sports direct(ly) refuse to be consumer nice

[FindAReasonToSmile]

"We do our best to ensure all of our customers enjoy a happy shopping experience", is what it says on the Sports Direct website. Today I had a very less than happy shopping experience when going back to branch to ask for a replacement for a rucksack that had torn after just 9 months use.
"It's over 6-months old" and "I can see it's been used", said the manager who came down to examine the torn rucksack my teenager used for school. Of course it has been used. I didn't buy it to sit in a cupboard. But not able to stay together for even 9 months is too much to expect? Really? Entire babies are built in that.
"Can I get this in writing?", I asked. To be fair this manager did just that, even giving a phone number (head office?) when I said I would be going to BBC 3 counties about this. It took another request for him to add his own name too but he did.
What really gets me is, if Sports Direct think 6 months is the life expectancy of such products then why not make that clear at the point of sale. Tell me directly and openly, before I buy, that the £14.99 I am about to pay for the rucksack reduced from £29.99, is only expected to last up to 6 months. If I still choose to buy it and it fails even at 6 months the fair enough. But why choose to tell me this is really a £30 rucksack bargain, reduced by 50% to just £15, and then, when it fails, refuse to honour the quality they implied they sold me?
I'm taking this to JVS on BBC 3 counties radio. The monetary value on my individual item is not much but, spread across other such customers, the total injustice is probably huge.

Sports Direct are a magical turd of a company. It’s one of those stores that will fight tooth and nail not to take responsibility for defective goods which is the reason why I won’t shop there. That said, as annoying as it must be I don’t think 9 months use out of a cheap ass rucksack like that is unexpected.

Out of interest, was it a Karrimor? They used to be a blue chip rucksack manufacturer and I’ve got a couple of Karrimor bags that I’ve thrashed the hell out of for more than 30 years. Oddly enough the company was bought out by Sports Direct a few years ago and the production values nose dived at the same time.

There is no fixed time for the return of goods. Under the Consumer Rights Act, people have successfully won cases for redress on goods as much as six years old, but that very much depends on the circumstances.

I entirely get the point that SD are promoting 'more for less' as their USP: a £30 quality rucksack for £14.99. But (and it’s a huge but) this doesn’t help you because price is not necessarily an indicator of durability.

Assuming you don’t have a guarantee, your case rests entirely on whether SD did, said, or implied anything to make a reasonable person believe they had a reasonable expectation of more life out of the product, under reasonable use.

You have another problem. You can only expect it to fulfil the purpose for which it was sold. I would venture to suggest that the purpose for which it was sold may not, in your case, be the purpose for which it was bought/used. SD will argue that being a sports/leisure retailer, the rucksack was sold to carry a bit of light, soft gym kit and trainers, or similar light, soft waterproofs and sandwiches for a day's country walking. It sounds like your DD was using it as a school bag: plenty of hard, heavy books with damaging edges/corners.

Significantly, you’ve had it for more than six months, so the burden of proof lies upon you to demonstrate that the goods were faulty at the time you bought them. I honestly don’t see how you can do that.

If SD settles with you it will only be to get you off their back. Whilst the shouty, phone-in approach to consumer affairs seems to be regarded as a legitimate way of getting freebies out of business, it’s worth remembering that everybody else ultimately pays for it in higher prices on the shelves to cover the loss.

I don't think I would even remember the price I paid after 9 months.

Again I agree with the others - a £15 bag being chucked about by a teenager - lugging books and stuff around - it would have been nice for it to have lasted longer but no I wouldn't be getting worked up about it.

OP, Id be happy if my sons school bag lasted that time.

Son started in September and his first school bag came apart at the end of November, went to school uniform shop to replace it and was initially wanting to charge me and said it was because it was over filled with books ( ermmm you are a school uniform shop selling the school bag that it’s sole purpose will be to have books in it) it wasn’t filled with anything more than what books he needed for the day so he’s not exactly carrying everything and the kitchen sink. They eventually replaced it after some back and forth, the replacement bag has once again ripped this time he’s had it for 7 weeks but 2 weeks of that he’s been on Christmas holiday and no doubt this time the shop will want to charge which I refuse to do and have told the school so, as a school bag should be able to withstand at least an academic year and some books

In my case it’s cheap quality, when I compared it to DS1 and nephews school bag it’s not as strong material/well made.

Did you buy the bag because it claimed to be a robust bag that would last for years? Or did you buy it as a fashion bag for school for the cheapest price you could find?

Are you going to the local paper as well OP?
Make sure to practise your “sad compo face”

I would imagine the staff had a right old laugh about it after you left. Who takes back a £15 school rucksack after 9 months and expects to get it replaced with a new one ?! I would imagine the media you try to involve will laugh it off too. And if you look pretty much ALL of their items have an original price and a sale price - they were never sold at the before price anywhere so it’s not really a £30 rucksack. It’s a £15 one. Spend a bit more next time and you’ll get an item that lasts.

YANBU. I'm still using the rucksack I bought for school when I was 13. I'm 33. It still gets used several times a week for shopping. I know that's an extreme example, but you should definitely expect it to last more than six months!

Jansport repair any of their bags for life. I’ve sent 20 year old rucksacks back myself. Fabulous

Please contact your local paper so you can do a " compo" face.

No shop would replace a rucksack that's been used for 9 months, or even 6 months. YABU to expect them to.
How did it get torn anyway? Are you sure your teenager or someone else at the school didn't mistreat it?

Im afraid i couldn’t get worked up over this, i think you’re overreacting and being very unfair on the manager. It’s not his policies!

I meant to put '£30 rucksack'. not just rucksack

I meant to put '£30 rucksack'. not just rucksack

But that's the point, it's not a £30 rucksack, it was never a £30 rucksack. That's an artificial price which Sports Direct put on so they can claim they're selling it for 50% of RRP.

@londonrach

I was reading it thinking this was me as I took a cake back as I asked for fresh cream and they gave me the horrible overly sweet buttercream ( made with trex to give it the white look) but the man in the shop initially refused to accept his colleague made an error then when he opened the box he went more nuts and started saying “how can I sell this some has been eaten”

Well yes, the cakes look exactly the same so until I cut the 3 little slices that’s when we all realised it was the wrong one I was given and even if I hadn’t cut it, why exactly would you be trying to resell a cake that has been in someone’s house from the day before

That said I at least went back with 3/4 of a cake, not an empty box! ROFL

YABU for expecting anything approaching customer service from Sports Direct, they’re well known for being shit at it, which (along with questionable employment and business practices) keeps their prices low and shareholders happy.

And YABU for expecting a £15 rucksack to withstand being hurled around full of books every day and last more than 9 months.

Let it go.

Oh no, not radio 3!
Seriously OP, let it go before you embarrass yourself further.

Bugger I mean BBC3

It’s frustrating, but the saying ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ is true.

I soon learned that kids rucksacks for school need to be very strong and usually cost £30 plus or they just break or tear.

This is why I’m buy from Amazon - you can see reviews and in general there is transparency as a result on the quality of items.

YABU and a CF. £14.99 is peanuts.

I wouldn't bother buying a schoolbag from SD, you're heading for trouble BUT I do believe it should've lasted longer. I'd be pissed of but knowing SD well I wouldn't have bothered trying to return it.
My sons school bag (American brand Offical pokemon one) which I bought on ebay for about £40 is still going strong after 18 months!

Ohhh youre one of those customers who threatens to get the press involved and thinks this is going to Change Everything and Bring About Some Justice. 100% chance that you're now being imitated back at the shop, sorry

Honestly they won’t give a shit, look at their twitter to see how many people are still waiting for Christmas deliveries!

Dental floss is good for mending bags, it’s really strong. Saved several of mine when I was a student!

The amount of stuff my DS has to drag to school every day we are lucky to get a bag to last a term.