Pissed off with bugaboo! Within warranty but they won't fix pushchair!!

[Steelojames]

To cut a long story short,
I have a bugaboo cameleon3 that was purchased by my friend who works at john Lewis.
She got a discount. As a result, the puschair is in her name, and she had it delivered to her address then brought to my baby shower.
The puschair was purchased brand new in August 2013.
Last weekend whilst out with my son, the handle bar broke and I was furious!!! It was incredibly unsafe for my son and so I took it straight back to john lewis who gave me a replacement bee and sent the cskeleton off to be repaired.
I receive a phone call from john Lewis stating bugaboo won't fix as out of warranty, even though I have supplied proof of purchase!!!!!!!!
The serial number on the chassis indicates that the pushchair is 2 years old, and that is wrong!!! The puschair is 14 months old and under warranty yet despite prof of purchase bugaboo do not believe me!!
As puschair in friends name they won't speak to me about it when I rang, are not sympathetic to the situation and my sons safety and insulted me by implying the pushchair is out of warranty and that I must have got it second hand.
I don't know how the chassis has a different date!!
John Lewis are fighting with bugaboo to get this sorted.
I have sent a nasty email to bugaboo to complain.
I feel let down by bugaboo, why have I invested £800+ in a puschair that is not fit for purpose?!!!!!! Then to make matters worse they won't even fix for some unknown error to me?!! Not to mention the risk they out my son in!! A pushchair of this kind should not develop such a fault!! Not after 14 months!!
Anyone have any advice, I'm leavng john lewis to sort but I'm getting stressed!!

Yes it makes it second hand as the buggy was then sold in a subsequent transaction. Whether the original purchaser used it or not doesn't matter.

Then all that has to be done is the op say it was a gift, I don't see the problem, nobody can prove otherwise!

It's almost like splurging the best part of a grand on a buggy is a waste of money.

Well maybe it is for some. I have never owned a buggy or pram.

Bugaboo are excellent at replacing any problems with their prams quickly and without any dramas when the warranty is valid, however they are vigilant about the receipt and warranty being in the original purchaser's name as bugaboos have such a good resale value and lifetime, they could potentially be replacing the same pram for 3 or 4 different users.

I know of a couple of people who have been bought bugaboos as gifts and had no problems claiming from waranty (not bought in JL) because the baby shop will ask who the pram is actually for and record this on the system, however here's your problem as obviously your friend couldn't do this.

The date on the chassis is a red herring, your warranty is void because of the pram being second hand (in bugaboo's opinion- I'm not going to get into that argument), not because of the date of manufacture. Warranty lasts two years from initial purchase not from manufacture, bugaboo have no problems upholding this, lots of people buy floor stock bugs when the new range comes out, they can be two years old before they ever leave the shop and they still get their two year warranty.

Im sorry, the baby shop ask who it is for and put it in their system? Yeah right, you are having a laugh aren't you? I have bought several prams and never once had name and address put into system, that is complete nonsense. Its not a tv where you have to have a licence fgs! Bugaboo should honour their warranty,

And they obviously don't have a good lifetime as the OPs one broke!

It's almost like splurging the best part of a grand on a buggy is a waste of money

Yup! Mine was a mothercare travel system which cost less than a quarter of this one & lasted 8yrs & 2 kids (lrg age gap)

As far as I know it is still going strong after being donated to a young mums hostel.

Landrover I've bought 2 buggies from 2 different shops and both recorded all my info. Useful when one of the raincovers went, as they ordered a replacement without quibble from the manufacturer. Same with carseats and even high chairs. Three independent shops (Lullabys, the InCar Safety Centre, and Back In Action) and John Lewis, and they all did it. It's very common.

OP if your friend bought the buggy from John Lewis, and then in turn you gave her the money so she passed it on to you, then it WAS second hand. If you get something from Ebay and it's new with tags, it is still second hand, because by definition another set of hands passed it to you after original store purchase. Your buggy may have been unused, but it was second hand.

I can't help but suspect that John Lewis are trying to establish the details of your friend's purchase and the amount of money involved for their own purposes, not because Bugaboo care either way. John Lewis is owned by the staff who work there. In a very real sense, taking money from the profits is taking from colleagues. It directly affects their annual bonuses, so I'm not surprised people are unhappy about it. The discount is for staff, not all and sundry.

OP....I know there is a team within JL whose job it is to investigate allegations of using staff discount against policy. Your friend should be very careful.

Hmm. Op, the fact JL are asking for your friends dates of employment etc is of concern.

Does JL contract allow a fraud investigation to take place after an employer leaves on fraud committed on a john lewis card during employment? Can a teacher be employed with a fraud record?

Does sound like op friend is being investigated by jl. That phone call re dates. Do they really have a team within jl that investigates. (Just curious). How they get around the grandparent gift of pram problem with warranty.

Also john lewis do record purchases on their system, this may be fraud prevention or marketing or to help with returns. I had my details recorded when I bought a kitchen appliance.

Bugaboo will not be interested in the dates your friend worked for JL etc.

www.cambridge-news.co.uk/ExJohn-Lewis-worker-jailed-card-fraud/story-22360171-detail/story.html

Different situation, ex colleague kept using her card after being sacked by JL so they took her to court for fraud. They had previously taken her to caught for stealing £200. But note the discount amount stolen was just over £200 and the theft was £200. This suggests they take it very seriously.

Your friend needs to read her old JL contract. If you have already told JL that she bought it using her discount card and you paid her back post delivery, she may want to check if her home insurance includes legal advice and then call them for advice.

It may be best to speak to your friend before you speak to JL or bugaboo again. Especially to confirm dates of employment etc.

Op have you admitted to John Lewis or bugaboo that you paid your friend for the pushchair? If not then I don't see how they can prove that it wasn't a gift.

Wasn't it bugaboo asking for dates? Normally they won't do repairs under warranty if purchaser and warranty holder are different people, so by asking JL if and when your friend worked there they are trying to corroborate your story that it was a gift she bought there, and not just bought second hand. Persevere but avoid nasty emails, they rarely work!

"why have I invested £800+ in a puschair"

It is clear from the OP's first post that she did pay her friend.

By then saying it was a gift she is comitting fraud and theft. She may be happy to go down the route of insisting it was a gift to Bugaboo, but that's her call.

Please approach this very carefully and avoid sending angry emails to JL. I'm not sure if you are hearing what people are saying on this thread but you could be getting into deep doo doo. Despite what you say, it appears that, in legal purchase terms, the buggy is second hand.

Bugaboo are saying it's out of warranty because according to law, you are the 2nd owner of the pushchair. They make it quite clear that their warranty does not transfer with ownership, that it sits only with the first purchaser of the pushchair.

There is a difference between receiving something as a gift, eg if grandparents buy the pushchair and give it without money changing hands, and your friend buying the pushchair on her card, then you giving her money.

John Lewis are trying to establish what exactly happened because they have been put on notice that your friend has used her card to enable you to buy a pushchair with a discount.

I'd tread very carefully if I were you - Bugaboo aren't going to fix the pushchair, and if you push this your friend could end up with a ton of hassle on her hands.

How are Bugaboo putting your child at risk?

As many other posters have pointed out, any agreement would have been between your friend and the manufacturer. The pushchair was not obtained for you as a gift; as such it is secondhand and the warranty is invalid.

If there is a genuine safety issue with the pushchair then approach trading standards. Don't expect a refund though - that ship sailed when you and your friend obtained a discount to which you were not entitled.

Cars tend to be an easier way of explaining this.

As soon as you register a car, it's had an owner. It doesn't matter if you never see it, or drive it, or sit in it. It's record will always show one owner at that point.

When you sell the car on, the next person becomes the second owner. They might be the person who puts the first miles on the clock, or opens the door for the first time, but they will always be the second owner.

It's the same for your bugaboo. Your friend was the first owner. She didn't use it and sold it immediately, but she owned it. She sold it to you. You are the second owner, and therefore the warranty is void, and any legal rights about the sale must now be directed at your friend, rather than JL.

If you argue that you were the first owner, and your friend never owned the buggy, then you are admitting that the discount was wrongly applied. You may well get a repair, if you can prove this, but your friends fraud will be uncovered. That's why bugaboo want the dates to share with JL.

Yes Landrover, as others have confirmed, baby shops nowadays log who the purchase is for. I don't see why this seems so shocking it makes perfect sense both to cover the buyer and the shop itself. It was very handy when my high chair broke and I'd lost the receipt for the warranty, they could just print another one. Also handy when buying a friend a gift to make sure she didn't already have the same one.

Bugaboos may be a high initial price but they are renowned for their durability and high quality (obviously there will always be the odd defect in one but bugaboo are excellent at replacing this for the original owner). Maybe that's why I've only ever purchased one pram and it's lasted through three children instead of having the experience of purchasing "several prams"

Regardless of whether we claim it is second hand or not it is still within warranty!! As is not older than 2 years!
I was given the pushchair brand new and I am the first owner!

Bugaboo are the ones wanting to know my friends details not JL.
JL accept the situation and are happy with info I have provided. It's bugaboo who are being difficult.

Why isn't your friend dealing with Bugaboo directly?