Faulty jumper. Consumer rights ?

[Brigette67]

I bought a jumper online at the end of November I was saving it to wear for an event in January. So I go to wear it and noticed a huge ladder in the rib of the neck. It’s not visibly noticeable only once I put it on. It’s a manufacturing fault. But at £90 I’m not happy with the ladder on the jumper
I have contacted the boutique who asked if the tags were removed - I said yes and they said it’s too long to contact them to say it’s faulty. I explained my reasons but they offered an exchange to the value of £75 of any item online.
im not keen on anything else they have and wanted a refund ? Aibu to ask and does anyone know my consumer rights please ?

With an item of clothing, you’ve left it too long.
Something like a toaster breaking down after 2 months, you could contact them for a repair but an item of clothing? You’d see a manufacturing fault pretty quickly. It’s not as if you’re saying it fell apart around the seams after a couple of wears. You’re saying there is a ladder in the fabric and after this length of time, it’s reasonable for them to assume you wore it, caught it in an earring and ripped it or something.

2 months and no tags?
Looks like you took it home, ruined it and now want the money. Even if you didn't
The credit is incredibly generous tbh

Thanks I get it - consumer rights say anything up to 6 months is reasonable to report a fault
I just wondered where I stand legally for an item sent out to me that was faulty.
I took the tags off as I’d bought another one a month earlier and that was fine

Please have a read of This from citizens advice

Try the online tool, and it will explain your rights if you’re in England. My understanding is that you have a right to a repair or a replacement, or a full refund if they cannot offer a repair or replacement. You can also opt to keep the item with partial refund to compensate for the fault.

Backs for this

This is covered under Consumer Law absolutely.
Whether you had worn it or not is irrelevant- you don't expect to pay that amount for a jumper for it to be unusable so quickly. Had it been a cheap £6 jumper, then yes, fair enough, but not something you have paid £90 for.

Try writing something like:

This is covered under ‘consumer protection’ which states ‘it is the policy of current legislation to protect consumers against unfair contract terms. In particular, they are protected against terms that attempt to exclude or restrict the sellers implied undertakings that he has a right to sell the goods, that the goods conform with either description or sample and that they are of satisfactory quality and fit for their particular purpose’

In this particular case, the items are not of satisfactory quality or fit for their particular purpose.

It is not of satisfactory quality in my opinion for this to be unwearable after a couple of months. And there is no time limit... it is just a reasonable amount of time (as per the example above, you wouldn't expect a £6 jumper to last a year, however, a £90 jumper I would say at least 18 months with very regular wear).

(I am not legally trained, however, I am a law student and studied this is my first 4 years).

*studied this in
(Not sure how to edit my post!)

That would cover things like it falling apart at the seams, buttons falling off, sequins/embroidery falling off or fraying away.

It does not cover things like a run appearing, because a ladder run is caused by something catching the fabric and ripping. That’s not a fault, that’s user damage. If it arrives like that, you tell them when it arrives, not 2 months later. Waiting 2 months and telling them it arrived with a ripped… they’re not going to refund you.

Yes it does.

Says the law student… who think they know everything when they don’t. Wait until you’re in the real world.

Wear and tear is not the same as manufacturer fault. Ripping a jumper and claiming it arrived damaged 2 months after delivery is not manufacturer fault or insufficient quality.

Wow. Don't like being proved wrong then much? I am 42 years old so I've lived in the real world as you say for quite a while. Nowhere in the post does it state it has been worn and damaged. Legally, as it arrived faulty, the OP can get a refund.

Resorting to rudeness just because you are wrong shows your character. Have a wonderful day 😘

Proved wrong? No.

The OP claims this jumper arrived with a rip, after she had it for 2 months. You need to notify them of that when it arrives. Not 2 months later. This isn’t a newly developed fault due to a manufacturing issue which is reasonable to tell them about 2 months later, because it just developed. She claims it arrived like this… after she had it for 2 months. It looks like user damage. The company are not going to refund her. And they don’t have to. if they do, it’ll be down to a goodwill gesture to avoid a bad review or similar.

An item of clothing coming apart at the seams after 2 months and you notifying them at that point would equal manufacturing fault and you’d get a refund. Calling them up two months after receiving it to say it has a rip in it… they can quite legitimately say that the rip was caused by the OP.

Due to the huge rise in fraudulent returns, retailers no longer just refund for whatever reason for an easy life. If it looks dodgy, they won’t refund. For actual manufacturing fault, they are legally required to refund. For that the be the case, the OP has to tell them within a reasonable time. It’s been two months and it has a rip she claims was there on day one. That sounds dodgy. They’ll refuse to refund.

I put the jumper away as when I looked st it all looked fine. I don’t always wear things straight away and when I went to wear it for a special occasion there is a run in the fabric of the neck that was not visible when it arrived I didn’t expect every knit in the fabric. Had it been on the front of the jumper I would of seen it

Thank you would I be entitled to a refund ?

I did not rip a jumper

@Quinlan isn't saying you ripped the jumper she's saying you can't prove you didn't therefore you would be unlikely to get far throwing the law around. It's really rude to tell another poster trying to help you to "do one".

@Brigette67 Yes you would be under consumer law, despite what the other poster states. Advise them as per my previous post and hopefully you will be able to get sorted 🤞🏼

I am not bothering to reply to the other poster anymore... they are just rude and a know-it-all.

This is actually fairly simple. You purchased something 2 months ago and have discovered a fault. Is it therefore fit for purpose? No

It's not down to you to prove you're not lying. Whey should it be? They're offering you a £75 credit against something else - decline this. You'd like a full refund and it's within your consumer rights to insist upon this

I worked in next for many years in early 2010s.

The general rule of thumb was, if you could prove an item was faulty (for example, fabric faulting, shrunk in the wash despite following care label, shoe soles coming away) WITHIN 6 months you would be allowed credit for the price it was currently selling for.
If you had proof or purchase, you would get a refund to what you paid.

As far as I'm concerned this withstands. I've returned items for the above reasons in recent years.

The onus though is on us to prove it was faulty/not fit for purpose. Might be worth checking if you could find a bank statement or email recipe (if you have one).

Thank you - I have found your information to be correct and I am entitled to a refund - the retailer is by law to repair orexchange like for like with the same item and then refund. They have to prove I did not damage which is hard to print e then they have to offer a refund. And here is the thing u have up to 6 months to report a fault.
i felt so strongly as I know I didn’t damage this item and I don’t wear things straight away especially for a special occasion
I have decided to go through my bank for a charge Back as advised by citizens advice bureau
thanks for your help

You are most welcome. I’m glad you’ve obtained further assistance (CAB have a lot of law students volunteering for them too 😉) and that you are able to obtain a refund.

I don’t think there is a time limit though… all depends on the price of the item, and I didn’t think the onus was on you to prove that you didn’t damage it.

Good luck!

Thank you - sorry for the misspellings but you got the idea - think I typed too quickly. Have a lovely weekend

Have an amazing weekend too! 🤩