Faulty goods, Poundland, not believed!

scamperhunny

My daughter spent her £3 pocket money naively on 3 pairs of headphones in Poundland, Horsham. Two pairs stopped working in one ear on the afternoon, the third she had intended for a present but decided to return as she had lost faith in their quality.

We attempted to return the earphones today and were told that as the receipt was over 7 days old (10 days, I was not aware of this policy) we could not receive refund or exchange.

I made the point that two of the pairs were faulty, not fit for purpose, hadn't lasted a reasonable length of time etc., the assistant took them away, said she'd listened to them in the back room and that they worked fine. I requested the manager, saw the assistant manager after some time, who repeated their version of events. I did say, twice, very slowly and clearly, that perhaps if she listened to them for more than a minute they might stop working (in one ear!) but they would not have it at all.

So, my question is, in a situation such as this, where you are earnestly or willfully disbelieved by staff, what are your rights?

Thank you for your help.

vyle

I guess the question is, what is a reasonable amount of time for a £1 pair of headphones to last? I'd not even expect them to come out of the package in one piece, let alone work.

[Deleted User]

Are we really worrying about the loss of £3?

Put the things in the bin (where they belong) and if you believe Poundland's customer service remains wanting then don't shop there anymore...

scamperhunny

I know, poundland, what do you expect and all that. They are however a big high street brand and should be held to normal standards, don't you think? They kept repeating their 7 day cut off as if this absolved them of any responsibility for consumer rights.

colin13

surley they should still be under same guidlines,as expensive stuff,the young girl spent her pocket money on them,in good faith they would work,i would deffo complain again,it aint the money,it is principal

scamperhunny

The assistant was set to disbelieve us from the start, she said they didn't look as if they'd ever been out of the packet when I showed them to her.

unholyangel

colin13 wrote: »

surley they should still be under same guidlines,as expensive stuff,the young girl spent her pocket money on them,in good faith they would work,i would deffo complain again,it aint the money,it is principal

Well yes they're still under the same "guidelines". But the problem is that price is a factor in considering what satisfactory quality/durability is.

Quite simply, you wouldnt expect the same from a £1 set of headphones as you would from a £50 pair.

CC-Warrior

Try consumer advice. It would be in PL's best interest to keep the customer happy, surely. The 7 day returns period (warranty even) sounds like BS.

marleyboy

One would expect under the circumstances that the items were described as a working product when sold, REGARDLESS of how cheap they were. I have not heard of any 7 day receipt policy nor can I find one.

I would assume any product sold to the public, is fit for the purpose in which it is sold, along with at least it working beyond the standard 28 days procedure.

arcon5

I had a similar issue with a cable I bought from there, stopped workin after about 2 hours collective use. Didn't bother returning it though, couldn't think of anything worse than standing in their queues for a couple quid

unholyangel

marleyboy wrote: »

One would expect under the circumstances that the items were described as a working product when sold, REGARDLESS of how cheap they were. I have not heard of any 7 day receipt policy nor can I find one.

I would assume any product sold to the public, is fit for the purpose in which it is sold, along with at least it working beyond the standard 28 days procedure.

I dont think anyone is saying any different. Just that for £3, its probably not worth the time you'd have to put in to get a refund/exchange. For £2 technically given the third pair haven't been tested yet.