Forced to take credit note

10betty10

My daughter bought a Halloween costume on Sunday. When she got it home and opened the package it was clear that it was very shoddy workmanship. Two of the badges were only partly stitched on and were folded over on themselves. She took the costume back to the shop today who stated that they had a no refund policy and she would have to accept a credit note. My daughter told the staff that she knew that if the goods were not of good quality that this was not the case and by law she was entitled to a refund. The manager of the shop brought out some documentation that he said was consumer rights laws and it implied that she had no right to a refund. The manager was rude and aggressive and told my daughter there was nothing wrong with the costume and she just needed to iron the badges into place. She felt very intimidated and after seeing the documentation felt she had no choice but to accept the credit note. This note is useless. Firstly we would have no confidence in buying form that store again, secondly there was nothing else she wanted to buy and finally she feels to intimidated to go back to the store. Is there anything we can do?

unholyangel

Well that depends.

Quality is subjective. You wouldn't expect a £20 microwave to be as good quality as a £200 one. Likewise you wouldn't expect a £20 Halloween costume to be as good as a £100 one. Also depends on if it was faulty stitching or just the way it was designed.

In short, I'm not sure we can give you a definitive answer. If goods do not conform to contract then you are entitled to reject them for a full refund if acceptance has not occurred. However, if the costume was relatively cheap, then personally I'd say it did conform to contract (as generally, you get what you pay for).

bod1467

SADFART - that's the acronym to remember.

Sold As Described, Fit for purpose, Acceptable quality, and lasts a Reasonable length of Time.

Also, whilst the law says that a seller must offer a remedy, the shop can decide on the form of the remedy. (Repair, replace, refund). If they offer a refund though the purchaser is NOT obliged to accept a credit note (except for change of mind returns).

The shop were spinning a line about this.

A question though - did your daughter see the product (to inspect it) BEFORE buying? (This will determine whether Acceptance has occurred. If it has then a credit note is fine, as the return would effectively be a change of mind).

10betty10

The costume was £27. She didn't expect it to be top quality but in order to be able to wear it she would have had to stitch the badges in to place. A sample of the costume was on display so she was happy with the quality that she saw. However, the costume she bought was in a sealed bag.

stugib

bod1467 wrote: »

Also, whilst the law says that a seller must offer a remedy, the shop can decide on the form of the remedy. (Repair, replace, refund).

After acceptance, yes.

bod1467 wrote: »

A question though - did your daughter see the product (to inspect it) BEFORE buying? (This will determine whether Acceptance has occurred. If it has then a credit note is fine, as the return would effectively be a change of mind).

Wrong. Acceptance doesn't occur when you leave the shop, otherwise it would be a pretty worthless concept and everyone would have to test everything in the shop before they left.

SuperHan

If she had inspected the costume on display, one would expect that your daughter just had a faulty and badly stitched costume. The problem should be remedied by swapping for another costume, which should be as well stitched as the display!

10betty10

There was not another similar costume available or a suitable replacement of a different costume. Nor were they willing to order in a costume of her choice so that she could just exchange. This is why the credit note is really of no value.

bris

The item was not fit for purpose, and there is no doubt it was never accepted, it was examined and rejected straight away, a refund was due.

However by accepting the credit note you have now lost your right to a refund as this is now a new and seperate contract accepting the remedy.

In this situation you would have had to refuse the credit note and hold your ground for a refund, problem is getting them to agree.

A court would agree with you (if you held you ground) but would you really want the hassle of this and all it entails for £27.

frugal_mike

It may be worth telling Trading Standards of your experience. No idea whether they do much, but they might remind the owner of their responsibilities.

unholyangel

stugib wrote: »

After acceptance, yes.




Wrong. Acceptance doesn't occur when you leave the shop, otherwise it would be a pretty worthless concept and everyone would have to test everything in the shop before they left.

Yes but if you had opportunity to inspect the item and a fault would've been apparent, you can lose your right to reject the item for that fault as it would be deemed you had accepted it (the fault I mean, you wouldn't lose your right to reject it if another fault became apparent once getting it home).



I don't agree with bris about signing away their right to a refund though - since consumers legally cannot sign away their consumer rights and if anything, the retailer is more likely to get their hand slapped for misleading consumers about their rights (which can be a criminal offence).

hollydays

unholyangel wrote: »

Yes but if you had opportunity to inspect the item and a fault would've been apparent, you can lose your right to reject the item for that fault as it would be deemed you had accepted it (the fault I mean, you wouldn't lose your right to reject it if another fault became apparent once getting it home).



I don't agree with bris about signing away their right to a refund though - since consumers legally cannot sign away their consumer rights and if anything, the retailer is more likely to get their hand slapped for misleading consumers about their rights (which can be a criminal offence).

The item was in a packet.
Listen to stugibs advice