Tesco - SOGA doesn't apply to us

somethingcorporate

pendulum wrote: »

malc_c, I am afraid you're one of these difficult customers that every shop worker hates. You've gone in demanding rights you simply don't have, and then refused their reasonable gift card offer (which would have suited you down to the ground) but you rejected this "on principle" because you thought you were entitled to a cash refund when you weren't. Perhaps go back, apologise and accept the gift card which is as good as a full refund anyway.

Telling it like it is!

Oliver14

Quotting SOGA incorrectly at shops will never help your case. They gave you a reasonable offer that you turned down. More fool you.

Googlewhacker

As stated you are not entitled to a refund, the remedy is the choice of the retailer and that can be repair or replacement before refunding if they so wish.

Next time maybe not be so quick on the draw huh!

Unintentional

malc_b wrote: »

He refused to give me his last name. Said all he had to tell me was his first name and he was the only xxx in this store. I wonder if that is in fact legal. Don't you have right to know the name of the person who served you? So you can complain.

Good for him. I wouldn't give customers my surname if they intend to complain about me. It's none of their business. I can be identified by my first name and the store I work at so supplying only my first name is sufficient.

The stores ask for customer's names all the time so if they have a right why isn't the reverse true. Anyone shed any light of that?

But asking your name in some situations like placing an order for a delivery is actually relevant. You had nothing to gain from asking his surname. I'm sure if you rang up and supplied his first name the store and his job title he could be easily identified.

bylromarha

Tesco clothing dept did this to me over the summer, although I'd have been happy with a gift card TBH.

Bought a top for DD June in "all kids clothes half price" weekend. Fell apart in first wash beg July. Returned it with the receipt. They couldn't do anything as I'd washed it. If I wanted a replacement, I had to pay the difference between what I'd bought it for and the new selling price. They were in stock, but I had to pay for the replacement basically. Or I could choose another top at same value (there were none at that value). Quoted SOGA at them. Response? "Tesco policy states we can't accept it back if its been washed - how do we know you followed the wash instructions?" I got a shrug when I asked if they felt that tesco policy overruled UK law. I asked for a gift card to the value of the top and was told that I could only exchange it for another girls top and I had to pay the difference if it was more expensive than that which I paid.

Irony is, if I hadn't showed them the receipt then I could have had a straight swap for a new top as they wouldn't have known I bought it half price.

Letter to Head Office - their response said that they would send a memo to all clothing departments and remind them of SOGA and time frames of legal returns on clothing. Seems that the Bristol store missed that memo.... guess there were no replacements in store in this weather and a repair was too costly for the store.

malc_b

Yes I meant to right sun dress i.e. a light dress suitable for when the sun shines. And of course I had the receipt.

As for SOGA "If you buy a product that turns out to be faulty, you can choose to 'reject' it: give it back and get your money back. However, the law gives you only a 'reasonable' time to do this – what is reasonable depends on the product and how obvious the fault is."

In this case the dress was bought too late to wear in UK, it was an end of summer sale after all. It was first worn on holiday then washed once on return at which time it shrank. That was the first time the fault revealed itself. By any definition the dress is faulty and was faulty at manufacture therefore SOGA allows me to ask for a refund. I'd agree that this depends some what on how you define the reasonable time but in this case, i.e. a dress bought for holidays, my opinion is that that is a reasonable time.

But lets fall back to repair, refund or replacement. They sold off the dresses in the sale and this is likely to be a material fault so the same dress is likely to have the same fault. Either they'd be giving us another faulty item or more likely they don't have one so that rules out repair and replacement leaving only refund.

So either way it comes back to a refund. What Tesco was offering was a credit note which it not in SOGA. It is repair, replacement or refund.

And yes practically speaking I should tugged my forelock, said thank 'ee sir and taken the credit note. However, I like to stand up for my rights. Letting bad service go only encourages it. If the store has said "is it alright if I give this on a gift card" then most likely I would have said yes. But it was an uphill battle even to get them to accept that shrinking 5in was not of satisfactory quality and the dress was faulty. They were really out to deny everything which just put my back right up and then they said we can only give it as a gift card.

As for the manager's full name it is the first time that I've ever had that. Usually when dealing with store people if you ask there name they tell you. I suppose the question is best put to Tesco head office, "why don't your staff give their full name when asked when you want to complain about their service"?

zzzLazyDaisy

Ah! So it was a matter of principle.

Principles can be expensive. You could have had a refund (albeit on a gift card that you would then have had to hand in a few minutes later at the till, when you paid for your shopping). You refused this on principle, and now have no money and an uphill fight and a lot of stress in front of you.

Sometimes it is a good idea to work out what you want in real terms... return of the value of the faulty item... or .... to win a battle of words?

mildred1978

malc_b wrote: »

In this case the dress was bought too late to wear in UK, it was an end of summer sale after all.

?

Really? August and September are also summer here. We had a mini heat wave here in October too!

scheming_gypsy

malc_b wrote: »

In this case the dress was bought too late to wear in UK, it was an end of summer sale after all. It was first worn on holiday then washed once on return at which time it shrank. That was the first time the fault revealed itself. By any definition the dress is faulty and was faulty at manufacture therefore SOGA allows me to ask for a refund. I'd agree that this depends some what on how you define the reasonable time but in this case, i.e. a dress bought for holidays, my opinion is that that is a reasonable time.

To you maybe, but a dress bought at the end of summer could have been worn numerous times before October. Just because somebody tells the shop that it was worn once and washed properly, doesn't mean it's the truth.

CynicalScotsman

Yes I meant to right sun dress i.e. a light dress suitable for when the sun shines. And of course I had the receipt.

As for SOGA "If you buy a product that turns out to be faulty, you can choose to 'reject' it: give it back and get your money back. However, the law gives you only a 'reasonable' time to do this – what is reasonable depends on the product and how obvious the fault is."

From Which... If you want to get your money back
If you buy a product that turns out to be faulty, you can choose to 'reject' it: give it back and get your money back. However, the law gives you only a 'reasonable' time to do this – what is reasonable depends on the product and how obvious the fault is. However, even with something like a car, you usually have no more than three to four weeks from when you receive it to reject it.


Read more: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/understanding-the-sale-of-goods-act/your-rights/#ixzz1hGH5dsEb
Consumer Champions Which?
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial

In this case the dress was bought too late to wear in UK, it was an end of summer sale after all. It was first worn on holiday then washed once on return at which time it shrank. That was the first time the fault revealed itself. By any definition the dress is faulty and was faulty at manufacture therefore SOGA allows me to ask for a refund. I'd agree that this depends some what on how you define the reasonable time but in this case, i.e. a dress bought for holidays, my opinion is that that is a reasonable time.

A reasonable time to reject goods could be as little as 14 days. Im also sure, it is recommended that clothes are washed prior to use, therefore it wouldn't matter if it was sunny or not, as you washed it within a reasonable time of purchase? Yes?

But lets fall back to repair, refund or replacement. They sold off the dresses in the sale and this is likely to be a material fault so the same dress is likely to have the same fault. Either they'd be giving us another faulty item or more likely they don't have one so that rules out repair and replacement leaving only refund.

So either way it comes back to a refund. What Tesco was offering was a credit note which it not in SOGA. It is repair, replacement or refund.

And yes practically speaking I should tugged my forelock, said thank 'ee sir and taken the credit note. However, I like to stand up for my rights. Letting bad service go only encourages it. If the store has said "is it alright if I give this on a gift card" then most likely I would have said yes. But it was an uphill battle even to get them to accept that shrinking 5in was not of satisfactory quality and the dress was faulty. They were really out to deny everything which just put my back right up and then they said we can only give it as a gift card.

To be honest, perhaps the only reason for the clothes shrinking was deemed to be owner misuse? Did you have the washing at the right settings? Were you supposed to use a tumble dryer? It could have been the manager did not agree there was a manufacturing fault and was offering you a gesture of goodwill?

"Cotton shrinks when it is exposed to heat for any length of time. The way that many people wash their clothes will usually expose the clothing to a great deal of heat. The clothes are often washed in warm or hot water, exposing t-shirts and other items to hot water for a prolonged period of time. When washing t-shirts, they can be kept from shrinking during the washing stage by washing them in cold water instead." (WardrobeAdvice,2010)

As for the manager's full name it is the first time that I've ever had that. Usually when dealing with store people if you ask there name they tell you. I suppose the question is best put to Tesco head office, "why don't your staff give their full name when asked when you want to complain about their service"?

I wouldn't give you my full name either... you could be a psycho stalker (not the first time). Im sure name badges is most stores only have their first name on for a reason nowadays?