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.

I spent £14 on a new rucksack from Amazon, which has survived 18m including numerous holidays and weekly being stuffed with an enormous laptop etc.

This one: www.amazon.co.uk/Backpack-Modoker-Rucksack-Charging-Lightweight/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I still couldn't get worked up about this. It's a school bag, that's been through 9 months of teenage misuse.

It was fairly common for my peer group to casually neglect their rucksacks in order to help sway parents into giving them a new one each year.

Oh good I love JVS, look forward to having a giggle listening to this

Where/how did the rucksack rip? Was it on the seams? If it's a school bag then it's likely to carry multiple books as well as P.E. kits and trainers. That is heavy use, even for only 6/9 months.

My DDs school bag in year 7 and 8 was an animal one. Her GPs bought it, so no idea how much it was but it probably wasn't cheap. She used to carry the weight of a small hippo in it to school every day (I wouldnt have wanted to carry it to the end of the drive it was so heavy) and only stopped using it because apparently a rucksack is no longer cool but it's still quite usable.

This is one of the most batshit things I've ever read on here.

Yabu and quite frankly I'm embarrassed for you

Price isn't an indicator of quality (was it a brand like Nike or Adidas by any chance?)

My child is in their 3rd year of primary. Same bag although admittedly it is still quite light to carry. I paid about £25 in M&S.

I bought a similar bag fir M&S this year and after one week of very very light use (reception), it broke. M&S relaxes it and the replacement is fine.

I see your point of expecting a bag to last but unless you buy a bag with a long warranty, quality is hit and miss. Nine months is long enough for a cheap bag filled with heavy books.

I would say YABU not because the rucksack broke (I think that's not a great lifespan for a rucksack) but because you thought SD would offer a reasonable customer service!
My friend works in a naice chain store and she is amazed at what customers being back for refunds sometimes after years of wear and tear, and sometimes they do get an exchange or refund even when the item has been discontinued!

Sorry but it's a cheap shop trying to be something it's not. Karrimor diesel lonsdale dunlop Ashley bought these companies and can put what price he likes on them .the rest Adidas and such like its last seasons stock .sorry but you get what you pay for if it's cheap the quality is cheap .

OP hasn't come back - is anyone listening to BBC Three Counties radio in case she busy talking on there? 🤣

What did JVS say, OP?

Let us know when you're on the radio OP so we can all listen in
and laugh

"Sonichu, 'taking the piss'? Really?
A bag for £30, discounted to £15, that falls apart after less than 9 months use is a good deal? You really believe that?"

Yes, really. The bag has been used five days a week for the past NINE MONTHS. I'd say you've had your money's work.

(And no, it was never £30 you idiot.)

Seriously. 9 months of daily use is pretty good for a cheap bag.

I took some trainers back that were faulty after about six months to have the guy exclaim in horror 'but they've got mud on them! They're not intended for use on mud'

I remember when I was a teenager at school and the boys used to kick their bags around like footballs. I'd say 9 months is positively geriatric in School bag terms.

If you feel this is outrageous enough to contact 'BBC 3 Counties' you live a very blessed life

I think it's just a reflection of the quality SD sell these days. We've got some backpacks from there which cost around £3-4 each for the kids school bags and general out and about use. DD1 has been using hers (brand new) since September and the lining has completely crumbled. But it still holds together and is useable so she will use it until we find a good quality replacement. DD2 on the other hand is using what I would deem a fashion backpack - kids my little pony one. Its still going strong over a year after she first started using it, much to her disappointment. I think we paid around £10 for that and it is being put through primary school paces. So not necessarily any weight but being thrown around the cloakroom and dumped all over at home.

A £30 bag for a teen boy I would think has probably done well. Given I know they get used as footballs, goalposts and their mates will grab hold of them and pull the teen around. Whilst I would have wanted to have complained, unless the bag was sold as a hard wearing heavy duty bag, I don't think it would probably be worth it.

Wouldn't expect a school rucksack to last that long tbh. It will have been over loaded, thrown around, put on a wet floor all sorts of things.

Ok sorry guys I'm with Op on this.
The crap we buy should last longer, we only get sold crap because we accept it. Crap has to be made somewhere, usually out of oil, so if crap lasts longer Polar Bears will be happier. I'm not sure that £15 is worth the effort, but OP thinks so.
OP is a warrior for our rights, she should be applauded (from a safe distance obviously, with carers in attendance) but applauded none the less.
Its OP's £15 this time, could be your cash or mine next!
Go for it OP...
(honestly by this point I'm not sure if I'm being sarcastic or serious?)

In either case, why promote a supposedly £30 quality rucksack, discounted to £15
As consumers, how are we supposed to judge the quality of any product anymore?

Cost and quality are not mutually exclusive...

you are absolutely right that the price of an item does not guarrantee quality, yet if you pay £30 for a product rather than £15, if you go before a judge for a ruling you have more chance arguing the £30 product should have lasted longer.

No judge would say that a £30 product should have lasted longer than a £15 product... Price and quality as I've already said aren't mutually exclusive!
A court would require to examine the quality of the materials, not the inflated prices the shop was charging, after all, the bag was probably made overseas for very little money!

This is one of the most batshit things I've ever read on here.

You read my mind.

Imagine trying to return a rucksack after 9 months!

The staff will be laughing about that one for decades. I used to work in retail, we loved a bonkers customer to take the piss out of. Brightened everyone's day and brought staff and management together.

@ihearyoutoo why would you expect a refund for that?

This is the most unreasonable thing I have ever read and people like you are why working in retail is so shit, it was 9 months old and it was £15, pick your battles

For something like a rucksack, I read reviews, ask on boards like this, and learn as I go which few brands last. I don’t expect anything but the best brands to last a whole school year anymore.