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Describe something you bought that you really wanted to return: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What you bought?
  • Why you wanted to return it?
  • What happened when you tried to return it?
  • And explain how you felt afterward.
Show all 294 answers

Cue 1:What you bought?

  • Begin by clearly stating the item you purchased and its significance to you.
  • Include details about where and when you bought it to set the context.

Example

I bought a pair of expensive wireless headphones from an online store during a sale. I had been wanting them for months because I love listening to music while commuting and exercising.

Cue 2:Why you wanted to return it?

  • Explain the specific reasons that led you to want to return the item.
  • Mention any expectations you had that were not met.

Example

After using the headphones for a few days, I realized that the sound quality was not as good as I had hoped. Additionally, they were uncomfortable to wear for long periods, which was disappointing since I had read many positive reviews.

Cue 3:What happened when you tried to return it?

  • Describe the process you went through to return the item.
  • Share any challenges or frustrations you faced during the return process.

Example

When I contacted customer service to initiate the return, I faced long wait times on the phone. They informed me that I needed to send the headphones back at my own expense, which I found frustrating. Eventually, I managed to send them back, but it took a lot longer than I expected.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt afterward.

  • Reflect on your emotions after the return process was completed.
  • Discuss any lessons learned from the experience.

Example

After finally returning the headphones, I felt relieved but also a bit frustrated with the whole experience. I learned to be more cautious when buying expensive items online and to read reviews more thoroughly before making a purchase.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, returning the headphones was a challenging experience, but it taught me valuable lessons about online shopping and managing expectations. I now feel more confident in making future purchases.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your response unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the item you bought or your feelings about returning it.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the item, including its name and features. Describe your feelings and experiences in detail to create a clearer picture.

    2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Failing to express your emotions can make your answer less engaging. It's important to convey how the experience affected you personally.

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    Tip

    Share your feelings before and after the return process. Use descriptive language to express your emotions, such as frustration or relief.

    Ignoring the Return Process

    Not explaining what happened during the return process can leave your answer incomplete. Candidates often skip this crucial part, which can lead to a lack of depth.

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    Tip

    Detail the steps you took to return the item, including any challenges faced. This adds depth to your story and shows your problem-solving skills.

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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    So there was this one time when I was going to the restaurant. I saw a post related to Korean pants being sold. And at that moment Korean pants were the talk of the show. I mean everyone wants to have Korean pants which look really cool and stylish. So I went ahead and bought myself a Korean pants and when it arrived I tried it on but it was really thick and baggy which I didn't like at all. So I tried returning it back but the customer service didn't reply to it spontaneously so I just don't know what to say.

    Band 6-7

    Buying and returning things are a very joyful phase of everyone's life. As I will now introduce my fast track watch. It's been a very decent watch that I bought but after my suggestions from parents and my friends and my most effective suggestion was from my brother's side as the color of the watch is very dull that means it's not very bright. As my brother says that watch suits with bright colors. So the brother's suggestion hit my mind and I often thought that I will return the watch. I bought the fast track watch from the mall and returned it and have a new watch with bright colors. As I think the shopkeeper didn't say anything about that. They just simply returned the watch and gave me my blue color watch.

    Band 6-7

    On a fine Saturday evening, my mom asked me to buy some refined oils for our food purpose. I went to the nearby departmental stores and I have bought one. Unfortunately I missed to check the expiry date but I came back to my home. My mom noticed that and I got many scold for that and then I just went to return back the refined oil to the property owner. Unfortunately during that time, I don't have the manager there. There was only two sales persons accounting the billing and sales. But I asked the manager to come on my call and I clarified him why I was returning back the oil and I also forced him to take out all the expired stocks in the departmental stores eventually it will cause harm for many other individuals in my neighborhood. Politely they have accepted it and the next few minutes they have removed all and the new stocks piled up and I brought the new one back to my home. During that day, I felt really nice. I had a great sleep that remembering I saved many of the persons health on that particular day by not giving expired oil.

    Band 6-7

    Usually, I don't like to return products that I bought in online as it involves a large number of procedures. However, last time I got a bad experience from an online site. The experience was, I bought a pair of shoes from a flipkart last month and I think the pictures that was shown in the site was pretty good. And when I got the product, I opened the box immediately after the delivery boy go back. Then I found that the shoes are not in a correct size and also these shoes are not in a pair. One shoe is of another brand and the next one is the brand which I ordered. And it was cost around 10,000 K which was a huge amount for me. So, I don't want to waste my money for buying wrong products. And that was not my mistake. I ordered the correct product and the company cheated me by sending wrong products to me. I didn't find any defects on them. However, the brand and the size was not in a correct manner. And I just opened their customer care platform to claim return on the product. First, they didn't respond immediately. But I tried messaging them to return my product as soon as possible. I have to refund the money soon. However, the next day they reverted that.

    Band 6-7

    Okay, so there was a perfume that I've ordered. It was from the website that to a very popular website known as Flipkart and I ordered a perfume from that. It was quite expensive. And what I got on the day it delivered is just a real water bottle that that costs like 20 rupees I would say and I was devastated when I found that out. So I just called the customer service and I asked them to repeat that and I literally asked them that I wanted to return this item and they were very, very supportive. They returned it and placed a new order that the same day and I got delivery after three to five days besides I was devastated those days when.

    Band 6-7

    It was in 2019 when it was character day in my college and I wanted to become my favorite character Spiderman. So I ordered a Spiderman suit from Amazon and I wanted to flex it in front of my friends. So it was for 2000 rupees and I wished that I would wear it for a day and then return it. But because of my inconvenience and mistake, I didn't see that the suit was non-returnable. It was written, it is replaceable but not returnable. That is, if there is any defect, you can replace the suit. But it is not allowed to return. But I forgot to read it and I bought the suit for 2000 bucks and then I enjoyed. I wore it and it was perfect fit and my friends loved it. I clicked many pictures, I filmed a video and everywhere I went wearing that suit. But then it was the time when I had to return it. And the next day when I came back home bringing the suit, I washed it properly in my washing machine and then I gave it to dry cleaning for cleaner. And then after properly ironing the suit, I went to the app to check the dates when it can be returned. And there, on my surprise, I could see that there was no option for return. So I felt disheartened at that time that I forgot to read the instructions carefully. But then I tried calling the customer care that it was because of my inconvenience that I couldn't return the suit. But then the customer care requested me that it is not returnable and we are very sorry that we can't accept it. So you have to keep it because it is against our policies. So that was a mistake made by me and I felt very bad for wasting my 2000 rupees as it was not returnable.

    Band 6-7

    In day-to-day life, as most of us use social media, as well as we use several payment applications, we do online transactions. And we get fascinated by the deals as well as we get excited when we see our favorite celebrities who are using some sort of a gadget, airports. So, here I would like to talk about one of the incidents which recently happened with me. Two days back, I saw an advertisement of airport. So, in my Instagram algorithm, I used to see a lot of advertisements related to airports. And suddenly, after I have done couple of payments, online payments, I got an offer from Google Pay that you will get a 75% discount if you buy this product. And they gave me a code. I was fascinated by the deal and I have clicked. In frustration, I used to think I don't spend my money, wasting my time. So, I finally bought those airports. Then, after some time, I realized this is not a requirement. I have airports. Why should I buy? But I wanted to cancel that item. But the return policy was different. So, I couldn't able to return that item. The reason I wanted to return that item was, I took that decision in FOMO. So, that was the reason and I bought something which I was not supposed to buy.

    Band 6-7

    Few months back I started going gym, it was been 3 months I was going to the gym but I could not see any improvement inside my body like growing up the muscles, chest muscles or biceps, triceps or legs, calves. I talked with my trainer and he suggested me to go for a whey protein. I came home, I researched about the whey protein in the google and I came to know that GNC is the best whey protein in India. I looked for the flavors and I ordered for cookies and cream. After 7 days I received this product at my home and when I opened the product there was a QR code to scan to verify that it is original. After 7 days was getting opened, I came to know that this is a fake product. Then I raised a complaint and GNC customer care. I tried to tell them about my problem and I shared them the pictures and videos everything. But the worst thing which I like was that they did not return my product even after 20 days of constantly complaining everyday. After that I decided to just keep it in my house and give it to someone who need it.

    Band 6-7

    I wanted to read as I purchased an Apple iPhone from Amazon website as doing shopping on most of the online apps improve the ad's convenience without going to the market and doing bargains with the shopkeepers. Now a days mostly people order online all the things which are necessary to their home and which are easily deliverable. I ordered an iPhone 15 from Amazon website and it was showing that it will be delivered after 4 days of ordering. I got delivered very late as after a week but it was no problem at all because if I am getting a nice mobile instead of waiting 2 days more. When I opened the box I felt something bad as the box is already opened from one side and the wrapper was tear from one side of the box. When I opened the phone it was charged like 60% of the battery and most of the new smartphones doesn't have this type of battery. So I suspected that there should be a scam with me and I also requested to the service centre to return my phone and initiate me or deliver me a new phone as there I didn't like that phone that set very much as they completely compromise with me, completely agree with my talk and wanted to give me a return a new phone. So I wanted to return.

    Band 6-7

    I was out online shopping when I saw these pair of jeans at a discounted rate. For me, when it comes to a pair of jeans that I like to wear, I want them to be baggy. I want them to have a little faded look, which is not very much available in the market these days. Therefore, I have to opt out to buy online. Many a times, when buying things on the internet, it's difficult to identify what material it's made of or how the quality is. Of course, you can read reviews, you can interpret ratings, but never always is accurate. So I bought these pair of jeans online, and they were delivered to my place. I saw that they neither were of the same size, of the same color, and neither did they fit the same design, and I was very disappointed. I immediately pressed on return on my phone, and they were picked up next day. Often, after doing online payments, it's a little bit of a scare for people as to when they'll get their money, although the money return was prompt, and I felt kind of hopeless because I never really get jeans, and I love jeans.
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