We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Sports Direct is a disgrace!
Comments
-
Do you think the players carry 4 or 5 rackets to a game for nothing? Strings are certainly a consumable part of a racked, this is also why re stringing in the sport is big business.
After looking around online, general advice is that a racquet should be strung approximately the same amount of times you play per week per year (i.e play twice per week you should have it restrung twice per year).
Also, why would a consumable part not be covered by SOGA? Obviously the length of time until it is deemed wear and tear would be shorter but they should still last a reasonable length of time.0 -
By the nature of consumables they're expected to be limited time effectiveness - thus impossible to quantify a "reasonable" time for them to last. Way to look at it is this, I used to play youth badminton & I hit HARD at the time, I've only ever broken 2 sets of strings in my life, problem is both of those occasions were in the same match! It can happen at any time & is often not misuse or abuse but pure luck, can happen at any time and has been pointed out, that's why any proper racquet sports enthusiast will usually have 2-3 racquets when they play!
I'm not being fussy with the OP, but if you're a serious player I'd expect you to understand that from a general sports "retailer" (warehouse) - which Sports Direct are - you really should look to restringing it BEFORE you use it. You've no idea how long it's been in a store/warehouse thus how the strings will be condition wise & the tension won't be optimal. I do share your annoyance that getting a refund from SD is worse than getting blood from a stone, but the strings can break at any time & that's on your head to sort unless it's a design fault. By the sounds of it, they've broken because of general use, that doesn't make the item unfit for purpose, it's just unfortunate that it's happened twice in a short space of time. But when you're dealing with something like that it could happen any time, thus you can't expect them to fix it, especially if you've used it for multiple sessions!Retired member - fed up with the general tone of the place.0 -
bluenoseam wrote: »I'm not being fussy with the OP, but if you're a serious player I'd expect you to understand that from a general sports "retailer" (warehouse) - which Sports Direct are - you really should look to restringing it BEFORE you use it.
Agreed. Much as I have sympathy with the O.P, (strings on a new racquet should definitely last more than 4 weeks), as a serious golfer myself I'd not touch sports direct for any golf equipment in a million years. I see their golfing goods as the very very cheap end of the market and the prices reflect that, I suspect the same would apply for the squash equipment. Buy cheap, get cheap equipment, get cheap customer service.Pants0 -
bluenoseam wrote: »By the nature of consumables they're expected to be limited time effectiveness - thus impossible to quantify a "reasonable" time for them to last.
That's the same issue with all products. Just because it's difficult to pinpoint a specific length of time doesn't mean they don't need to last at all. Take light bulbs for example, if they only lasted a few days would you deem that reasonable? Or you bought a £500 smartphone and the battery packed in after a week would you be happy?0 -
That's the same issue with all products. Just because it's difficult to pinpoint a specific length of time doesn't mean they don't need to last at all. Take light bulbs for example, if they only lasted a few days would you deem that reasonable? Or you bought a £500 smartphone and the battery packed in after a week would you be happy?
If you bought a torch with a battery in it and left that torch on constantly it would run out in probably about 24 hours. Would you then expect to be able to take the torch back as it only lasted 24 hours?
You can't put a time limit on strings in a racquet as it depends how much the racquet was used. If a racquet was a leisure centre racquet it could be used every hour of every day and would need rest re-stringing often. Or if it was used by a casual player (once a month) it could last years. It's too variable to have a timespan.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
If you play a decent level with decent strings, they wont last more than a few months! I do think the OP has been un-lucky. The likely explanation is that sports direct is not a real "sports" shop. I'd never buy any of my racquet equipment from them. The racquets have probably been around the shop for years, with the strings degrading as a consequence.
New strings are an ongoing cost of any racquet sport though.## No signature by order of the management ##0 -
If you bought a torch with a battery in it and left that torch on constantly it would run out in probably about 24 hours. Would you then expect to be able to take the torch back as it only lasted 24 hours?
No, that would be deemed as fair wear and tear of the product.You can't put a time limit on strings in a racquet as it depends how much the racquet was used. If a racquet was a leisure centre racquet it could be used every hour of every day and would need rest re-stringing often. Or if it was used by a casual player (once a month) it could last years. It's too variable to have a timespan.
The OP said he had only used it a few times. If it was a used all day everyday then it would once again be fair wear and tear. Is there a particular part of SOGA i have missed that said consumables are excluded?0 -
No, that would be deemed as fair wear and tear of the product.
The OP said he had only used it a few times. If it was a used all day everyday then it would once again be fair wear and tear. Is there a particular part of SOGA i have missed that said consumables are excluded?
Yes but the shop doesn't know that. It sounds like he's had the racquet a month so could have been playing ever hour of every day. I don't see how you can guarantee a consumable when its lifespan is dictated by use and not time.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
Yes but the shop doesn't know that. It sounds like he's had the racquet a month so could have been playing ever hour of every day. I don't see how you can guarantee a consumable when its lifespan is dictated by use and not time.
Then as per SOGA it would be up to the shop to prove it.0 -
Then as per SOGA it would be up to the shop to prove it.
They could argue the fact the strings broke proved it.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.3K Spending & Discounts
- 247.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.3K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards