Woolworths! Buy 2 get tat free!!

half_a_bee

This is my first ever post, and unfortunately it's not a happy one :mad:

A couple of weeks ago, I bought some Bob the Builder all-in-one pajamas (the kind that zips up the front) along with 2 other items for my 18 month old as part of a Woolies 3 for 2 offer. They cost £12.99 and the other 2 items were £12.99 and £10.49, so the cheapest was free.

After a couple of days wear in his new BTB pajamas, the zip broke , so I returned them to the store for a replacement. But behold, when child went to bed in the pajamas and got up the next day, the zip was broke.

So I thought that there must be a design fault with these pajamas so returned them to the store once more and asked for vouchers because I did not want to chance another pair breaking. But no, Woolies were having none of that. They said they would either replace or refund me £2.50. Unimpressed, I asked to see the manager but to no avail. I was told that I could return all three items for a full refund.....

However one of the other pair of pajamas had been worn also, therefore they refused to allow me to return the batch for a full refund. Furthermore I was treated like a criminal for trying.

I am so angry!!! :mad: I am really stuck now. I do not feel that the faulty pajamas are of merchantable quality but they will not refund or even swap them for vouchers. It's almost like extortion. They were trying to make me swap them for something else that I did not choose to buy originally - can they do this? If anybody has any suggestions what to do next, I would be extremely grateful.

hjb123

If they are faulty I think I am correct in saying that they are legally obliged to take the goods back.

On the office for fair trading website they say:

Rejecting faulty goods
You have a right to 'reject' faulty goods. If you tell the seller promptly that the goods are faulty and you don't want them, you should be able to get your money back. As long as you have not legally 'accepted' the goods you can still 'reject' them – that is, refuse to accept them.

One of the ways you accept goods is by keeping them without clearly saying that you want to return them after you've had a reasonable time to examine them. What is 'reasonable' however is not fixed: it depends on all the circumstances. Normally you can at least take your purchase home and try it out. But if you delay in examining what you've bought or in telling the seller that you wish to reject the goods, then you might lose your right to reject.

Even if you signed an 'acceptance note', this does not mean you have signed away your right to reject the goods.

If you agree to let the seller try to put faulty goods right, this also does not affect your rights. Make it clear that if the repair fails, you will be rejecting the goods and seeking a refund.

Go back to the store or if not ring Woolworths customer service

Hope you get it sorted

DOnt give in!

H

half_a_bee

I was mulling the events of today over as I was trying to get off to sleep...arrgh! Anyway, I had a flashback where the assistant told me that they could not accept my the returns because 1 pair of pajamas had already been worn (and not faulty), therefore could not be put back on sale. The fact that one garnment was faulty appeared irrelevant to them.

I had always assumed that if a customer returned an item, high street stores did not put them back on display and sell it as new. Are they allowed to do this? Do we really know where our "new" items clothing or anything have been if retailers just shove returns back on sale willy nilly?

mini

I think most if not all the main stores put returns straight back onto the shop floor, I bought some jeans once which I noticed when they I got home had a returns label on them for having a faulty zip, a jacket for my daughter which I had bought in a rush had amark on the seam which had been circled in pen to draw attention to it. I thought it was more mail order items which were not resold only because it takes a year to pack clothes back into the packs!

To the point of the post why £2.50? I have returned something to Boots which was on a 3 for 2 where they divided the total I paid by 3, it worked in my favour I recall.

In your position I would take it up with head office, did you return it with a receipt? I am guessing without a receipt you could have got vouchers

half_a_bee

Hi Mini, yes I did show them the receipt, to prove that it was the second time that I was returning the same design of pajamas. In retrospect I ought to have "lost" the receipt. Maybe there are some bitter and twisted shop supervisers who have such boring existences that winning arguments with customers brighten their lives...not to mention pinching baby's pajama money!!!

I'm sorry to start my moneysaving posting career on such an angry note!

daveboy

In a situation like this, I'd consider going into another branch of Woolworths and trying, if that's possible.

If it's not, then Head Office would be the place to go.

I've always thought that all Woolworths sold was tat!

Wig

This is how I would approach this.

Much like you have already done...

Ask for a credit on the value of the broken item

if not then return all three items Bought as an offer of 3 products so all 3 should be returned, 1 item is faulty so you are entitled to a refund. However, if refunded for a single item then you have efectively got a buy one get one free on the other two items, so a return of all 3 items is neccessary to avoid you having gained an advantage.

How about asking for another pair of the pajamas which were ok? so you still qualify for the buy 2 get 1 free offer. You are then left with 3 pairs of pajamas and haven't lost anything.

Failing that tell them you sold me the 3 items in a single offer, if one item is faulty you either put me in a satisfactory position ( and a refund of 2.50 is not satisfactory) or refund me for the 3 items regardless.

If they don't do it, the ball is in your court, and court is where you will have to go to get satisfaction. Take them to the small claims court.

half_a_bee

Hello All, thanks for the replies. I have just got off the phone from the Office of Fair trading, suggested by #2 and they tell me that it is reasonable to expect a refund of 3rd of the total cost of the items on returning the faulty item, and if the store refuses, then sue them - which I am prepared to do as I lost a nights sleep last night through feeling so furious with the situation and the way I was treated like some kind of idiot by the store!

hjb123

Great, sorry to hear it lost your sleep over it but glad to hear you are on the way to getting it sorted.

H

wolvesinwales

Slightly off topic but i had a similar argument with Morrisons once over some blank DVDs that were £9.99 BOGOF, i opened one pack but found the disc would not work in my computer so took both packs back, the snotty customer services assistant made a fuss that it was awkward because one pack was faulty but one pack was ok so she insisted on treating them seperately and ended up giving me £19.98 back

half_a_bee

Hello again all, here is the latest on the saga;

My other half enlisted the help of a collegue who is a legal advisor who drafted the following letter for me. I've missed out the bit that we know already, so here it is:

It is with much regret that I find myself writing to you in relation to the ‘service’ I received from the staff in your store recently.....etc...etc....

...I find this level of service totally unacceptable and frankly disappointing having been a loyal customer of your store for many years. My statutory rights are protected by both the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and the Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982. I feel so strongly about this matter that I have taken legal advice and am prepared to take this matter further, involving Trading Standards and Watchdog if the matter is not resolved satisfactorily.

You may contact me at the above address in order to discuss the matter further. If I have heard nothing by 07 December 2005 I will take further advice as to how to progress this matter.

I look forward to resolving this matter in the near future.

I wonder if I will get a reply...