Faulty goods exchange, no receipt

harveywarvey

Hi, i bought some wellies just before xmas and they split, so took them back approx Feb time with proof of purchase, but no receipt. The shop exchanged the wellies. At the time of exchanging the wellies they admitted this was a known problem but they had a new batch so hoped they would be ok. These wellies have now split again, in the same place. I took the wellies back today and spoke to the owner/manager who knows of this problem as they have had several returned, but he is refusing to refund or give a credit note as he says proof of purchase on a statement is not proof that i bought the wellies there. I stated that it was a known problem at his shop, but he still refused to do anything, saying i had no right by law without a receipt. Please help, where do i stand. He also stated that whoever had changed the wellies previously was wrong to do so just on a statement.

scullster

The statement only proves a transaction was made with the business on that particular day, and I can see where the manager is coming from if it is a national chain and the statement makes no reference to location. Even if it did, then who is to say that you bought another item that day and that the wellies were bought either months previous, or even from a different store.

You could try your credit card company - they maybe sympathetic (they were once to me for a £15 remote control) under section 75, or they could copy you the credit card receipt. This will still not pin the transaction to the wellies, but it would do to the store. Armed with this, the store may be more reasonable, especially if you give them time to check their records but I don't think they are obliged to.

Or, if these Wellies are damn expensive and branded, try the manufacturers direct - you could even email them photos.

But without a receipt, the retailer is not obliged to do anything.....

derrick

scullster wrote: »

You could try your credit card company - they maybe sympathetic (they were once to me for a £15 remote control) under section 75,

Or, if these Wellies are damn expensive and branded, try the manufacturers direct - you could even email them photos.

But without a receipt, the retailer is not obliged to do anything.....

Amazed the CC did something under Section 75, as this only applies for goods costing between £100-30000.

You have no contract with the manufacturers, so they would tell you to go back to the retailer.

You do not need a receipt,(just proof of purchase), in fact the retailer does not even have to supply you with a receipt,
BERR; -
"Q7. Do I have to produce a receipt to claim my rights?

No. In fact the trader doesn't have to give you a receipt in the first place so it would be unfair to say that you had to produce one. However, it might not be unreasonable for the shop to want some proof of purchase, so look to see if you have a cheque stub, bank statement, credit card slip etc., and this should be sufficient."

Consumer Direct; -
"Proof of purchase?

Shops will often tell you they will only give a refund on production of proof of purchase. Don’t be mislead into thinking this must be a till receipt. It can be a bank or credit card statement, although you may run into difficulties if it is for a different amount than that of the item you are trying to return.
If the item is damaged, the shop cannot say they will only refund on the basis of a till receipt. However you must have proof of purchase of some kind - particularly if it was bought recently and you want to show that the damage wasn’t caused by continued use or wear and tear over time."



.

phlogeston

There seems to be a common misconception that 'proof of purchase' has to be a receipt or bank statement or other permanent record.

In a civil court, all is required is proof to prove your claim 'on the balance of probabilities'. So, if you claim that you purchased an item from a shop on a given date it is conceivable that your word alone would be enough.

Your word, backed up with a credit card or bank statement, credit card slip or cheque stub is almost certainly proof enough.

scullster

Gents - I'm not disputing what you say at all, I'm simply putting forward a discussion point and playing well, devil's advocate!

"Proof of Purchase" - surely its got to be proof of purchase of the goods in question, i.e. an itemised receipt (god only knows what we would have done back in the days where the till receipt gave a date and transaction cost!). In this case, for a statement or credit card slip to be be valid, the law is content that the customer made a purchase on that particular day and that it was for the goods in question.

So say I was a bit of an outdoor enthusiast and my wardrobe was full of products purchased from "Outdoor Geeks R Us" (fictional store of course!) and I'd bought a pair of say Wellies 8mths ago at £20 and say I bought clockwork thermos flask (they sell absolutely everything) also at £20 last week. Well the wellies develop a fault, I could take them back with a my recent credit card statement with the flask purchase on it but offering that as proof of purchase for the wellies (oh the wellies are in great condition, just faulty)?

(I think I know the answer to this but I'm opening the floor)

scullster

derrick wrote: »

Amazed the CC did something under Section 75, as this only applies for goods costing between £100-30000.

So was I, but I was so outraged with the retailer who was an absolute a##e (I was outraged), they had misrepresented the item sold to me and they refused to cover the return postage. The credit card company stepped in.....

harveywarvey

so what is right, thanks for the answers,i'm reallly greatful, but they contradict each other.... i'm still none the wiser, any sales of goods people out there? or consumer rights experts?
i don't get how they were happy to swop them before but not now?when they know they were a bad batch, and admitted it.

wise_fool

You don't need a receipt - the shop is breaking the law.

My advice is go back to the shop with the evidence (ie the statement) and demand the manager. If the manager is unable to be persuaded then stand outside the shop and show everyone that walks in the shop just how crap the wellies are in that shop and how poor the customer service is.

I can guarantee you will get a refund in no time. :T

dmg24

scullster wrote: »

So was I, but I was so outraged with the retailer who was an absolute a##e (I was outraged), they had misrepresented the item sold to me and they refused to cover the return postage. The credit card company stepped in.....

If it was a Visa CC you were probably reimbursed through their chargeback scheme.

scullster

dmg24 wrote: »

If it was a Visa CC you were probably reimbursed through their chargeback scheme.

No, it was Mastercard.

hollydays

Take in the relevant bit from consumer direct and tell them if they don't sort it out you will be reporting them to trading standards/and their head office