Equality Act (Provision of Goods and Services) and potential legal action

Cookiefish
Cookiefish Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
edited March 2024 in Everyday life
I'm autistic/ ADHD and as such struggle with executive function. This includes keeping on top of my personal emails (I get a lot of junk too), and my junk mail automatically deletes after 7 days to manage this. Even with this, I find it overwhelming and often miss things.
A while back I bought a £25 giftcard for Boots and used this for an online order to collect in store. I never received a text, email or notification that the order had arrived but got an email a few days later that my giftcard would be refunded, with the remainder refunded to my debit card. I kept checking the gift card, no refund. A couple of weeks later, I emailed Boots customer service. They got back to me and said that I had been sent a separate gift card as a refund by email (which was not what the refund email suggested). I advised I couldn't find this and requested they sent it again. This went back and forward a few times and they considered the matter closed, repeatedly told me to check my junk email despite explaining my disability and the reasons that the junk mailbox got emptied after 7 days. I mentioned the Equality Act. Surely a reasonable adjustment would be to resend the email, but they refused. I've just put in a Subject Access Request for copies of all email correspondence for a three months period. However, I'm concerned they may return the request with the gift card information redacted or with an expired link, in which case, I am still out of pocket. In which case, my intention is possibly legal action. I know it's a small amount, but it's the principle of it, and had I not had a disability, I would not have been disadvantaged. My argument would be that the unclear communication suggesting the original gift card being refunded and refusal to resend the email would constitute a failure to make reasonable adjustments, and also a provision, criterion or practice leading to indirect discrimination. 
Does anyone have any experience of legal action for provision of goods and services? I'm hoping the SAR has the information I need, or at least they investigate and resolve the complaint before it has to go to court. Petty as it sounds, I am prepared to take them to court on principle- even if the outcome is just getting costs pluas my £25 back. Even when I mentioned the Equality Act and their duties and said I would send a SAR to access the email, they didn't budge. Any advice would be appreciated. 

Comments

  • Albus_Scope
    Albus_Scope Posts: 8,693 Scope Online Community Coordinator
    Heya @Cookiefish and a belated welcome to the community. :)

    I'm sorry to see no one was able to offer any advice, did you manage to resolve your issues with Boots? 

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