AIBU to ask a charity shop to refund a fake designer jumper?

[Thelongestdayever]

My teenage DD has recently got into thrift shopping. She bought a designer sports brand jumper yesterday in a charity shop, new with the tags on, she paid £40 so not cheap but still a saving on rrp.

When she was showing me we realised it’s not real. I suspected as the quality is off and on closer inspection it’s a definite fake.

DD took it back to the shop today and they refused her a refund saying that they only refund faulty items. AIBU to go back with her and ask that they do refund? The RRP would be about £60 so not unreasonable of her to presume it was real but a bit cheaper, IMO (eg it’s not like it was a Chanel bag for a tenner which I would clearly expect to be fake). £40 is a lot of money to DD and it’s not even really a good fake in hindsight.

I think a charity shop full of volunteers are unlikely to do extensive checks on branded goods. Fake or real. Perhaps they should.
I think you can explain what happened and ask them about their pricing policy. And how they, if at all, do any checks for branded items. How does it work ?
And take it from there.

When an item presents as a very realistic fake, sometimes the quality issue does not show until it starts to deteriorate more quickly after wearing and washing. Surely you understand that? Therefore it is not worth the investment.

The tag doesn’t say anything on it just the price. The receipt says ‘jumpers’ but I am guessing that’s just how they put it through the till. It’s not a big chain of charity shops, it’s a local one with maybe 5 local branches?

This

YANBU. If it was a fiver, fair enough but as it’s £40 they’ve obviously priced it on the assumption that it’s authentic.

The buck stops with the paid manager @Monty36
Staff & volunteers should be trained to spot counterfeit goods as well as things like kite marks/CE labels etc. For an item like this then the price would be set by a paid member of staff or manager and for a manager not to spot fakes is not good procedurally. Most charities would have put a genuine designer brand on their eBay shop and the fact that this shop didn't (if they had one) probably means that the manager knew it was fake but decided to chance it in the hope that the buyer didn't realise they'd bought a counterfeit item. Sad but all too true in my experience.

Brand new with tags means shoplifted, doesn't it? Or haven't I understood.

Charity shop should not have taken it in

I would threaten them with reporting to Trading Standards.

It's not like this was Lewisham Market where you could get Chanel handbags for a tenner, they marked up the price to £40, which is a lot for a top, a top that is fake!

Defo not. Usually means it’s been gifted by a the clothing company.

They have loads of items BNWT. I presume sometimes people just don’t get round to wearing things? It’s in quite an affluent area.

I really think it’s caveat emptor in these circumstances.

Charity shops in my area take anything back, no quibble. I sometimes buy something for my kids, then if it doesn't fit I take it back.

A designer jumper not being designer is "faulty". You should be as entitled to a refund as if you bought it in a designer boutique (even second hand).

If they won't take it back, I'd be quite inclined to donate it back to them (with some other stuff) and see what they do next.

Not at all.

When I decluttered my bedroom I had a few items with tags that I hadn’t got round to taking back. I think it’s quite common for people to buy things they don’t wear and then either sell online or take to a charity shop.

No, brand new with tags generally means it’s brand new but for some reason has never been worn/used and the tags haven’t been removed.
maybe the item was a summer dress bought in the Christmas sale for the following season but then the owner gained/lost weight? Or they bought it and intended to return it but forgot. Or it was an unwanted gift.

@Thelongestdayever
Ok, that's just bad shop admin or inexperience BUT they still need to have a published returns policy available to the public on request.
In this case I would return to the shop with evidence that it's counterfeit and ask to return it for a full refund or if your DD likes it then would a partial refund be acceptable? I would hope that a quiet word with the shop manager would sort this issue but if not then I wouldn't hesitate to report to trading standards and then chalk it up to experience. I also wouldn't use this charity shop again.

Charity shops are not 'full of volunteers' the managers will be paid, it is their job to oversee this sort of thing, they research the value of items and that informs the pricing.

In this case they obviously made a mistake, not a malicious one, but one that should be rectified nevertheless.

They were never going to refund a 14 year old. They're more likely to when faced with her mother!

I don't understand. If your daughter likes the jumper and it's a style she wanted, why take it back? Why not wear it?.

Well the law disagrees with you!

I donate things that I have bought but then not had occasion to wear and that still have tags so it’s not necessarily shoplifted!

Because she's massively overpaid for it.

I think you should go back to the shop with your daughter, ask to speak to the manager, and explain the issue.

They should absolutely refund your DD - it is 'faulty' in that it's a fake, it is not what it has been portrayed as.

If the manager still won't do a refund, escalate up the charity's managerial structure, and speak to Trading Standards.

Good luck!

Against the law for them to be selling fake items.Go back again and tell them this,of course they have to refund!

@Thelongestdayever I admire your DD for going back alone to request a refund, and hopefully the shop's response won't put her off trying to do so in the future if she finds herself in the same situation.

Thank goodness she has someone to support her and push a bit harder for the refund, that should have been given without hesitation when she initially tried to return the jumper.