Chloe bag, Harrods - AIBU?

[Pomegranatepompom]

I purchased a mini Marcie last January, lovely bag but only used about 20 times as it's quite small so not practical for day to day use. The edging has come away from the strap (both sides). Emailed Harrods to enquire re repairs, who've said this will be at my own cost. This was a £500 bag, I'm pretty unhappy about the response. Reasonable or not?

[DuchyDuke]

Try the manufacturer. Some may repair.

[IWannaSeeHowItEnds]

If no joy with manufacturer, try contacting consumer rights advisers. Goods have to be fit for purpose and last a reasonable amount of time. A £500 bag should not have peeling straps. If the bag is otherwise in very good condition, I think it would be hard for Harrods to argue wear and tear.
Also your contract is with the seller, not the manufacturer iirc, so Harrods shouldn't be passing the buck imo.

[Pomegranatepompom]

Getting no joy from Harrods who say it's outside their return policy, no matter how lightly used. Very poor. Will try consumer route.

[LadyLapsang]

Have you clarified with Harrods that you don't want a refund / replacement, just for the straps to be repaired? Considering it from their point of view, you bought the bag 17 months ago, they don't know how often you will have used it during that time. Clearly a lot of people will tell them they have only used a product a few times, they have to decide whether to take what people say at face value which will push up the cost for their other customers or take a more tailored approach.Have you got a quotation for the repair?

[Pomegranatepompom]

Yes I said I just wanted it repaired. I sent a photo which I think demonstrates well the overall good condition.

[IWannaSeeHowItEnds]

I would escalate the complaint at Harrods as well as contacting consumer rights advisors.
Do Harrods use twitter?

[LadyLapsang]

I would go in person with the bag in its storage bag and the receipt. Be well dressed, carrying another good handbag (so they can see that your assertion about not using it much is likely to be true) and polite but assertive. They will not want you standing in the middle of the shop floor when they are trying to sell bags, complaining about the quality of the goods, so I think they are more likely to try to resolve the issue.

[wishingiwaslucky47]

That’s terrible customer service. I purchased a Gucci bag December 2016 from House of Fraser. InJanuary of this year, I noticed the zip started catching and it noticed there was a hole starting to develop on the edge of the zip.

House of Fraser sent it back to Gucci who repaired it free of charge and I use my bag every single day.

[RiskIt4Biscuit]

I would contact the Chloe customer services. www.chloe.com/gb - Contact Us is in the top right corner.

I haven't dealt with Chloe, but have dealt with similar higher end brands, and I've always found that calling first to describe the issue, and then following up with an email with pictures helps.

[Invisimamma]

I used to work in the handbag dept of a large HoF that stocked Chloe, albeit 10 years ago! We would have sent the bag back to Chloe who would usually do a repair like you describe free of charge. Occasionally, the customer would have to pay for the repair if it was felt the damage was due to improper use (doesn’t sound like it in your case).

Some customers were very unhappy at the suggestion of repairs as they wanted a full replacement, but outwith the returns policy this wouldn’t be offered on a Chloe bag.

[Pomegranatepompom]

Thank you, I have emailed Chloe directly.

[Pomegranatepompom]

Grrr - Chloe say the same as Harrods. Outside warranty and any repairs I have to pay for. So disappointing and annoying.

[IWannaSeeHowItEnds]

Contact the consumer rights people. Goods have to be fit for purpose and durability in proportion to cost is something they would take into account.

[cessie322]

I think that's very poor. I bought a Jimmy Choo bag in the States years ago and a few months later one of the links in it popped out. I'm living in Dublin but brought it into the store here that sell Jimmy Choo and they sent it off to be repaired with no charge. I would contact consumer rights as others have suggested.