell items without the security tags." I have read out loud to him. REFUNDS WILL ONLY BE OFFERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS—I said my rights are to buy something with being able to try it on and no security tags on left after the purchase. He said, I'm sorry, it's a mistake." I asked him to stop interrupting me as I wanted to explain further why I needed the item, but he responded to me, "Will you let me speak''? Completely thrown me of at this point. I said, Please contact customer service for me, because we are going round in circles. He said, Everything is online; you can find the information there to call. He just would not listen at all. I replied, saying, Can I use your store telephone? and he refused, saying it's against policy. I said, Why would I have to contact the customer service and spend my very own money to speak to them? He said, Sorry, I can't help. I have informed him that at this point I do not wish to have any of the items I have bought in this shop at all, as the attitude he was giving me by now was the breaking point, and I said I would take a store credit and contact customer service from home and asked his name. He just looked at me with arrogance—I'm a store manager here, the only manager, and we do not disclose our names due to policy. I was surprised because there has never been an issue where staff would refuse to provide it. I question how so, and how other sports direct stores, for example in Belfast, do not refuse? He said they might feel okay to give it, then I said, So they're breaking the policy? He had nothing to say while processing the credit note. To summarise all of it, I just felt that the person is extremely lacking in listening skills, as I was not able to speak, and has no problem-solving skills, as not a single option has been offered, such as please take our apologies, check the sizes for the items exchange, which ended up being small, and provide customer service details for my own easy contact with you. If he would have bothered to say, ''Apologies, at this point I can only offer you a refund, and I hope you understand a human error—I could provide you further details, and there might be an exception.'' Nothing—everything was NO, NO, NO, GET OUT—this is how it felt. Embarrassing. Not providing the name to address to this complaint—I felt this was just hiding this matter away. I have never heard about such a policy—GOV.UK even says you should disclose your name when you call on the phone; does reception do not provide the name? Does the store not provide the name when customer calling? What if I wanted to leave a positive review and highlight the excellent customer service? Does the company not let this be recognized? One of the worst customer service experiences in my life. As a store manager, how will you expand your clientele in your newly opened store and lead by example if you can't simply offer a solution for your own store mistakes? I could have mentioned to the gentlemen that I'm a former retail store manager who has been working in retail for over 10 years, and there is always a manager's discretion, but I no longer wanted to be embarrassed and just wanted to leave and never return. I have ended up with £46.00 of credit note, which I have been forced to take. This is an official complaint that will be left on all online platforms if not resolved ASAP with a full refund and further compensation for the embarrassment, rudeness, and incompetence in one of your newest shops. Also, please see the attached files for your own information. Kind regards, Sandra Burton