Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think the Victoria Beckham shop should have been more helpful?

125 replies

MythicalChicken · 01/10/2016 05:29

So I treated myself to a pair of VB glasses. They were over £300. I then paid to have the lenses changed to optical ones, which you are meant to do as they are optical glasses.

I bought them on a trip overseas from a boutique licensed to sell VB products.

However, on returning home, one of the arms just snapped in two. You can tell by looking at the arm that it hasn't been bent, it has just snapped for no apparent reason.

I called the Victoria Beckham shop in London to ask if they could replace the arm or repair it or something. They told me it was nothing to do with them, I had to contact the shop where I bought them. I did, but they couldn't help. I called VB again to be told that because of the Sale of Goods Act, it was nothing to do with them, even though the Sale of Goods Act does not apply in the country I bought them from. I asked if they could contact the manufacturer to get a new arm, to be told again, it was nothing to do with them.

I just want a new arm, I don't want my money back or anything like that. They were very expensive, I will never have the money to replace them. I just fell really let down.

AIBU? Should I just accept it and throw them out?

OP posts:
LadyConstanceDeCoverlet · 01/10/2016 08:18

When they referred to the Sale of Goods Act, I think what they are referring to is the fact that they have no legal liability because you didn't buy the glasses from them.

SoupDragon · 01/10/2016 08:19

If it was a £30 pair of sunglasses what would your reaction be?

That is completely irrelevant.

Phalenopsisgirl · 01/10/2016 08:20

Not great service. If you have a problem with Louis Vuitton products you can go to any store internationally and have it sorted, same for Chanel, Burberry, etc, that is what you expect from a luxury brand, you pay £300 for glasses but get service to match the price tag. I think Victoria beckham is a bit of a 'fake lux' brand by the sounds of it, they've got the price tag but that's where the luxury ends.

mouldycheesefan · 01/10/2016 08:24

Sounds like you bought fake or counterfeit. Check with the company that that particular shop was actually licences to sell the goods before you go slagging them off on Twitter.

Spiderpigspiderpig · 01/10/2016 08:25

Yeah sorry my bad. I assumed sunglasses as yiu bought them abroad.
£300 on glasses seems normal. I'd also expect the customer service to be top notch.
Pretty shitty of VB

blitheringbuzzards1234 · 01/10/2016 08:27

Luxury brands aren't always worth you extra you pay for them. Have you tried putting it in writing? They may respond to that but don't hold your breath. I don't want to sound unsympathetic but you should have gone to Specsavers!

goingtotown · 01/10/2016 08:27

Good story for'The Sun'.

Phalenopsisgirl · 01/10/2016 08:29

Have you email vb (not the store) direct? The head office should be able to do something.

BakeOffBiscuits · 01/10/2016 08:30

That's very unhelpful of them. They could at least have put you in touch with someone who can help you!

You could try phoning them up and saying you bought the glasses there and want to buy a new arm, that you live in Orkney so can't get back to the shop and see what they suggest! Grin

flumpybear · 01/10/2016 08:32

Clearly we're just paying for a name then and not quality - typical but I guess expected - selling her name but crap products - Buy them cheap and brand them and sell them For stupid prices, not built to last ..... VB items are definitely off my shopping list now if they products are so shit and policies so rude - twitter, name and shameAngry

228agreenend · 01/10/2016 08:34

Possibly each VB store is a franchise, so they would be independent from each other. Therefore, they wouldn't be liable for goods bought elsewhere.

Did the arm snap,here or abroad? Could you claim a new pair under holiday insurance?

HKHKHR · 01/10/2016 08:36

Often 'designer' glasses and sunglasses have very little to do with the designer but are made by companies like Luxottica, perhaps the shop in London really has nothing to do with the sunglasses.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica

m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM (video about Luxottica by 60 Minutes)

bruffin · 01/10/2016 08:39

are you contacting right people
Say here there is a one year warranty on glasses

Roussette · 01/10/2016 08:43

I am wondering if they are counterfeit too, what sort of shop did you buy them in?

As a pp said - the likes of Chanel, Mulberry, Burberry would be repairing no question as their reputation goes before them. A luxury brand should be doing the same. It wouldn't matter where you buy them, it's the brand name that matters.

JosephineMaynard · 01/10/2016 08:43

That's rubbish customer service.

I understand that they're not liable as you bought the sunglasses from a different shop, but you'd think that they'd be able to order in a replacement part at your expense, or give you details of someone who might be able to help you could order a replacement part yourself (head office?).

Roussette · 01/10/2016 08:44

Surely it doesn't matter who makes the glasses. If it is branded VB, it is a VB product.

Original poster
MythicalChicken · 01/10/2016 08:45

They are definitely not fake. The reseller is an internationally-respected shop, otherwise VB would not sell to them.

The shop just don't stock parts. And why should they? They wouldn't have room for merchandise if they filled the shop with spare parts of every article they sold.

When they referred to the Sale of Goods Act, I think what they are referring to is the fact that they have no legal liability because you didn't buy the glasses from them.

This is true, however you would think they (VB Head Office) would want their customers to be happy. It wouldn't have killed them to say, "let me contact the manufacturer to see what we can do."

It's the fact they clearly didn't give a shit that upset me.

OP posts:
Shakey15000 · 01/10/2016 08:46

I'd also be resorting to Twitter. It can be worded without "naming and shaming". Perhaps just an initial "who can I contact ref faulty VB goods" should do for starters. Then be more persistent on the hour, every hour

totalrecall1 · 01/10/2016 08:47

They will be licensed. They will actually have nothing to do with VB. Try an opticians.

limitedperiodonly · 01/10/2016 08:51

Ignore the whiners.

VB is a a brand that claims to be the equal of any of the top luxury brands such as Vuitton and Hermes and this is not the service you would expect of those companies. I'd go back to VB head office.

I bought a pair of McQueen boots in Italy and the heel broke on the third wear. I took them to their Bond Street shop to see if they could do anything - I wasn't sure they would. They apologised and replaced the heel free of charge. That's fantastic service.

If you don't get that, then VB can't expect to be regarded as comparable to true luxury brands and buyers should be told that on Twitter.

KathArtic · 01/10/2016 08:52

If they are still selling them, can you purchase another pair and swap them, and send the broken pair back?

I don't know anything about luxury brands as out of my bracket, but I doubt VB is a franchise, and I'm surprised she sells through concessions - makes me think yours could be fake.

Original poster
MythicalChicken · 01/10/2016 08:57

They are definitely not fake. I can't name the shop but it is a luxury shop like Nordstrom.

OP posts:
KathArtic · 01/10/2016 08:59

addendum. Looking at her website you can buy through other shops that are way beyond my purse

limitedperiodonly · 01/10/2016 09:01

Why should they be fake? Branded sunglasses and other spectacle frames are sold in authorised dealers.

jay55 · 01/10/2016 09:05

Do any uk optition stock the brand? They'd be able to get parts easier than anyone else.