Shop broke my husbands watch - refusing to pay for repair!

cat_day85

My husband took his watch into the high street jewellers I bought it from to get a new strap fitted. He has done this before when the strap broke previously about 4 years ago. He had it serviced at that time. After taking it in, he paid for the strap repair and another member of staff was 'checking the watch over.' He was not told what this member of staff was doing prior and was dealing with another employee who he had been dealing with since entering the store. This staff member then said 'oooh, this has snapped off. There was obviously an issue with this and it must have been like that before.' She had snapped off the dial on the side of the watch that changes the date/time. My husband disputed this, rightly saying that there hadn't been an issue with it before and he had purely bought the watch in for a strap repair. The staff member said she was doing her 'routine inspection' as they were taking the watch into their possession to do the strap repair (my husband wasn't told she was doing this and didn't give express permission for her to do so). My husband escalated this to the store manager and to the brands customer service department via phone in store who informed him that he would have to prove that it wasn't damaged before he bought it in and they won't take any liability!

My husband was obviously annoyed by this situation especially as it was a wedding present and wanted it for an upcoming occasion. Time pressured, he signed a condition report and left it with the jewellers to send to the manufacturer for a service but they informed him that he will be liable for the cost of service and any repair - likely to be £200+! Could anyone help with our consumer rights in this situation?! Thanks in advance!

Riggyman

Obviously a !!!! watch

hollydays

Hmm.. which branch of which jewellers?

Aylesbury_Duck

It would be quite difficult for a staff member to accidentally break the dial, unless there was an existing weakness or fault there. It’s analogous to a car being taken in to have a belt changed and something like an alternator or water pump pulley breaking during the process - the garage wouldn’t be liable for the consequential repair unless they had done something incorrect in the process. Sometimes things just break and the timing is unfortunate.

Ultimately you cannot prove that the member of staff was responsible for the breakage and it is perfectly reasonable for them to handle and inspect the watch after taking it in for a strap replacement.

Your husband is definitely liable for the cost of service because that’s nothing to do with the repair or strap. As to the repair of the dial, you might get a contribution to the cost from the retailer, but you’re not entitled to one unless you can prove they handled the watch negligently and that it was in perfect condition when you handed it to them.