Herrington Harassment

My email to Herrington Catalog Customer Service 7/4/11:

I ordered Trask Laredo loafers, dark brown suede, for which my credit card was charged $95.45 on June 8th. The shoes arrived scuffed and defective.

I put them back in the box, used your USPS shipping label, included the paperwork that came with the shoes and your return form and sent them back within about two days of receiving them and asked for a refund. I have not gotten the refund and it's almost a month later.

What's the story? I dropped the properly labeled box at our local post office. Have you received it? If not, what is my recourse since I did send the shoes back to you and asked for a refund? Thank you.

I don't know the order number, but believe you can look it up given the information below. mlhjr

Response 7/5/11:

Dear Mr. Hirsch,

Thank you for your email inquiry. Please be advised your return was processed by our Returns Department on Thursday, June 30th. A credit of $79.50 was issued to your credit card. Please watch for the credit on your next credit card statement. I hope this information is helpful. If I can be of further assistance please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Tom
Herrington Catalog
Customer Service

My response to Tom:

So, just the cost of the product rather than shipping as well? Hmmmm. The shoes were defective and that's why I returned them. So, why not a full refund? Mlhjr

And his to me:

Dear Mr. Hirsch,

Thank you for your email. Herrington Catalog does not refund the initial shipping and handling charges on returned items. I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused. If I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Tom

My last one to Tom:

I understand the policy. Seems to me, though, that when a defective item is sent that I should not be penalized. But I will take this into account when deciding whether to purchase from your catalog again. mlhjr

Received 7/6/11:

Dear Mr. Hirsch,

Thank you for your response. Should you receive defective merchandise from a future Herrington Catalog purchase, please contact us before sending back the merchandise for refund or exchange. We will be more than happy to work with you to return the defective article to our Returns Department at no additional cost to you. Should you opt for an exchange, please note that you would incur further shipping and handling charges. I hope this information is helpful.