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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 333 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

    Recently, I bought a pair of black heels. The heels had a block structure and they had this specific border around them which quite occasionally pinched on my feet, leaving bruises and scars. Therefore, I really wanted to return it as soon as I tried them on for the first time. But I failed to do so since the deadline for submitting the return policy had ended. Therefore, I decided, okay, let's just keep it, we'll give them another chance, try to break them in, but it didn't work. They kept on leaving bruises and marks around my feet and kept damaging the skin on my feet. Anyways, I chose to accept them and I tried to wear them on many occasions, but it didn't work out for me and therefore, I decided to just keep them away and not wear them as often as I would have liked to.

    Band 6-7

    There is this Diwali sale happening every time in India, once in a while. During that time, e-commerce platforms allow whooping discounts. At that time, I ordered a Kokaburra cricket bat through Amazon, which costed me around 47,000. And the discount I got is like 40%, which is almost half of the price of that, like I got the bat for 22,000. It was delivered after 3-4 days of ordering. Once I received the bat, I just checked how many edges it has and how many thick edges does it contain. Therefore, when I was checking it, there was a crack around the bottom of the neck of that bat. Then, I thought like I want to return it and I placed a return order for that. They said they will take the return within 10-15 days and they will refund the amount. But after waiting for almost 20 days, still I haven't received any money back from their side and they didn't have taken the return order. This made me a huge loss for my Diwali amount, which had let me over bankrupt almost. After getting customer support from that side, I just being like awkward when they said you can't return it because it's like non-return in order. Then the thing what I did was I have contacted the nearest branch of Amazon for help. They have done the process and once the process is done, I am just fed up with that and it has returned after 20-30 days.

    Band 6-7

    I have bought EC IELTS module course for the preparation of IELTS exam. It cost me around 15,000 which is quite expensive for me. After discussing with couple of my friends, they have said that you should have asked us before enrolling yourself in this course. So, now I'm regretting that I should have not purchased this IELTS module course. They said that they would guide me for some better videos in YouTube and other IELTS application for the preparation of the exam. What I have done that after purchasing the course, the other day I go to their EEC office and explain to them that I have dropped the plan to given the exam. I like I have dropped the plan to go abroad. So, can you please take this course back. It was like they they were like this is not our policy that we are going to take the course back. So, now we are stuck with the course. So, the return was not successfully done. So, I decided that now I I have purchased the course then I am going to prepare for the exam and going to enroll for the exam as well. The experience was like really humiliating because it shows that my decisions was not clear about how if I wanted to

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about an incident where I ordered a pair of shoes from Flipkart's Big Billion Days sale and the shoes was a nice pair of casual sneakers from Adidas. It costed me around 6000 on discount. The actual price was around 12000 and I almost got a 50% discount on it. So when I saw this discount, I quickly ordered the shoes and without reading the terms and conditions of the order. So when I was ordering it, I unintentionally chose a wrong size which was a two size smaller than my size. So when the shoes came, it didn't fit me and it was too tight for me obviously because it was a two size smaller than my original size. So then I initiated a return request that I need a size bigger and the request was still processing in 2-3 days. There was not any update on the request. After few days, I placed another request for answering my previous request and I received a call from the agent of Flipkart and they said the return is not possible because it's terms and conditions of the purchase of product that if you have purchased a product on more than 30% of discount, it is not replaceable or not returnable and that made me very sad because

    Band 6-7

    To begin with, girls are usually fond of online shopping or which is also known as window shopping. So, similarly, being a girl, I am always searching for something or the other, either be it clothing, something from the footwear, beauty brands, beauty products and many things. So, I am always looking for some of the other websites. Amazon, Flipkart, Jio, Nika are the ones which are popular and they do have the return and exchange policy with proper tags and price tags intact, they do accept it. Once I ordered a one-piece from a local website. It was a locally owned business. It was a home business. But the variety that they offered on the website was mesmerizing. It truly felt like I should buy one. But when I ordered, their size chart was not relating with the size that they had mentioned. So, when I ordered S size according to their size chart, it was actually S and it was not fitting me. Usually, I order medium sized clothes, but according to their size chart, I decided to order S size, but it did not fit me properly. And to my surprise, it did not have the return and exchange policy. Before ordering, I did not check this on their website. But being their first customer, they asked me to courier it on my personal expense and then they would initiate the exchange. They won't be sending a person from their end to collect the parcel. So yeah, that was the learning for me that I shouldn't be ordering from a local website.

    Band 6-7

    So, I remember last time when I bought a pair of jeans from Amazon, which is an online e-commerce store. I bought the jeans because I was really attracted towards it and the jeans were quite cheap and fashionable. And after receiving the product, I was very shocked because the quality was very poor and the design which was shown on the website was not matching with the one which I had received. Though it looked similar, the quality was way poorer than expected. I also noticed the buttons and the chain were not working properly and they would get stuck. The material was such that I almost tore it while I was opening the packet. Therefore, I was very disappointed. Eventually, I decided to return the product and applied it on the website. I had to wait for almost two weeks for them to pick it up and it was returned successfully. Then I vowed that I will never buy any clothing material from online stores.

    Band 6-7

    okay so I bought an air fryer and it's really something which I wanted to get from a very long time but it was not worth it because it was really way overpriced and I got it it was a wrong product I ordered a 1600 watt product and I got an 1200 watt product that is not even matching the cost then I put it in the refund and I the worst part here was I got my refund after 13 days that was not reasonable at all so I had to return it and the worst part here is I ordered it again I need to refund it because it was not working at all and after that when I felt like I wasted one month on a product which I couldn't even use so that was really a very bad feeling for me and I would say that's a pathetic experience of buying an air fryer and I still don't have that air fryer

    Band 6-7

    The recent thing I brought was a winter hoodie from AGO, an online platform. The hoodie was from GAP, which is a Renault brand for hoodies. I wanted to return it because I ordered a size which was a bit loosened up for me. When I tried to return it, I thought of replacing it with a lower size, but unfortunately, there was no lower size in stock at that time. So then I was thinking what should I do, but after a few hours, I found out they had restocked the item so that I kept the replacement instead of a return. I liked that hoodie very much. It was on my wish list for over a month and I ordered it at a huge discount, which I was feeling very grateful and I felt I was lucky. The hoodie is a black hoodie with a monkey cap, which has a textured logo on it and it looks great on me. I asked the feedback from my roommates how was it looking on me. They told it's looking great on me. It was looking wonderful and they asked me how did you get it at that price. Then I explained them this is what happened. I used my coupons and all. I used my credit card discounts so that I grabbed the offer as soon as the sale went live.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I recently bought myself a MacBook Pro initially while I was looking for a laptop. MacBook was once that I thought would be able to meet my requirements and should be able to work perfectly. But once I got it and recently I have been using it for the past two days, I'm noticing that its performance is not up to the mark that I wanted it to be and that is the reason I am willing to return it.

    Band 6-7

    Well, as I jog my memory, I remember that I bought a smartphone from an online platform known, and I was very quite ecstatic when I saw it on sale as that handheld device mobile was my favorite one to launch that year. Furthermore, as soon as I saw that it was on sale, I was quite cheered, I was quite ecstatic and owing to my enthusiasm and my eagerness, I ordered it on a whim. I was very much excited. Nevertheless, as soon as I received it, I was all over the moon. I did the unboxing, opened the sealing and got the mobile in my hand and I was very eager as it was coming on 50% sale. I had my doubts. Doubts were running in my mind like whether it's fake or it's genuine or not and as I was doing my research, I was checking the IMEI number. In addition to that, also checking the software, is it matching to the exact original model to or not. Then suddenly I had a realization. The mobile phone which I had bought was a clone. It was not original product and I was quite disgusted because I was eagerly waiting. Consequently, I tried to return it but as soon as I placed my return order, they were like we can't process the return as it doesn't go with the company policies.
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