All Saints dispute

thejollyone

Hi

I wonder what peoples opinions are on this dispute.

I bought a leather "Propaganda' jacket from All Saints, based at Selfridges, London on April 14th 2010. It cost me £250. Recently it started developing a tear under the left pocket. It has always been treated very well, and only used around 15-20 times.

On 2nd December, I phoned the All Saints customer services, and spoke to Phill, who initially told me that it was just outside of their 6 month warranty period. He asked which jacket it was, and when he heard it was leather, suggested that I send it in, as it should really have lasted more than 6 months. If it was found to be a manufacturing fault he assured me that it would either be replaced or refunded. He also asked me to send in the receipt. I asked if a bank statement would suffice, as I couldn't find the receipt, and he said it would be fine.

I sent it in that day with a covering letter, and a copy of my bank statement, which showed the sale for £250 at Selfridges.

Today, 10th December, I received a package from a courier. i opened it, and it was the leather jacket. There was a letter included which read:

"Thank you for sending your AllSaints propaganda Leather Jacket in for assessment.

Unfortunately in this instance we cannot offer a refund or exchange as the item doesn't include proof of purchase and its outside our 6 month faulty return Terms and Conditions policy. I have consulted our production team for this assessment and this is their professional verdict on this particular fault.

I apologise for any inconvenience this might have caused but we do need to return the item to you as it is rightfully yours and we are unable to assist further in this instance.

Thank you

Kind Regards

JEWEL MINCHELLA
Customer Service Advisor"


It seems to me that there are a couple of points here that warrant discussion.

The "6 month faulty return Terms and Conditions policy" is not something I have ever read, been made aware of, or is generally publicly available. Even if it was, under my statutory rights, I would expect the jacket to last for at least a year without developing a substantial fault.

What I am wondering is, does a bank a statement provide proof of purchase? The first person, "Phill", who i spoke to certainly thought it would.

Any views before I reply would be much appreciated.

Thanks

p00hsticks

I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that a bank statement or credit card statement showing the transaction should be an acceptable alternative to a receipt.

I believe that six months is an important cut-off in the Sale of Goods act - if a product is claimed to be faulty in the first six months, the onus is on the retailer to show that there is not an inherent fault with the product. After six months, then the burden of proof switches to the purchaser.

thejollyone

Thanks p00hsticks. I'm wondering, if I took them to the small claims court, would a bank statement be deemed as proof of purchase?

omen666

yes. You could drop Selfridges London/Manchester a email they have good CS and as you have the date and corresponding card transaction then call them and let them know you have now secured the receipt and what "Phill" said.

Elixiress

As far as I am aware, the clothing company I work for don't accept bank statements as valid proof of purchase either, because they only show the store and the total amount, they don't show the items. So you could have bought a top worth £100 and a pair of pants worth £150 and stole the jacket (no offence).

MothballsWallet

IIRC, there's no legal requirement for a store to issue a receipt anyway, and the law defines other proofs of purchase that retailers should accept.

A bank/credit card statement can identify the date, time (possibly), store and transaction reference that can be looked up in store records, providing the store can be bothered to do that.

This is why most stores give a receipt because it's faster to prove purchase.

Zandoni

The trouble with sending goods back via the post is that it's very easy for them to just dismiss your problem and send it back.

The best way would be to actually go in Selfridges and speak to the manager, keeping the conversation as polite as possible.

If that fails show the jacket to people when they are buying stuff, the manager may be more helpful then, just to get rid of you.

iblametheparents

Have you got this sorted yet?

I'm in a similar situation. I sent back a pair or trainers which had developed a hole in the sole which went right inside the shoe (not good if it had been raining), a tshirt which had faded and I had followed the care instruction completely and used colour detergent on a 30c cycle, and another tshirt which had developed holes, again I followed the care instructions.

All three were only 2 months old - I sent them back and this same Jewel person replied saying that there were no faults and they couldn't be replaced as I had worn them. I didn't mention the SoG Act, or the 6 month rule, but I am going to write back now advising them I'll be taking them to court if they don't refund at least part of the money.

Does anyone have any advice? Shall I send another letter advising of the above or should I now send a Letter Before Action?

hippyadam

Just send an LBA with your reasoning and request a full refund.

If the items are less than 6 months old the onus is on the store to prove they aren't inherently faulty.

Well thats what i would do...

iblametheparents

Shall I send the goods back again? It cost me a fiver last time!

thejollyone

I got a phone call from Jewel - it seems she also reads the forums!

She left a message explaining that my statement couldn't be used as proof of purchase because it only stated 'Selfridges' and not 'AllSaints'. And also that it was outside their 6 month returns policy, and that their terms and conditions are on their website.

She didn't mention anything about what Phill had said to me, and made no apology for the fault, or for their mix up in asking me to send it in.

I haven't responded yet.