sainsburys baby sleeping bag- size discrepancy

katy1987

hi all!

i was hoping for a bit of advice on responding to an email from sainsburys customer service, as i am sure i am right about this!

here is the conversation so far:

Dear Customer Services,

I bought an Eric Carle baby sleeping bag in my local Sainsburys yesterday, which was age 6-12 months. After taking it home, removing tags, washing it and putting my (5.5month old) son in it, it became clear that the sizing was a little inaccurate! It is, in fact, exactly the same size as his 0-6 month sleeping bag (different brand).

He has slept in it, and dribbled on it, so I expect a straightforward refund is out of the question. I]edited to add- i should have added that i expected some form of refund/compensation nonetheless as the item was not as described![/I I really like the design of the sleeping bag, and the quality is great. Please make it in bigger sizes!

Regards,
[me]

Dear [me]

Thanks for your email. I'm sorry that the sleeping bag you bought for your baby was smaller than the advertised size. I can understand your frustration as you really liked the design of the sleeping bag.

Every care is taken to ensure all of the products we sell are up to the very high standards our customers have come to expect. We aim to provide great, lasting goods to our customers every time, at a price that is fair.

Unfortunately there are occasions when products we receive from our suppliers don`t quite reach the high standards we’ve set. This disappoints us and we will be passing on your feedback to our buying department for them to review. We work closely with our suppliers to ensure we receive great quality goods, every time. I hope your baby enjoyed his time int he bag even if it was a little too snug.

We operate a returns policy which lets customers return any clothing product bought from us within 28 days. We request customers accompany the garment with the original receipt and with the tags and labels still intact. We cannot process returns if customers remove the tags as we would have to send the garments back to their manufacturer to have them re tagged and In some instances this would involve shipping a garment to the far east.

I hope you can understand why I cannot process a return and I hope you will continue to shop in Sainsbury’s in the future. I appreciate you taking the time to contact the care line. Your feedback allows us to improve the service we provide. We hope to see you in store soon.


Kind regards

Lee Armour
Customer Manager

Dear Lee

I was under the impression that I had the right to return the item as it is not fit for purpose? Please confirm. The sleeping bag is lovely, but it is not fit for the purpose of fitting a 6-12 month old, since my normal-sized not-quite-6-month-old is having his feet squashed by it!

Regards,

[me]

note- after reading on MSE i now believe the item to be 'not as described' rather than 'not fit for purpose. am i right?

Dear [me]

Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry if I've left you a little bit confused about our returns policy.

We give customers the right to return any item if it isn't fit for purpose for 12 after the day they bought it. However, we can only accept a refund if customers return the garment with the original receipt and with the tags and labels still intact. We cannot process returns if customers remove the tags.

Every store can use its discretion when processing returns and the customer service department will listen to your complaint. You can return to the store with the sleeping bag and explain the issue for them. They will then be able to decide to offer a refund or not.

We appreciate you taking the time to contact us and I hope you have a nice day.


Kind regards

Lee Armour



thanks if you have read this far! now, i know i could go into the shop and potentially get a refund, but i think i have true rights here, not just 'at the store's discretion' rights, and i would quite like to put this fellow straight.

any advice on what to say to him would be very, very much appreciated. thanks all!

Hazel1980

I would just return it to the store and show them the smaller sleeping bag as a comparison and see what they say.

I've found since having my daughter that clothes sizes vary so much from store to store, for instance everything in Tesco is too short and wide and Next is to long and narrow. I try everything on her now before buying.

gordikin

Sounds like you shrunk it when you washed it.

katy1987

lol, i hadn't thought of that gordikin! shhhhh!

katy1987

in seriousness, though, i most certainly did NOT shrink it ^_^

wealdroam

katy1987 wrote: »

in seriousness, though, i most certainly did NOT shrink it ^_^

A bit difficult to prove that one way or the other though.

peachyprice

As the two sleeping bags are not the same make I don't think you can make the comparison and deem the new one 'not as described'. Sizes are not universal from one manufacturer to another.

Have you been back into Sainsbury's to see if it's bigger than the 0-6 month in this brand?

gordikin

I still think you shrunk it...put the sprog through the same wash programme and see if he fits afterwards. :rotfl:

katy1987

all very helpful. i followed the instructions on the wash label, didn't tumble it, so if it did shrink it is not my fault. BUT, since the customer manager has made no mention of the possibility of it shrinking in the wash, i think it's irrelevant. back to my original question.

do i have the RIGHT to return it? any suggestions on what i could say to him in my responding email?

ETA: peachy, when i bought it i noticed a considerable difference between the two sizes. (obviously i didn't realise that the larger sleeping bag still wasn't going to be bigger than the ones i already had, otherwise i wouldn't have bought it!)

fluffnutter

Does everyone wash stuff before wearing/using?? I don't. Am I weird?

peachyprice

katy1987 wrote: »

between the two sizes. (obviously i didn't realise that the larger sleeping bag still wasn't going to be bigger than the ones i already had, otherwise i wouldn't have bought it!)

In which case, sorry to say, but I don't think you have a leg to stand on. It's bigger than the 0-6 months they sell, so it is as described. The fact that you didn't compare it to the one you already have before you used it isn't really their fault.

It's like comparing a M&S size 12 with a River Island size 12, neither are defective, they're just cut more/less generously.