To go to fair trading or not?!

spingirl

Hi there, I'd like some advise/opinions regarding what to do or how to go about dealing with a pushchair manufacturer. I brought a very expensive high end pushchair for our first child in 2009 although it is quite a while ago the reason we spent so much is that we thought the product was a good investment & we would use it again for our second child. However the front wheel has always been difficult to steer, the swivel function is similar to a dodgy shopping trolley.

The manufacturer state that they will not repair or replace the part & have quoted me a price. I am not happy with this as the product has never functioned as it should, it has been kept clean & it has not been misused or damaged. I feel the least the manufacturer could do is replace the part seems we spent so much in the first place & still have the receipt. I did not complain about the issue at the time of use as my daughter had several on going health problems & we were unaware of others experiencing the same problem so wrongly assumed it was just the way the pushchair was. We hardly used it & ended up buying a cheap stroller instead.

So I have tried to negotiate with the manufacturer & have given them the chassis number which they requested.

Should I pursue this & contact the office of fair trading under the points that the product is not fit for purpose & has not lasted a reasonable length of time in accordance with the cost of the product. Or is there anything else I can do?

Thanks in advance.

wealdroam

spingirl wrote: »

Hi there, I'd like some advise/opinions regarding what to do or how to go about dealing with a pushchair manufacturer. I brought a very expensive high end pushchair for our first child in 2009 although it is quite a while ago the reason we spent so much is that we thought the product was a good investment & we would use it again for our second child. However the front wheel has always been difficult to steer, the swivel function is similar to a dodgy shopping trolley.

The manufacturer state that they will not repair or replace the part & have quoted me a price. I am not happy with this as the product has never functioned as it should, it has been kept clean & it has not been misused or damaged. I feel the least the manufacturer could do is replace the part seems we spent so much in the first place & still have the receipt. I did not complain about the issue at the time of use as my daughter had several on going health problems & we were unaware of others experiencing the same problem so wrongly assumed it was just the way the pushchair was. We hardly used it & ended up buying a cheap stroller instead.

So I have tried to negotiate with the manufacturer & have given them the chassis number which they requested.

Should I pursue this & contact the office of fair trading under the points that the product is not fit for purpose & has not lasted a reasonable length of time in accordance with the cost of the product. Or is there anything else I can do?

Thanks in advance.

Is it still covered under the manufacturer's warranty?
If not you need to understand that the manufacturer owes you nothing.

You need to look towards whoever sold the thing to you for a remedy.

Have you read MSE's Consumer Rights guide?
Here is a short extract from it:

Know who's responsible

When returning items, beware shops trying the oldest trick in the book: saying they're not responsible for the shoddy goods and you must call the manufacturer. This is total nonsense!

If a company fobs you off by saying “go to the maker instead”, it's wrong. It's the retailer's job to sort it.

It doesn't matter if it's an iPod from a high street shop or a designer frock from a department store. If something's broken, torn, ripped or faulty, the seller has a legal duty to put it right as your contract is with them.

The rest of it is worth reading too.


One thing you can be sure of, The Office of Fair Trading will not be able to help you.
Here is a list of things from their website that the OFT cannot do:

We cannot:

act on behalf of individuals
help or intervene in individual disputes
advise if a business is being investigated
tell you if a trader is good or bad
tell you which trader you should use
help you to get your money back
comment on whether a specific contract or situation is unfair
help with academic research
comment on studies we are doing beyond what we have said in our public statements, or
take enforcement action without a breach of specific legislation.

munchpot

On reading what you have put above - I would think that the manufacturer is being quite reasonable. You've said that you bought it in 2009 and, although you say the wheel was wobbly, you never reported it to the manufacturer at the time.

I would think the only way forward would be for you to obtain an independent report to show it was an inherent fault at present at the time of purchase.

In my opinion, as you made no claim when you first discovered the issue, you've accepted the pushchair so there's nothing you can force the manufacturer to do.

Maybe someone with greater knowledge will offer a different opinion

arcon5

Even with an independent report, having had the product for 4 years ops unlikely to get much back anyway

wealdroam

arcon5 wrote: »

Even with an independent report, having had the product for 4 years ops unlikely to get much back anyway

I got the impression the OP was hoping for a repair.

hollydays

If the wheel has always been wrong, why did you not complain immediately? Whether it was £800 or £80 how can the retailer put it right if they didn't know, and you've continued to use a faulty product?

Hintza

So to recap you didn't do anything about it when you discovered the fault, you have no contract with the manufacturer it is now 5 years old so you have a minimal claim against the retailer; if and only if you can get a report that agrees it is an inherent fault.

So at the end of the day you are on to plums!

spingirl

Thanks all for your advice, I kind of guessed I'd be limited as to what I could do but sometimes if you don't ask you don't get!

I wish I had recognised the fault sooner & reported it but I did not know there was a faulty batch. I have only recently found this out online on mums net but however I didnt report the fault before as just had a very stressful time with our daughter. When you have a sick child complaining about things is at the bottom of the list I'm afraid even when it's to your own benefit to complain.

I will likely fork out more money for a new part which the manufacturer told me they can't guarantee will fit anyway due to the age of the original product!!

Thanks to you all for your replies