How to complain?

Fay

I could do with a little advice please guys, not sure if this is the correct board to post this query on, but I know that you are all really helpful, so thought I would try!

I brought a dress from Debenhams last december for new years eve, its a lovely cream satin prom dress with black lace over the top. Anyway, I wore it new years eve to a dinner dance and my friend pointed out some thread hanging off it...the seam on the satin was coming undone. So I took the dress back and asked for an exchange, I was told that no they could not do an exchange or refund or anything else, the only thing they would do was repair it. I was not too happy as the dress was £85 but I agree.

Anyway, when it came back I had no need to wear it so left it hung up in the bag they put it into. Forward to the beginning of June and I have a friends wedding in Italy to go to, so I get the dress out and try it on...it still fitted, woo hoo! My boyfriend said 'why's it sticking out on your back' and when I turned round the lace is all coming apart (looks like its rotten) on one of the bones...this was not done before I took it in for repair. So I go back with the dress again only to be told that a) they will not excange again b) they cannot repair lace. So I asked what they would do and the guy was very rude to me. he said that with lace or sequin dresses they do only expect you to get one wear out of it (!!!!!!!!!!) before they become damaged, and due to the fact I have had it 6 months there is nothing they can do. he then told me to take it to a seamstress, despite the fact he said it can't be repaired. Anyway, my mom had got me the dress on her debenhams card and is a VERY loyal customer (i.e. spends hundreds of ponds a time with them) so we said that we were not happy with that answer, so he agreed to send it off to head office to get them to check it.

He called me and said that head office have deemed it wear and tear and there is nothing they can do about it. Now I have cut this story short because they were very rude with us in the shop, saying things like they do not expect prom dresses to be wore more than once and I should have known that when I brought it etc So I now have the dress back, which I cannot wear because the lace sticks out too much and I want to complain about the way we were treated, but I'm not sure how to go about doing a good letter...can anyone help?

Sorry its a long thread!

Sooler

So, the first time you took it back they were able to repair it so it was in a repairable condition. You have not worn it since, and now it is not in a repairable condition, due to wear and tear.

The wear and tear must have occured between you leaving it with them for the first repair and getting it back.

They have stated the dress has suffered wear and tear to make it unrepairable, and they did the first repair.

Thus, they have admitted that the wear and tear to the dress happened whilst it was in their pocession.




You could go to another Debenhams store and go through the motions of wanting to buy the same or similar dress and see what advice you get as to the expected longevity of it.

Sooler

"he said that with lace or sequin dresses they do only expect you to get one wear out of it (!!!!!!!!!!) before they become damaged, and due to the fact I have had it 6 months there is nothing they can do."


What's the significance of 6 months. Taking them at their word you can either wear it more than once or you can't.
If you can wear it more than once are they trying to say it has to be within less than 6 months, if so, how long?

5 months, 4 months ... 1 week ... 1/2 an hour???

Ask them to stipulate the time frame in which it could have been worn more than once that would not have meant they couldn't do anything about it.

janb5

Personally I would contact Head Office Customer Complaints on two counts.Firstly they were rude to you and your mother and secondly they haven`t sorted out the problem. The dress is not wearable and you should have been dealt with more courteously.

You could always mention the Small Claims Court or Office of Fair Trading!

Goodluck! Let us know how you get one!

I wonder if it was sent to Head office-I havemy doubtsbecause they should have contacted you direct!

MrsTinks

Then there is always the possibility of politely asking for the store manager next time you go in (take the dress with you) Not his assistant or some department manager but the actual head person for that WHOLE shop

Dr.Lou

Oh my god, A very similar thing happened to me last year. I had bought a suit from Debenhams (like a tweed type fabric). I wore it once, and within about 20 minutes realised that the hem of one leg was threading. I took the suit back to Debenhams and had never had such rude customer service in my life. The sales assistant practically blamed me for the threads coming loose, and after asking to see the manager and recieving very poor service from her too, I managed to get Debenhams vouchers for the price of the suit (which is wrong as the suit was faulty I should have had a refund).

I would contact either your local trading standards or https://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ call these guys up for advice.

Since then I have never shopped in Debenhams. This kind of poor service and quality you would expect from a market stall trader maybe, but not a huge so called 'well respected' chain like Debenhams.

liz545

Sorry to hear you've had such problems, Fay. I'd certainly write to head office, and in the letter mention that under the Sale of Goods Act, the item sold must be fit for purpose, i.e. not break down irreparably within an unreasonably short period of time after purchase. The fact that it has done indicates either that the item was sold to you damaged (thus a violation of your Statutory Rights) or was damaged in their possession. This was the line I used with Specsavers when they tried to tell me that I should only expect a £125 pair of glasses to last a year, and it worked.

Furthermore, mention the assistant's claim that the dresses are only designed to be worn once and point out that there is no signage or advice given in store before purchase to advise of this. Unless they have big signs up saying "Caution - £85 disposable dresses!" they have no right to make this claim post-sale.

Someone in another thread suggested if you receive no success from customer services, obtaining a £2 copy of the companies' info from Companies House and sending a copy of the letter to the director's home - may be worth a try! Also Which?, The Guardian's consumer champion, or Watchdog - a bit of negative publicity may stir them into action.

Good luck, hang in there, and don't take no for an answer!

Fay

Thanks guys, I am not going to let this drop because of the way that they treated us. The first time I took the dress back for the torn seam, I did see th estore manager, but the second time they send the section manager to me. When I went in to collect the dress at the weekend the manager would not come to see me, instead directing his sales assistant to give me the dress back. Some nice tips here though, thank you

Dr.Lou-I didn't even ask for vouchers, or a refund, just an exchange! and they refused.

Dr.Lou

Well good luck anyway!

They must be trying it on with anyone who brings back their faulty merchandise. I too couldn't believe the rudeness and attitude, that annoyed me more than anything. Wish I had complained to head office at the time!

Edinburghlass_2

Article by Martin on Consumer Rights is here...

Thread about writing letters to companies is here

nabowla

If Debenhams try to claim that you should have noticed the fault some time in the last six months, point out to them that this is a prom dress and is intended for special occasions only. Special occasions don't happen every week so it's unreasonable to expect you to notice the fault immediately. Debenhams sold it to you as a prom dress so they can't argue with that!

As for the nonsense that the dress is only designed to be worn once - rubbish! Check the care label inside the dress. Does it say 'only wear once'? Nope, I thought not! It probably says 'Dry Clean only' or 'hand wash only'. Now why would they be giving you washing advice if the dress is only supposed to last once????