Vivienne Westwood Statutory Rights

MontanaCowGal

I returned a faulty small leather goods item within 2 months of purchase there was a notice next to their till which stated
"All merchandise returned in perfect condition and with proof of purchase may be exchanged or a credit note issued within 7 days of purchase.
This returns policy does not affect your statutory rights"

I got a credit note when I returned the item but asked for a head office contact address. I have sent several emails back and forth, their latest reply says ...

We are really sorry our policy is not satisfying you.

As you know, according to Vivienne Westwood’s policy, once a customer returns a damaged item, we need to contact our supplier asking for a technical feedback; if the supplier can fix/repair the item, they will do it, otherwise the customer will get a store voucher.

We faithfully complied with our procedure so that, at the end of the process, you got and collected the store voucher from our Newcastle store.



Vivienne Westwood policy has been checked and approved by Trading Standard; as a big company, we need to stick to our rules, as all the other UK major retailers.

We will be more than happy to speak with Trading Standard Consultants and to provide all the necessary information regarding your case.

I'm at a loss now what to do to get my money (£130) back - does anyone have advice on how to procede further?

Thanks

wealdroam

They seem to have accepted that the goods were inherently faulty and you were due a remedy.

They offered you a credit note which you accepted.

You could've insisted upon a remedy of either a repair, replacement or a refund, but unfortunately you didn't.

Having accepted their offer, you may well be stuck with it.

Did you buy the goods directly from Vivienne Westwood?

ThumbRemote

The note by the till is quite legal; this is essentially an enhanced returns policy - it is referring to goods in perfect condition.

Your item was faulty, so the options are repair, refund or replacement. Their policy (as stated in their email) is not compliant with the law, and I would be amazed if anyone from Trading Standards had checked and approved it.

Maybe suggest they do speak to whoever their Trading Standard Consultants are. Or email in return something like:

"The Sale of Goods act Section 48 covers faulty items. It states that the seller must repair the goods, replace them, or provide a refund. I do not accept that a store voucher is a refund; I paid in cash and therefore expect to be refunded in the same manner."


Alternatively if you paid by card, contact your card provider - they may be able to do a chargeback or a Section 75 claim. Or send a letter before action threatening court action.

whitewing

Chargeback, if you paid by Visa credit or debit card or mastercard? I don't really think store voucher is acceptable for something faulty.

MontanaCowGal

The goods were bought directly from their shop in my home town, the staff said they had to contact their head office to check if the goods could be deemed as faulty. That took a week and when I returned to the shop, I asked for a refund but the staff said they couldn't issue one.

I reluctantly took the credit note but asked for their head office address so I could email them about a refund. They took over a week to reply to me, I had to send a second email and I've emailed back and forth since.

I wasn't given any choice about a repair, I wasn't told it was being sent to be checked and I didn't want to take any replacement having been put off by the poor quality already witnessed.

wealdroam

Having re-read your post, is it possible that the report from the manufacturer did not show an inherent fault?

If that's the case, the VW are doing more that they need to do by supplying a credit note.

MontanaCowGal

ThumbRemote wrote: »

The note by the till is quite legal; this is essentially an enhanced returns policy - it is referring to goods in perfect condition.

Your item was faulty, so the options are repair, refund or replacement. Their policy (as stated in their email) is not compliant with the law, and I would be amazed if anyone from Trading Standards had checked and approved it.

Maybe suggest they do speak to whoever their Trading Standard Consultants are. Or email in return something like:

"The Sale of Goods act Section 48 covers faulty items. It states that the seller must repair the goods, replace them, or provide a refund. I do not accept that a store voucher is a refund; I paid in cash and therefore expect to be refunded in the same manner."


Alternatively if you paid by card, contact your card provider - they may be able to do a chargeback or a Section 75 claim. Or send a letter before action threatening court action.

Their reply quoted in my beginning post, is in response to this email I sent.....

I purchased a Purse from you on 29.03.14. It later developed a fault with the stitching on the zip within a short period of time.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 makes it an implied term of the contract that goods be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.

When I returned the purse to you, waited a week for head office to agree their was a fault, and then asked for a refund NOT a credit note, you refused to accept it stating that under the terms of your returns policy, no refunds will be given.

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 make it clear that any contract term that attempts to exclude or restrict my statutory rights will be unenforceable.

The term you refer to has the effect of taking away my right to reject goods that are defective and therefore is unfair and unenforceable.

As you are in breach of contract I am rejecting the enforced credit note and request that you refund the sum paid to you of £130.

I would invite you to reconsider your decision but should warn you that should you not be prepared to provide the refund I am entitled to, I will be forced to take court action to recover this sum.

If I do not receive your satisfactory proposals for settlement of my claim within seven days of the date of this email, I intend to issue a claim against you in the county court without further reference to you.

So I've already threatened them with court action but is it worth setting up a claim?? Am I in the wrong?

MontanaCowGal

wealdroam wrote: »

Having re-read your post, is it possible that the report from the manufacturer did not show an inherent fault?

If that's the case, the VW are doing more that they need to do by supplying a credit note.

The stitching came away from the zip of the coin purse section, the purse was not used daily only occasionally (2 or 3 times) maybe this wasn't a fault, but it certainly was going to last the test of time.

unholyangel

If it was 2 months after purchase, then technically they're probably correct as you can only insist on a refund if acceptance hasnt occurred - and after 2 months, there would only be very limited circumstances where acceptance may not have occurred yet.

Once acceptance has occurred you can request one remedy over another (repair, replacement, refund - which can be partial to take into account use you had of the item) but they can refuse if disproportionately costly.

However, as its store credit, its not a refund strictly speaking. How did you pay for the item? Or have you tried writing them an LBA first?

Fosterdog

MontanaCowGal wrote: »

I wasn't given any choice about a repair, I wasn't told it was being sent to be checked and I didn't want to take any replacement having been put off by the poor quality already witnessed.

You say you didn't want a replacement but did they actually offer one?

If they offered a replacement they have fulfilled their obligations, if you then refused the remedy offered they may have offered the credit note as a good will gesture as they could have just insisted on the replacement and not given you any sort of refund at all.

If they didn't even offer the replacement then you are right that any refund offered should be offered by the same method that you paid for the item

bris

Having accepted the credit note your to late to do anything else now, it forms a new contract, regardless of the circumstances.