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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Mothercare should fulfil its legal obligation and refund me? Preferably without implying I'm a liar!

70 replies

KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:18

I am SO angry about this. It is only £12.50 but that's not the bloody point.Angry

I bought a cot mobile 3 months ago and it broke when I wound it up one evening. The plastic hook at the top of the pole which holds the music bit snapped.

I took it back to Taunton Mothercare today complete with the receipt and all parts, including the snapped off bit of plastic.

The store manager said it was too long since I had bought it to give me a refund, although offered me an exchange or gift card. I didn't want another one - what is the point of a second potentially faulty item - so I asked her why she wouldn't refund me. She said it had been too long since I bought it and that she had didn't know how it happened. I explained that she did indeed know exactly how it happened - I had explained and also showed her how it happened and I asked her why she didn't believe me and was implying I was lying. She said she wasn't calling me a liar but that she wasn't technical (WTF?? You need a degree now to work out that a bit of plastic broke? At a guess I would say because it wasn't strong enough, no?) She said as there was no proof of how it broke - it could be a retailer problem or down to the user (ie I did something wrong with it) - she wasn't going to refund me.

I asked about why it wasn't covered under the Sale of Goods Act, since I thought it covered items which were faulty for 6 months from the date of sale. She agreed that was the case but then said it was too long since I had bought it, despite admitting that 3 months is in fact less than the 6 months covered by law and simply repeated that she didn't have proof of how it broke. I asked her how she thought I had miused it to break it in such a way that it was my fault and she wasn't able to say.

She then gave me a comps slip with the head office details to make a complaint. Which I will certainly be doing.

I should have known better than to buy anything from there really - and I sure as hell will not be returning to spend my gift card - but I am so cross that she just appears to have decided that I was lying or that she couldn't be bothered to meet her legal requirements.

So, AIBU? She certainly seemed to think so.

OP posts:
Fleurdebleurgh · 27/02/2012 13:23

You cant prove that it doesnt come under 'accidental damage' therefore tough tits.

KittyAnne · 27/02/2012 13:28

Mothercare is to customer service what Katie Price is to natural beauty.

Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:31

Please can you explain 'accidental damage' as you refer to is Fleur? Not sure why you have it in apostrophes so I would appreciate it if you could expand on that, thanks.

Also,if she would have refunded me if it had been a month (as she stated) but not over that, it is more likely that I broke it deliberatly, or lied, after a month? Is there some time limit after which lying increases in probability?

OP posts:
Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:32

Apologies for poor spelling btw - am nak

OP posts:
edam · 27/02/2012 13:35

Fleur, that's rubbish. Mothercare do indeed have a legal duty under the Sale of Goods Act to refund, replace or repair faulty goods. A cot mobile should last longer than three months.

Kirsty, do call head office, and if you don't get a suitable apology and refund, contact Consumer Direct or Trading Standards. I'd ask for a refund on the gift card as well as you now have no intention of shopping with them again, but obviously that's an extra, not a legal right.

Firawla · 27/02/2012 13:35

you are only spiting/spiteing(?) yourself if you don't go back to spend the gift card though. gift card is pretty much same as a refund i think you are overreacting

ILoveMortenHarket · 27/02/2012 13:37

They are pretty flimsy tbh. We had one.
Heavy handed dh broke it.

Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:38

I have nothing to spend the card on though - we have everything we need equipment-wise, the clothes are all naff and we already have all the cloth nappies we will need until he is in pants so I can't even spend it on nappies.

OP posts:
ILoveMortenHarket · 27/02/2012 13:40

Well you could spend the refundcard on a gift.
Or some books for your baby.

Fleurdebleurgh · 27/02/2012 13:40

Poor english in my first post.

You broke it. The plastic snapped. Either you were too forceful or the plastic used was inadequate.

If the latter, they would have had more of the same item returned, and would probably have it flagged as a design fault. Therefore it would be covered under manufacturers warranty and not classed as accidental damage.

In every Customer Services dept i have worked in ~(several high street shops), it is pretty standard to only offer a cash refund in the first month of purchase, and a repair/replacement thereafter.

Yes she probably could have refunded you, she probably didnt because you are coming across as one of those "I HAVE A GREAT UNCLE WHO WORKS FOR TRADING STANDARDS YA KNOW" people.
They never got a sausage out of me. Smile

Northernlurker · 27/02/2012 13:42

Can you swap the card with a friend who will spend it and them give you the cash?

I agree with you - a) Mothercare is crap at service and b) it should last longer. I still have dd1's - she is 14 this year and it's been used for two other dcs!

Ladyjaxo · 27/02/2012 13:42

Hi,
Under the sale of goods act, in the first 6 months the onus is on the retailer is to prove that the goods were not faulty at the point of sale. All goods sold must be fit for the purpose sold and of satisfactory quality/ durable. It is assumed that if the item broke then there was an inherent fault and therefore it is not of satisfactory quality (sections 13 -15). You should not have to "prove" anything, it would be assumed that a cot mobile might be handled by a child, therefore the minimum quality should mean that the hooks doesn't break. I think a quick post on mothercare twitter/facebook, mentioning the health and safety risk as well as trading standards and failure to fulfil their legal obligations, long time customer disappointed etc etc, should get you a result.

PS it's not the amount that matters , I am pissed of at all these retailers shirking their legal responsibilities when it comes to customer service, the more people who complain, know the law, then maybe you wouldn't have to go through that hassle.

Fleurdebleurgh · 27/02/2012 13:44

Edam, they offered her a replacement or repair. They are not obligied to offer a cash refund.

edam · 27/02/2012 13:48

Fleur - yeah, I know stories try to evade the law by saying 'we don't have to offer a refund, it's more than five minutes since you bought it'. Wrong. That's not what the Sale of Goods Act says. Companies that sell shoddy goods and lie about it are disgraceful but there are plenty of them.

Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:48

Thanks for clarifying Fleur. FWIW I don't know if it was flagged up as a design flaw and neither does she - she didn't check anything at all on the computer, and I am assuming she doesn't carry in-depth knowledge of all products in her head. Or the law either as it would appear.

I also felt it was up to them to prove it wasn't faulty, rather than me to prove it was. Glad someone else thinks the same!

And I wasn't rude - although I did want to be - because I know that never achieves anything.

Ladyjaxo - are you a legal bod? Can I cut and paste some of your comment in my email to them please?Grin That is exactly what I wanted to say to the manager but was too stressed out to word properly!

OP posts:
Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:49

Cross posted with your last post Fleur. I do know you are wrong actually - they have to offer a refund as I tried to explain to the manager.

OP posts:
Ladyjaxo · 27/02/2012 13:50

look at this link from oft (it how I got a full refund on a Washing Machine that broke down after 2 years, with no hassle) :
www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/sogaexplained/

Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 13:50

Thanks Ladyjaxo- will do!

OP posts:
Shakey1500 · 27/02/2012 13:52

Agree that you are entitled to a full refund as the item is faulty and not fit for purpose. Even if there hasn't been a raft of them returned already it's possible that this is a design fault and needs highlighting.

Ladyjaxo · 27/02/2012 13:54

Lol! nah A-level consumer law and I am a rabid MSE'r and am so tired of these companies doing this to people LOL! Give me a few minutes I will cut and paste the washing machine letter. :-)

Fleurdebleurgh · 27/02/2012 14:00

I think some of you need to look up what 'fit for purpose' actually covers.

DarrowbyEightFive · 27/02/2012 14:02

"They never got a sausage out of me. smile"

What's with the smiley, Fleur? Are you actually proud of the fact that you have denied customers their statutory rights? it appears so. And you make a decision about whether to give a refund based on the customer's attitude to you, rather than the legal situation? I wonder how many customers you lost your employers - perhaps previously loyal customers who you pissed off and who never returned to the shop because of your inability to comprehend that sometimes goods are just faulty (and it may not necessarily have been flagged up - perhaps it was just one faulty batch, or perhaps people have been so narked by poor customer service in the past that they can't be arsed with dealing with a shirty assistant).

Fleurdebleurgh · 27/02/2012 14:05

You can pretty much always tell who is lying and who is telling the truth when they are returning items Darrow.

Original poster
KirstyJC · 27/02/2012 14:06

Hands up who thinks Fleur works for Mothercare....Grin

Nice attitude there Fleur - statutory rights are not there to be met when you feel like it or only if the customer is polite you know....clue is in the name really.

OP posts:
Fleurdebleurgh · 27/02/2012 14:09

Oh god no. All day surrounded by precious mums to be choosing incorrect carseats and Myleene sleepsuits? No ta. Wink