Too expect a replacement jacket after 1 month and very little wear ?

[route666]

My dd was given a jacket from my sister for christmas, it cost just under £50. Dd has worn it at the very most 8 times, Today she was back at school and when I collected her I noticed it wouldnt zip up , 3 of the teeth are missing. I phoned the shop earlier to be told that they cant replace as dd probably broke it , I am vey annoyed dds last jacket was a cheap £10 tesco one which lasted for well over a year this one has lasted one day of her using it. Surely a childs jacket should be made to withstand a child using it ? I dont imagine she would have been forceful with it she is tiny 5 year old.

Im not sure if iabu should I just accept it and buy her another jacket even though we really cant afford it I have finances calculated too the last penny until the end of the month, even the bus fair to go to the store will leave me short.

Apologies for any spelling mistakes.

The jacket should be fit for purpose, so if the zip is broken already, it obviously isn't. Check out the Money Saving Expert website for your legal rights.

No, you need to argue your case. Tell them a jacket that won't zip up is not fit for purpose and under the Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a repair/replacement/refund.

PS, I'm not a legal person, so I may not be entirely accurate, but I'm sure it is something along those lines.

Yes they should replace it. It is not fit for purpose if a jacket for a 5 yo can be broken easily by a 5yo.
I would take it into the shop and ask to see a manager. Show things like the lining, wash label etc as these are good places to prove that it hasn't been worn much. Has your sister got the receipt? Google the correct term but I think it might be the "sale of goods act" which means things should be fit for purpose. Don't accept what they have told you. At the very least they should pay for a replacement zip to be fitted.

Someone more erudite than I in matters of law will doubtless be along shortly but I would have thought you have a case under the Sale of Goods Act (or whatever it is now). The item should be of "satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose" - sounds as if it is neither.

How are the shop suggesting your five year old managed to break the teeth on the zip? Sounds like a rather cynical ploy to get out of their statutory obligations - "blame the small child!"

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Section 2, "A contract of sale of goods is a contract by which the seller transfers or agrees to transfer the property in goods to the buyer for a money consideration, called the price." This means the shop's contract is with your sister as she bought it and she needs to be present to quote it (officially).

SoGA 1979, Section 14 Paragraph 2A: "For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances."

Companies tend to very quickly change their mind about refusing the return of goods if you quote chapter and verse ;)

Thanks for the responses,
justmuddlingalong just had a quick look and it looks like I should be able to get replacent might need to argue a bit though.

Ziggyzoom they said the jacket wont zip because dd must have broken it, the 3 missing teeth are all from the middle of the jacket and the zip is very stiff everywhere else , I think its just dodgy zip. I will need to complain some more I think.

LaundryLegoLunch I know surely it should last longer than this she has never managed to "break" any her jackets before een the cheapo ones we normaly buy. I will call the store again in the morning and ask to speak to the manager before I go all the way there. I have gift reciept should that affect getting a replacement at all ? sister has long since binned original reciept. It was purchased on 27th of november so even if she had used it since then ot would only have been a little over a month , as it is she has only worn it since christmas day . Sorry for the next stupid question but does it have to be in as new condition to qualify for a replacement , she had a burst lip at play area at the weekend and there is tiny drop of blood on the sleeve, havent tried to shift it yet scared I would make it worse.

PumpkinPositive They claim dd must have jammed it and pulled it , the place the teeth are missing from would have made this very hard to do though , I think its just a cop out.

Thanks wyldchyld I will try reason with the manager tommorow , sister lives in london unfortunatly so wont be able to go to the shop, I am in scotland.

Route666 check reviews of the jacket online and see if there's a known issue with the zip.

A receipt is just that - a receipt. It's not required to return a faulty item under the Sale of Goods Act. It is used as a proof of purchase should you wish to exchange or return it under the store's own personal exchange policy which does NOT overrule the Sale of Goods Act.

The blood won't be an issue; the damage has been caused by a wholly unrelated incident, can demonstrably seen to have no effect on the faulty article (i.e. the zip) and is not the cause for return.

There isn't a specific time limit - however, because the jacket has been worn so infrequently and the purchase date was still within the last 6 weeks, it is clearly unfit for purchase.

Hope this helps!

I would bank on the fact that the manager is unlikely to know the ins and outs of the Sale of Goods Act to a sufficient degree to demand DSis to be there =).

Be firm but polite, quote the relevant sections as written above and they should very quickly back down - if they put up a fight, ask for the manager's name and tell them that you will be reporting them to head office and, should you fail to get an adequate response, to Trading Standards. Should sort you out

justmuddlingalong great tip cant find any reviews on the website sadly and nothing on google so far , noticed its on sale though hopefully that will encourage them to exchange it.

wyldchyld Thank you , that has helped alot feel more confident about complaining now , feel justified. I will call tommorow morning and hopefully get someone more helpful than today. If it comes to it I will go to the store and refuse to leave until they deal with it I am 36 weeks pregnant so they wont want me blocking the aisles ;).

wyldchyld Thanks again hopefully dsis not being present wont matter too much, its worth a try anyway.

route666 - if it is a big chain, take the number for head office with you. If they get arsey, ring head office on your mobile whilst in the store, explain what happened and quote the manager's name. TBH, head office will almost certainly tell them to just give you the money back.

wyldchyld Will do they are a big chain, the lady I spoke to today was rude and unhelpful really hoping the manager is more reasonable.

Good luck! Let us know tomorrow how you get on =)

wyldchyld thanks will update tommorow, hopefully with good news.

Name and shame, and let us know how you get on!

Waiting to hear what happened. Hope they got you a new jacket.

Technically the contract is between your sister and the shop not you, so they are within their rights not to deal with you over it.

If your sister can prove purchase with a bank statement or credit card statement then that is as good as a receipt.

Juice I don't think it's likely that they'll take that point. If they issue gift receipts that's specifically to allow non purchasers to deal with returns/exchanges (albeit in different circumstances).

Have a look here for info on your rights

Just a quick update phoned again this morning and manager said I will have to bring it in so he can decide if it a genuine fault or one we have caused, their attitude so far is shocking was a very hurried conversation could barely get a word in , I think thy have pretty much decided they arent going to replace it without a fight , Surely a zip shouldnt break so easisly with so little wear. They are open late tonight so hoping to get dh to nip in and argue the case he is far better at this stuff.

Hope you get sorted OP. I took a coat back to TK Maxx last week that I had bought at the beginning of October for my DS. The zip kept coming apart and getting stuck. They gave me a full refund (50.00!) even though the coat was 3 months old.

I hope you managed to get this sorted, it seems that service varies from place to place.
i bought a jacket from House of Fraser, the buttons kept popping off, and eventually i lost one which spoilt the jacket, i took it back and they replaced the lost button, and re-sewed on the others for me. It happened again (each time i was wearing the jacket daily), and then i took it back and got a full refund and i bought a different jacket .....

Out of curiosity, would a pair of adult boots be "unfit for purpose" if the sole came off after 4 months? This has just happened to me and im waiting on a reply from the shop. Just wondering if it would class as wear and tear?

OP hope you get your refund. If not fb and tweet them.