Woman tries to exchange $100 Hollister jacket after noticing rip. Then people suggest an unethical hack after brand refuses to help: ‘I would go back’
A Hollister customer says “the most insane” thing happened after she tried to return a damaged jacket she bought from an outlet. She said that the customer service interaction fleft her shocked, angry, and empty-handed.
What went wrong with the Hollister return?
TikTok creator @jorlala shared the full story from her car in a video that got over 17,000 views.
She explains that she visited the Hollister outlet location in Livermore on Saturday, November 15, where she bought five items. Two of those items did not have tags on them.
She recalls that the associate ringing her up was polite and accommodating, so she offered to grab identical tagged versions from the floor to scan instead.
“She scans those items, keeps those items right with the tags,” @jorlala explains. “I take the ones with no tags. She doesn’t make me a replacement tag. I don’t think anything of this.”
After shopping, she says she left the bag untouched at home over the weekend. It wasn’t until the following Monday that she noticed the issue. While unpacking, she discovered that the $100 winter jacket she had purchased was ripped.
The tear ran along the seam, with stuffing visibly spilling out. “How did it rip? I have no idea. I’m thinking maybe when they took the sensor out, it ripped the jacket. I don’t know.”
She attempts to have it replaced
By Friday, she says drove to the nearest Hollister store, hoping for an easy fix. That store turned her away because the purchase came from an outlet location. She accepted that explanation and drove back to the original outlet where she bought the jacket.
This time, she asked for a direct exchange. “It’s not even that I want to return this. I just want the jacket. I like the jacket.” She showed the damaged coat on camera, saying, “A hundred-dollar jacket. Ripped. Like. I can’t [expletive] sew this. It’s literally the seam.”
She says the associate brought over a manager, who asked when the jacket was purchased and declined the exchange because the item no longer had a tag.
Even when she offered the receipt, she says the managers refused to review it. Another manager repeated the same explanation. According to her, she was told the jacket could not be returned or exchanged because damaged items without tags are final sale.
She remained calm with the employees, acknowledging how the situation might appear from their side. Still, she decided to contact corporate customer service after leaving the store.
What she received in response shocked her
She shared the full email on screen, which read in part: “As much that we’d love to help you to exchange the jacket, the purchase was made on an outlet so the system and policies are truly different than the direct purchases made on our brand. However, you can resale the item on ThredUp…”
The message went on to promote ThredUp as a resale platform and explained how customers could use it to “upcycle their clothes.”
She reacted in disbelief: “Excuse—what?”
It’s important to note that, based on currently available information, there is no collaboration between ThredUp and Hollister.
She stressed that she never even asked for a refund. All she wanted was a straight exchange for the same jacket in the same size. “I will literally send this jacket back to you. I will pay the shipping,” she reiterates. “I just want a new jacket since I spent a hundred dollars on this and it’s ripped.”
She concluded by saying she would never shop at Hollister or Abercrombie again after years of loyalty.
What are the rules on damaged items at Hollister?
On their official site, Hollister doesn’t mention what is required to initiate a return, refund, or exchange if a customer receives a faulty item.
“If you still have your receipt, we can credit you back to your original form of payment,” they wrote. “Without a receipt, we will provide you with the last known value as a merchandise credit.”
Commenters suggest workarounds—and cross ethical lines
Many viewers focused on how she might solve the problem herself. Several suggestions openly encouraged bending the rules.
“I would go back to the outlet store, buy another one, take the tag off of that one and use it to return the ripped one. Yes, I know this isn’t the most honest thing, but I’m sure the store will recover,” one person wrote.
@jorlala @Abercrombie and Fitch @abercrombie @hollister AN INSANE WAY FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE TO HANDLE THIS #baristalife #baristatok #retail #retailproblems #worklife ♬ original sound – bhadbharista
Another added a similar strategy based on personal experience. “Hi, former employee here with similar experience,” another said. “Just keep going to different stores. Don’t be honest just say you want to return it and rip a tag off another one.”
Others questioned the store’s responsibility in selling tagless items to begin with. “If it’s store policy to not return an item with no tag then it should be store policy to not sell the item without a tag,” one commenter wrote.
One person pushed for direct accountability inside the original location. “Go back to the original store and ask for the person that helped you. The name should be on the receipt,” they wrote. “Then remind her how she sold you things without tags and then ask for the manager when she corroborates your story. Tell them you just want to exchange it and that they shouldn’t be selling items without a tag.”
At the time of publishing, Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch have not immediately responded to a request for comment from The Mary Sue. We’ve also reached out to @jorlala via TikTok messages.
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