I'm out of pocket after new tent broke on holiday - have I any rights?

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

Hi, I took a brand new (£300) tent on holiday with us last week. One of the poles broke as it was being put up. I rang the retailer that day (Sunday) and the said they'd have a new pole with be by Tues. At this point the tent was still standing. Tuesday morning the tent collapsed and the pole didn't turn up so I had to buy a new tent from a local shop (they didn't have poles to fit the first tent). So I spent £140 on a tent which I don't really want or need and won't use again. On the way home we stopped off at the place where I got the first tent from and they've replaced it with a new tent. I asked about the fact I'm down £140 and they've told me to ring back next week and speak to the boss. Have I any rights either with them or with the manufacturer? Thanks.

In practical terms, the money involved isn't going to justify litigation. You're already doing OK in the discussion, with the shop's acceptance that you deserve a new tent: as they seem to be agreeing that the original one was faulty, you would have been entitled to REJECT it and have your money back: you might still use that argument, ie get them to take back the unused new tent, and refund all the money: then you'll only have one tent :-)

But that's probably not the one you want. In that case you have to do-as-you-would with an insurance policy - minimise your loss: so put the unwanted £140 tent on ebay, and when it's sold you'll know what your loss was, for the conversation with the shop. Best outcome would be to offer to do that, and get them to agree to estimate how much you'd get and give you some cash as full and final settlement, ie to make you go away and stop worrying them :-)

Good Luck

The shop gave you a whole new tent cos one of the poles broke? Wow.

Replacing poles is fairly commonplace, i thought. It's not the shop's fault you chose to buy a new tent rather than track down replacement poles.

Mary - it was a Kyham tent where the poles are an integral part of the tent. You don't normally take them out, they're all pre-attached. By the time the tent finally collapsed on Tuesday one of the knuckle joints on the roof bar section had also broken and that part can't be replaced, so they had to replace the tent.

I could not find a Kyham tent the same anwhere near where I was staying or I'd have bought one from a different shop and then got a refund from the first shop.

I don't want a refund for the unused tent as I want that model of tent. I don't want the £140 tent that I bought but had to get that so we had somewhere to sleep.

I'll try talking to them about the Ebay route, good idea.

Is the £140 tent a reasonably good one? If so, although you may not need it right now, it may come in useful later (speaking as part-owner of billions of tents of all shapes & sizes )

I don't think its a great one. Its a Suncamp one - never heard of them before but the first one I got had a broken pole before I even got it put up. The next one ripped as the inner was attached to the outer. I went through 3 tents that day and was slightly hysterical!

Problem is I've got so many bloody tents now. Got a big Outwell tunnel tent, 2 smaller (identical) Vango tunnel tents, a Vango Force 10, a small dome tent, my new Kyham tent (its one that attaches onto the side of my campervan) and now this Suncamp one. I was tempted to leave the Suncamp one at the campsite when we left this morning as nearly couldn't be arsed to take it down. Will have to see how much we get on ebay for it, but its not worth trying to sell it till next year now. Wrong time of year to sell a second hand tent I think.

If the replacement tent hasn't been used get a refund instead. The first tent was not suitable for purpose and if you hadn't bought a new tent there and then, where would you have slept? reasonable to get your money back imo.

We had a new tent once that leaked when it rained- got a replacement on return no questions asked.