Mothercare Advice Please

callansdad

Hi all, my sister bought a pram from mothercare just under a year ago.

The pram hood has snapped and just recently (with child in it) the pram collapsed whilst out for a walk.

My sister took it back to the branch to complain and ask for a replacement but was told as they did not have a receipt that they would not replace it .... theres no denying its a mothercare pram ... they have only offered to send it away for repair but woud be charged at least £50 for this.

Any advice on what action to take?

By the way she paid in cash so she can't prove the transaction by bank statements.

thanks

hjb123

I would speak to your (or her) local Trading Standards office - this is a Health and Safety issue aswell as trading standards! The baby could of been hurt, and I hope that he or she wasnt. Unfortunatley as she paid in cash there may not be much she can prove - though I would be tempted to call the customer services - 08453 30 40 30 and tell them exactly what you think and that even though you dont have a reciept and paid in cash that it is faulty goods and that surely health and safety of young customers is a priority!

hollydays

Nursery shops have an awful lot of customers who misuse prams and return it for a replacement.Also ,although it seems obvious it is their stock,but they are not to know that you havent bought it 2nd hand ,or from a car boot sale.That said,giving their point of view,its obviously of great concern it collapsed,and i would contact head office,and trading standards to discuss the implications too.I agree the store hasnt taken it seriously enough.How did it come to collapse?Usually there are safety catches.good luck.only other thing i can think of is to find out exactly when this particular model was first in the shops,if it was less than a year ago,you would probably still be under a guarentee,and although you have no proof of purchase ,they might ,if they were reasonable,be persuaded to repair it free.The issue is,you cant prove how old it is.

callansdad

Thank you for your replies. The pram is one of Mothercares own, it was bought just under a year ago but her baby wan't due til August so they said the guarantee would start then. What had happened was she had been out walking with the pram, (the hood had already snapped the week before) and she pushed down on it to get it up on the pavement and it collapsed. I took a look at it and if you put any downwards pressure on the handles at all it folds. Unfortunately the pram is not in their website now. I've told her to contact the number given. Hopefully that will get her somewhere. She has searched high and low for the receipt but cannot find it anywhere.

callansdad

She has now phoned them and there response was 'no receipt no refund' .... she then tried the trading standards name drop and that there was a health and safety issue as her child could have been hurt ... this was met with a response of ' go ahead and phone them ... they'll side with us as you have no receipt'.

She then confronted the customer advisor with the fact that they are supposed to keep a record of all transactions for six years for tax purposes ... this was met with ... ' we dont do that any more we have new computers now!'


Any more advice?

Poppy9

Under the sale of goods act you don't need a receipt to prove goods are faulty. There is also no 12 months rule. That's just something that traders made up.

You don't need a receipt because by law the retailer doesn't have to give you one.

The length of time goods should last is dependant on a lot of factors. If goods develop a fault within 6 months then the onus is on the retailer to prove there was no inherent fault when you purchased the item. After 6 months you have to prove it's faulty. This is usually by the retailer agreeing to inspect the item.

Also the price you pay should reflect the quality. i.e. with white goods if you bought a washing machine for £600 you would expect it to last longer than a £200 machine. People have launched claims in the small claims court for goods over 12 months old that have developed a fault that shops have refused to repair. They have been sucessful.

If your pram cost a few hundred pounds then you would expect it to be durable and to last a couple of years.

As mothercare are not going to budge you need to ask Trading Standards to help you with sueing them in the Small Claims court. It costs about £50 which you should get back.

Pull together facts to demonstrate how old the pushchair is i.e.

Birth certificate of baby (and child benefit book if first child to show bought new).
Research the model (probably via internet, even ask here** if anyone else bought same model no. and if they would copy the receipt to show when the pushchair was on sale).
Witness statement if a friend or relative was present at the purchase.
If paid cash, does the bank statement show withdraw of large amount.
If money given by relative, do thy have bank statement to show cash withdraw. Also ask them for statement to say it was a gift for pushchair.
Check to see if the pushchair was withdrawn or recalled on safety issues.

Use the Freedom of Information act. Ask Trading standards who will know this information. Also under the Freedom of information act if you write to Trading Standards to ask them if they have had other complaints about this push chair they will have to tell you.

You could also try sending a picture and story to your local rag showing the collapsed pushchair.

**start a new thread with pushchair name and model number to attract attention.

trickytrolleys

Please make sure you do go to trading standards, my brother died in a mothercare buggy that collapsed, it wasnt the first time that particular model had collapsed either - except my poor parents didnt know this!!

callansdad

I have managed to find the name of it with a little help from ebay. It is still on Mothercares site. I will start a new thread but where shall i start it?

here is the pram

http://www.mothercare.com/invt/lw2105&bklist=

Poppy9

I don't know if it still happens but when I bought a pushchair from Mothercare I had a service card. I had to take the pushchair back after 6 weeks for a free service. I bought a Silver Cross and it was a few years ago. Just wondered if they still do it and if so does she have the service detail.

Bossyboots

Poppy9 wrote:

Under the sale of goods act you don't need a receipt to prove goods are faulty. There is also no 12 months rule. That's just something that traders made up.

You don't need a receipt because by law the retailer doesn't have to give you one.

But they are entitled to proof of purchase. A credit card statement or similar would do, but in this case there is simply no proof that this pram is new so why on earth should the retailer be expected to replace or repair it for free.

Proving the date of birth of the baby does not prove the pram was bought new. Showing that the pram was on sale at the relevant time is also no good unless it was a new release just before the OP's baby was born in which case she would be in a better position.

I am sure Mothercare are used to people taking second hand goods back and trying it on. I know this is a problem Argos have. Unfortunately, the people doing that are responsible for making sure that those with a genuine problem are penalised because tighter and tighter checks are put in place.

Poppy9

It's a Mothercare make of pram though and the sale of goods act does not mention proof of purchase. If the pram has collapsed in such a way that it's a danger to the child then it should be replaced be it 1 or 24 months old. It's not fit for the purpose it was sold. That is what is covered by the Sale of Goods act. If shops are so concerned about second-hand baby goods being returned they should offer the buyer to register each sale.

With regard to finding out when the pram was on sale can help to pinpoint the earliest possible date it could have been bought as they frequently update their design and especially fabrics. If this particular design and fabric had only been available since last July then it proves the pushchair is less than 12 months old.

I had a problem a few years ago with a VCR that was faulty. I couldn't find receipt and had paid cash (small lottery win of £98:). I could prove it wasn't as old as the shop said it was as the instruction booklet with the VCR mentioned Channel 5 which had only come on air a few months previous. You have to explore all means to prove age.

The pushchair instructions might give date of printing etc.