AIBU to ask for a refund on this coat? Pic included

[Laura2006]

I bought a navy blue coat from M&S over a year ago and no longer have the receipt. I really like the coat but as it's quite smart, I don't wear it every day and often save it for special occasions/ evenings out etc.

Recently I wore it on a rainy day and it got soaked. I thought nothing of it and hung it up to dry. The next day I was shocked to see it covered in a weird, blotchy pattern from where the rain had dried. From a distance it looks like mould so I'm reluctant to wear it out again. I've included a picture so you can see what I mean.

AIBU to take it back for a refund? I'm wondering if something in the material is faulty as its not normal for a coat to go like that after encountering rain for the first time. Would I be likely to get anywhere, as I bought it a while ago and can't even remember the exact price?

[FlatOnTheHill]

OP you said you will 'wash it'
Dont wash it, get it dry cleaned professionally.

[hefzi]

Give it a good brush with a clothes' brush first - sometimes rain is grubby, and leaves marks on stuff (I think there was something in the papers the other week about red rain or something, with sand from the Sahara in?): if it doesn't brush off, try the dry cleaners next.

[Viviennemary]

Sometimes a certain kind of fabric does go horrible if it gets wet. The same as some shoes never really recover after a soaking. Not sure if you will get a refund or not after a year. You could try though.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

The Sales of Goods act does mean that things need to last a reasonable amount of time, and an expensive coat should last longer than a year - but the shop can ask for proof of purchase (not necessarily a receipt, but a bank statement, etc). It's to stop people buying things from eBay then trying to return them to shops.

The other notable clause is that when an item is under 6 months old, the item is presumed to be inherently faulty unless proved otherwise by the shop, but after 6 months, the shop can ask for a report from a specialist showing that the fault was inherent and not caused by misuse or manhandling. There might be merit in the questions about where it's been kept/how well it's been washed.

I hope they do replace it easily if it's faulty though, I hate big purchases going wrong.

[Orangeanddemons]

That coat is not fit for purpose unless it expressly says do not wear in the rain. The shop has legal responsibilities towards you for 5 years, and you are perfectly entitled to take it back, although you will need some proof of receipt, but a bank statement will do. You are covered by the 1979 Sale of Goods Act, and should get some amount of refund, but maybe not all considering the age of it.

[SpendSpendSpend]

You do not need the receipt for M&S if the goods are faulty. You will also get a refund in cash not vouchers. This is M&S policy (my sister works there)

[MarjorieWinklepicker]

I would refund that for you (I work at m&s) as we could send it back to the manufacturer as faulty.

But as it is over a year old be prepared for it to have gone down in price at some point and for them only to give a refund of the price it scans at now. That could be £100 or it could be 99p!

[Grilledaubergines]

Is it around the neckline area? (Sorry can't tell from pic). Is it possible that if your hair got wet too, the marks are a mixture of rain and hair product?

[OnceAnOwl]

Try washing it. I had exactly the same with my DS's coat recently. It was fairly new, got very wet then white blotchy marks round the sleeves and hood. Washed it at 30 degrees and it disappeared. The coat has got wet in the rain since but never gone blotchy again. Worth a try before you take it back.

[limitedperiodonly]

Give it a go. You might get a credit note.

That's not mould, it's just the dye. I don't know whether the dye should go like that or how you dried it. It wasn't just a rainy day, it got soaked.

BTW don't say it got soaked

[unimaginativename13]

You could say it was a Xmas present this year, you've worn it in the rain and this happened.

You weren't to know its old stock, but it'll only scan as the last price it was sold for.

I saw a programme once where people returned items to M&S after Xmas that were gifts and some were as old as 8 years old!

[Laura2006]

To be honest, I'm not that concerned about money/refunds. I'm just disappointed as I liked the coat and wanted it to last. It was quite expensive and I don't have a lot of spare cash at the moment for dry cleaning costs etc. Thanks for the helpful posters for sharing tips and similar experiences though.

To the person asking if it was around the neckline, it's like that all over the coat.

[Orangeanddemons]

Does it have a pile on it? ( sort of furry) You could try brushing it if it has.

[thinkingmakesitso]

Definitely take it back. I returned a coat to next after a year as the zips on a double-layered coat had broken. It was a relatively expensive children's coat and had been unused in a cupboard throughout the summer, so the assistant's argument that it was wear and tear didn't wash. I had no receipt but was polite but relentless and got a new coat. If you don't try you don't get.

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

You do you don't need a proof of purchase. M&S are both the manufacturer and the retailer so it's irrelevant.

Because you bought it a year ago the Sale of Goods Act would apply. The question you need to ask here is how long would you reasonably expect an M&S coat to last?

I would expect an M&S coat to last for a couple of years with regular but not daily use. This hasn't. Take it back to them and see what they say.

[Youarentkiddingme]

Are you near or were you near the coast when you got caught in the rain? Or actually I'm not sure it matter ATM with the storms coming in off the Atlantic.

I ask because that looks like salt! I live near the sea and my coat looks like this when we've walked along it in windy days. It brushes or washes off.

[RamblingRedRose]

What does it say on the label for washing instructions?

It probably has some kind of coating put on it during the manufacturing process. I doubt it's faulty, it just needs cleaning.

You can ask for a quote at the dry cleaners. It might nit be that much. Or try handwashing.

[WanderingTrolley1]

If you love the coat that much, you won't want to return it, so why not try dry cleaners first?

I'd be embarrassed to return a year-old coat without even a receipt.

[Leelu6]

Have you checked the label to make sure it can go in the washing machine? Most coats seem to be dry clean only.

If the marks are still there after a dry clean, then I would deffo take it back to M&S. With dry cleaning receipt as proof!