Exchange at full value?

[Exchange101]

I’m not sure if my thinking on this is correct - AIBU?

I purchased an item of jewellery from an independent online business with their discount last year. It was quite delicate so I asked about quality before purchase. They replied to say there was a year’s guarantee (replacement) and they could offer a repair outside that time.

A year in, it breaks, I ask about a replacement but it is no longer stocked and a repair is not possible. A credit note has been kindly offered but for the price paid rather than the value of the item (15% difference)

Should the full price value of the item be credited as this is what is being ‘replaced’ in lieu of the actual item? If I was to be given a refund I would expect the value I actually paid

I am looking to purchase an item which is of higher value of the original full priced item. The 15% makes quite a difference

What do you think?

Thanks

Does the warranty expressly state that you'll get new for old? Many warranties are 'like for like', so a one year old item, while most places would give you a new one the same if they had it, only need to give you one that's equivalent- IE a year old and probably worth less than 85% of new.

But a replacement isnt 220 for them, it's half or less (the wholesale price). So the value to them of a replacement is more like 110. You got the benefit of the discount and a years wear. They would (if they could) give you a replacement which would cost them £110. But they are giving you the value of what you actually paid, which is fair.

@exchange101
You did not buy an item worth £220. You bought an item for £187. You cannot expect to be refunded more than the amount you paid for it as either cash or credit.

"Had the ring not broken/been replaced/repaired I would remain with the full value."

You have no idea of worth or value. So why don't you take the item to a pawnbroker or another jeweler and ask them what the value of the ring is? I think you'll get a shock, but I think you need it.

Your warranty is for the value of the transaction, not the value of the item. Which is in your favour. Retail price is not the value of the item.

Why didn't you just take the cash refund and take it elsewhere to have the stone replaced? Why such a drama?

Can’t believe you’re getting quite a tough time on here from the hard of thinking. I totally get what you’re saying.
If they can’t repair or replace an item like item then I’d explore whether you could get an actual cash refund instead.

@TheCanyon - a cash refund is not available -this is the point!

You’re very fixed on the initial price of the item but you paid the sale price so your credit note is not going to include a monetary value which you didn’t pay in the first place. You aren’t losing out - you are being given exactly the same money back. Where your issue is is that you feel cheated because you can’t also transfer the 15% discount. So, why not look at a more expensive item, ask for 15% off and then purchase it at the discounted price with the credit note. Otherwise, you have to accept that only the particular piece you bought was discounted and the discount was really at the discretion on the store owner and not forming any sort of price agreement that you are entitled to have on any other item.

You should be insisting on the cash refund for the amount you paid. Arguing about £220 isn't helping your position.

People are grossly misunderstanding the point here. I admit at first glance I was about to type "you get back what you paid" and move on.

But the OP isn't getting back what she paid, that's the point. She bought an item for £187, it broke, it can't be replaced so the retailer is offering a credit note to buy something else for £187. But the original item was reduced from £220. If she accepts the credit note she will own something valued at £187 when she had bought something valued at £220 but reduced.

If the retailer can't replace it they should offer a refund of the amount paid. By offering a credit note they are trapping her into buying something of lower value than she originally bought, or paying them more.

It would be like me buying discounted plane tickets to Glasgow to Rome in advance, the flights being cancelled and the airline giving me a credit note to the original amount which is now only enough to pay for a ticket from Glasgow to Manchester. It's not what I bought.

Had the ring not broken/been replaced/repaired I would remain with the full value.

Well it's a year old now and been used for a year, so you need to take that into account as well.

I work in supermarket customer services and I think YABU because you are too focused on the original price rather than the price you actually paid.

If someone buys a kettle from my store they get a standard 1 year warranty. If they return that kettle after 11 months because it is faulty then we will either replace the item like for like (so the exact same make/model/colour) regardless of price or, if that is not possible (eg we don't sell that kettle any more), we will offer them a refund of the amount they originally paid to put towards a new kettle of their choice. Outside of the 1year warranty and we are not obliged to refund or replace the item, so any action made would be on a goodwill basis. If someone came back 13 months after their purchase and was complaining that they weren't getting "extra" beyond a refund of the money they paid then we would not be offering any kind of goodwill and they would not get any refund or exchange.

If the kettle they bought last year was £30 in the sale and is now retailing at £60, if it is a 100% like for like exchange then we will exchange it at the £30 and the customer does not have to pay the difference. If, however, the kettle they bought for £30 is now unavailable we will only give them £30 credit/cash back, not the £60 it is now retailing for as that is what was paid for the item, regardless of its worth or value now.

As it is an independent jeweler, if there was a specific £220 item you really wanted then you could ask them if they would be willing to honour the original 15% discount, or at least offer a smaller discount, as a gesture of goodwill since you couldn't have a like for like swap, but they are not obliged to do so.

Replace it with something that has a 15% discount then.

[quote Exchange101]@DogInATent
The issue is the warranty which states that a replacement would be given, so a replacement worth 220

They can’t honour their warranty contract so are offering the value of 187

I therefore miss out on 15% of the value as their item was faulty and they can’t honour their warranty

Through no fault of my own I will be left with an item with 187 and not 220

Had the ring not broken/been replaced/repaired I would remain with the full value.

I would have happily had a repair and kept the original item but this was not possible either

They took the ring back and will recycle the gold and stones[/quote]
I think this is where your thinking is off, though, OP.

The warranty presumably states a replacement will be given - which legally speaking would have to be a suitable replacement, NOT a replacement worth £220 - that’s your assumption.

Suitability is presumably assessed against the value of the item - which, as a now second hand ring, is presumably far less than even £187!

Legally in a breach of contract claim you would only be entitled to be put back into the position you would have been in had there not been a breach… which here is either a repair/replacement ring (which is not possible) or something of equivalent value.

The equivalent value is a second hand ring which could only be worth £100.

So by offering £187, they are meeting their legal obligations, and you aren’t any worse off as that’s what you paid! Take the £187 and find a second hand ring that the original owner probably paid more for?

@Exchange101

Ok, interesting so maybe I am wrong.

I was thinking that I was fortuitous to get a discount and secure something worth 220 for 187 however through no fault of my own I have to swap it for something worth 187.

Does that make sense?

No, it doesn't make sense. In what world would you expect back more than you paid for it? That's ridiculous. You are being a cf