To refuse to pay £16 for a pair of leggings again

[ballstoit]

DD is in Year 8. She started high school last year and I bought the entire School and PE uniform which cost about £150 from the school's uniform supplier. The school requires children to have the child's initials transferred on to all items of PE kit.

The PE leggings fitted DD perfectly when we bought them. She wore them twice and then I washed them, in my machine, at 30, as per the instructions on the label and dried them on the washing line. When DD put them on again, they were about 3 inches too short...she hadn't grown that much overnight.

Uniform supplier refused to refund or exchange as the leggings have DDs initials on them. School wouldn't get involved as the dispute was with suppliers but did agree to DD wearing plain black leggings for PE.

New Head of PE has started this term and has informed DD that she will have an after school detention every time she doesn't come with correct kit. DD is understandably keen for me to buy new leggings. I'm reluctant to waste the money on shitty quality, overpriced leggings which will shrink again. I can buy decent ones for a tenner (or less decent from Primark for £2).

WIBU to tell school DD will be wearing plain black leggings for PE unless they would like to buy her uniform ones?

Have you tried making them wet and stretching them - you’ve nothing to lose.

I don’t blame you for being very cross - surely it is a given that PE leggings must be easily laundered.

Can you cut off the section with the initials and see it onto plain leggings from Primark?

I'd agree, they should be much better quality than that

See = sew

Haven't tried that but will do if we can find them - it's been nearly a year! Would I literally just pull the bottom?

Maybe - they have a school logo on one thigh and initials on the other but could perhaps do both. Really need to find them now I'm getting these helpful ideas.

I was wondering too whether you could get your daughter's initials on a badge or something, or ask a local dressmaker if they have a machine that can embroider her initials onto other leggings.
In what world do children need £16 Leggings for PE for goodness sake? Schools should be trying to find the best value uniforms for parents if they insist on very specific items.

Or could you buy them too big and shrink them? So bloody annoying.

I could probably buy the initials on eBay - they're just an iron on transfer. It's the school badge which is trickier.

I don't mind spending money on things they need or which help them academically - like copies of books or trips - but we don't have lots of spare cash and this is so unnecessary.

You need to soak in hot water with fabric softener and the stretch 🤞

I have a DD2 who will go to the school next year and is much shorter than DD1 - wondering if I can iron DD1 first initial off and replace with DD2's.

First Primary school I was warned by other parents and the shop to buy certain items bigger as they'd shrink - which is hard to take account of.

I wouldn't want to pay £16 on such poor quality but I would to avoid unnessary hassle for my kids - though I'd be annoyingly low temp handwashing in future in effort to avoid same issue again.

I find it so frustrating - we're not well off but can afford to buy them if I can't persuade school to give in - but some of the families I work with just couldn't manage to replace them. Not without parents having to skip meals

I’d insist on a replacement, or threaten to go to small claims. The fact they have initials on is irrelevant. They are not fit for purpose. It’s not like the shop could sell them on again, anyway, they’re faulty. Make a fuss.

Have other families had the same problem?

We bought some special Eczema trousers for Ds before we found M & S selling 100% cotton ones - and the colour faded very quickly - we just home dyed them black but a friend who worked in the garment industry was outraged said we should have made a massive fuss as it wasn’t acceptable meant they weren't fit for purpose like Tolleshunt is suggesting.

If it’s 100% cotton I’ve had limited success with steam iron and stretching - my Mum’s suggestion --MIL found something of mine to wash and shrank it which she only manages with my things.

I got dd a logo jumper which cost £18. She’d only worn it a couple of times when i accidentally got bleach on a huge patch at the front. I just got her a standard navy jumper from Sainsbury’s, carefully cut out the logo and patched it on. I used iron on hemming and then a light tack on the outside. You couldn’t tell at all. I’ve still got that logo and patch it on plain jumpers every year!

You could also try the wet stretch.

Surely op if the fault is with the leggings, all the kids have this issue? And as such rhe school will be forced to act? If it's just her leggings then it would indicate the issue was they were incorrectly washed. However if they were washed correctly then every single pupil who wears them will have the same issue.

I'd cut the initials off the old pair, a circle of fabric around the letters, and stitch them onto the new leggings. Dare them to say something.

DD said that some of her friends who have older sisters bought bigger as they know they'll shrink. Obviously didn't know that when we bought her uniform. A lot of her friends were wearing plain black towards the end of the year and have now been told they must have uniform ones.

I don't see many parents - DD goes on the bus and parents evening is once a year. Perhaps if we all have refuse they'll have to allow plain ones or find cheaper suppliers?