Dress bought - tried on faulty zip.....

sstephanie40

I bought a very expensive McQ dress for this season's weddings. It cost £320.

It was delivered, with the back zip done all the way up. I undid it and got my daughter to do it up for me. This she did with difficulty as it was stiff in places. Having decided to keep the dress, I removed the tag.

I then went back to the dress later on and tried the dress on again. As I zipped it up it "split" apart and I have ended up with a hole where the zip should be - the zipper is at the top now! (Think how the zip on your old pencil case went when you were at school - if you know what I mean)

I contacted the company that I bought it from, who's t & c clearly state that returns cannot be accepted for an item with their tags missing. I told them that the dress had a faulty zip and that I was happy to get it replaced and I asked them to pay for the zip's replacement. As the dress is designer and expensively made, I do not want to take it to just any cleaners/menders and so the tailoring company I chose in London is going to charge around £30.00 to do this properly. They told me to send in any email with pictures of the zip and they would consider this.

Where do I stand with this? I paid on credit card and so could claim under section 75 - but don't want a refund. Just a wearable dress! Would the credit card company refund the repair costs under section 75 if the company that sold me the dress refuse? That's really all I want.

Thanks for your help.......

lateandlive

Is the zip totally gone or has it just come off the edges slightly? In other words, will it slot back in so it will work again?

Assuming not, do you have proof of purchase - as it was delivered, the invoice or purchase order that came with it? If so, you have the absolute right to return it whether there's a tag or not, assuming you bought it fairly recently?

It's understandable they want to see a picture or that they'd stipulate you had to send it back before agreeing to anything but you've also got the worry that they'd dispute how the zip was broken. Prospectively they could argue your daughter broke it when she did it up.

Still, it should never get to the stage of considering Section 75 because they should swap it for you!

sstephanie40

Sadly the zip is beyond slotting back. It's a really fine plastic zip that has such shallow teeth as to be useless.

I have the invoice and the card receipt of course. I have emailed them tonight with pictures and have asked for them to cover the replacement cost. I'm even happy to pay for the travel to get it to the repairers in Central London. I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I'll let you know what they say.

pinkshoes

The dress is clearly not fit for purpose, so they need to either repair, replace or refund under the Sale of Goods act. In the first 6 months, it's up to the retailer to prove that it's NOT faulty.

sstephanie40

I hope so. It's a worry though. The most expensive dress I have ever bought and this happens!

lateandlive

I'd think it's the retailer being over cautious. If they accept it back and it turns out to not be a fault then the manufacturer won't reimburse them the cost of the dress.

A £30 top would be bad enough, but £320 makes you want to be certain!

sarahg1969

lateandlive wrote: »

I'd think it's the retailer being over cautious. If they accept it back and it turns out to not be a fault then the manufacturer won't reimburse them the cost of the dress.

A £30 top would be bad enough, but £320 makes you want to be certain!

I suspect the retailer is referring to their own terms and conditions in relation to returning unwanted goods, rather than faulty goods.

DWatts

If they refuse to pay for you to repair it, then say you want to send it back for a replacement or repair. They're obliged to do so under SoGA - their own T&C's are irrelevant.

I wouldn't recommend getting the repair done yourself. If it breaks again you have no comeback with the company, they'll say the repair work wasn't good enough and have nothing else to do with it. If you send it back, it will cost you a bit more (you'll have to pay for the shipping costs), but any further fault with the zip will be on their shoulders.

sstephanie40

Thanks for that. The only reason I didn't want to send it back to them - is that I can control who does the repair. I know my tailors will do the best job, as they work on couture and this would be fine. But if they don't allow me too, then I have no choice but to let them do it.