So the dress broke...(statutory rights advice)

[smeraldina]

I ended up wearing the dress involved in this thread to a wedding. The central bust-line seam split within two hours. It's probably repairable but I don't feel that happy about keeping a dress that started to fall apart so quickly. Despite my temporarily ample norkage, the fit was fine.
I left it at the shop with the receipt and a nice note saying I would like a refund.
Just received an answerphone message from the owner (small boutique) offering me a swap with another dress, or a credit note. Do I have to accept or am I entitled to a refund?

Just phoned Trading Standards. Apparently I am entitled to a refund OR a replacement OR a repair (and the shop get to choose which).
They advised me to accept an identical replacement with a contract in place that if the next one rips that I will expect a refund.
Actually don't feel like going into the shop EVER again as I do vaguely feel she is insinuating that I have purposely damaged the dress or unpicked the seam in some way which is really rather horrible....however, I better do this as I have another wedding to go to this Saturday and nowt to wear.

I wouldn't tell them what you've written. Explain that you're going to report to trading standards unless she gives you a refund!

What is their sales return policy?

I think trading standards are wrong. You're entitled to a refund as long as you haven't 'accepted' the dress (this essentially means you kept the dress for too long after you discovered a fault or you treated the dress as your own in some way by eg trying to repair it yourself before returning it acceptance does NOT mean using an item for the first time for its intended purpose). The law says you have to have time to examine the goods before acceptance can take place. For something like a dress, examination would include wearing it for its intended purpose for a few times.

The dress had to be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. It wasn't. The shop have breached their contract with you. As such, you are entitled to be put into the position you would have been in had you not entered into the contract in the first place. Therefore, you are entitled to your money back.

I believe it is also a criminal offence to deny a customer their consumer rights, you might want to point that out to the shop manager too.

Infuriating though it is, I believe that trading standards are right - the shop has the right to offer you a repair or a replacement rather than a refund if that is what they want (unless, I think. they do something like take an unreasonable amount of time over it, replacements keep being faulty etc etc). It's completely ridiculous in many cases - what, for instance, if I buy an essential item for a holiday, it breaks during the trip and I have to buy a replacement then and there? Getting a second replacement from the original store when I get back home is useless to me, I simply want my money back, but from my memory of previous wranglings with problems like this, the store it technically entitled to only offer a replacement.

I have the same issue with repairs as well - I have some expensive hiking shoes that are 'guaranteed'. They developed a leak but the only way of getting them fixed is to relinquish them for a month to be repaired, during which time I would need them and would therefore need to buy a replacement item anyway, making the repair fairly pointless.

Maddening

Faulty frock, so yo ucan have a full refund.

It's not like you got so ratted you forgot to unzip the side seam, got stuck trying to wriggle out of it, thought 'what the f????' And ripped it off, thereby busting the whole side seam, then asked for a refund, is it? Hypothetically, that it. Not that this ever happened to me. Oh no.

If they insist on the replacement dress you could ,........unpick the seam? and return it again.

BuildersTea is right - you have been given bad advice by Trading Standards. You have a reasonable time to reject faulty goods such as clothing, so as long as you haven't sat on the dress for weeks after the seam ripped you are still entitled to a full refund. Don't give up!

watchdog link
I would email back, stating that you are rejecting this dress as it is not fit for purpose and you expect a full refund.

The person you spoke to would have been right if you had worn the dress a few times (ie you had 'accepted' it) but it was clearly not fit for it's intended purpose when you bought it.

Could you take an assertive person back to the shop with you to get the money back?

Did you give trading standards all the details?
Ok so if you had the thing for 6 months wore it 4 times then it broke I could accept the repair/replacement theory.

But, 2.5 hours?? Really?
Mmmmm going to have a think about this.
Are they an independent? Christ its not LK Bennett is it?

Don't enter into anymore correspondence with her for a while. (As much as you probably want to email her back something like, yes of course I like it do much I don't care if it breaks after 2 hours )

God no please not lk Bennett! :o

No, it's an independent boutique! I'm too scared to go into LK Bennett after reading these threads and my toddler would probably accidentally wee on the floor. I'll phone Trading Standards again tomorrow and check with them about the question of 'accepting' a purchase.
It also seems that there is an owner above the manager I have been dealing with. I may try to communicate with her. I think I'm most pissed off as the email seems to suggest that I am complaining about a fault that doesn't exist. "I'm very sorry to hear that you think the dress is faulty"...???
I am not hallucinating.
It has a hole in the middle of it, which was not created by me. If that's not a fault, I don't know what is.
The whole exchange has made me feel that the dress is associated with not nice stuff like confrontation if that makes any sense.
I would name the boutique but I have since found out that the owner is a friend of a friend and I would feel it unkind to show her up without giving her an attempt to make it good. Sorely pushed though....

There's a reason we all shop at John Lewis

smeraldina - the boutique is in the thread you linked to in your OP and I don't see any reason to delete it. You're being given shoddy service and if independent shops are to survive, they need to be absolutely above board when it comes to faulty goods. It's one of the reasons so many people prefer buying in big shops because they feel it's safer if something goes wrong. And that's a crying shame for our high streets.

Too true Itdidntworkout.

I've had shite service from them too in the past. Never shopped again.

Bought a coat while on mat leave (was skint but it was winter and I needed a coat) and the sizing was smaller than average so I asked to return it and nooo... i contacted them on the 8th day and there was only 7 day return. Even though it was over the xmas hols etc.

Bag of shite shop.

No - honest - it's not that boutique - that boutique just had an image of the same dress!!!

Ahh, well they are shite too so it's alright

In fairness I had a (fully bloody justified) moan up about LK on here a while ago, after which I was contacted by them and offered an unreserved apology. Has restored my faith quite a bit, I can tell ye.

They're watching OP. Name the store

Enjoy, was that the one with the cardigan?

I sent them an emails with a link to the thread and they called me to tell me that that wasn't their policy!

Op, I hope you can maybe get somewhere with the owner friend of a friend.

OP, call Consumer Direct, they are fab on sale of goods/services stuff and I agree that Trading Standards advice doesn't seem quite right.

Can't link on iPad but a quick google on CD suggests they are part of citizens advice now. I haven't used them since the change but DH spoke to them last week and was full of praise. They can advise and certainly used to provide template letters etc.

Don't give up.

No Glaikit, I hijacked the cardigan thread to recount my tale. Was v. Impressed with the response.