I did manage to get WHSmith to give me a refund today, wasn't as easy as it should have been though.
I phoned the store this morning after they opened to enquire about returns policy and the lady I spoke to wasn't sure if there was an exception on items like ereaders or not
after asking a colleague she said they should "probably" be able to accept it.
So I made the journey in anyway even with a nagging doubt that it would be a waste of time.
Once there the lady at the till said it was no problem after she had looked it over and saw that the manual/warranty cards & charger cable were still sealed (I used an existing USB cable).
She did however say she had to get supervisor to confirm and this is where it got interesting as even though she had moved away from the till through the back - I could overhear them (the store was unusually quiet) the supervisor said no as it wasn't sealed but the other staff member argued it was ok because the cable etc. hadn't been opened. The supervisor eventually agreed with her and she came back out to process the refund.
So I'm pleased I got a refund and have already pre-ordered a Kobo Glo
- 3 weeks to go without an ereader!
but definitely a word of warning on WHSmith's customer service and returns policy. It seems to vary wildly not just from store to store, but even between different staff members in any given store.