Warranty claim - they have lost my item and are only offering refund not replacement

marchesini46

Hi all,
I bought a couple of DaKine 100L suitcases from an online retailer in 2017. Been super happy with them but due to lockdown, I guess they had only been used 5/6 times at most.  However, one developed an annoying sticking handle fault so wanted to see if the manufacturer / reseller could fix it.

I contacted the reseller and after initially offering a replacement, they retracted the offer (maybe because it was an 110L suitcase and wasn’t a like for like swap or simply it was much more than my original purchase - but I’m only speculating) and offered a refund. I explained that wouldn’t help as inflation etc wouldn’t allow me to purchase a replacement so could they repair it for me? 

They organised a collection and DPD delivered it successfully (have photo and proof of delivery in November). Upon chasing up where my suitcase was and how the repair was going, the reseller are saying they never received the suitcase and would talk to DPD. Further to this, they are now saying they can only offer me the original refund. As I have maintained from the start, I have no interest in a refund, only a repair or a replacement. 

I have since logged a complaint on Trustpilot and Resolver but the reseller is insistent that only a refund can be offered due to the item not being in stock. Firstly, they no longer make that suitcase so it’s not going to be in stock but they do now have an identical 100L suitcase in stock (when I initially raised the complaint, they only had a 110L option but that has since changed) but it’s just named differently and more expensive. 

Now they are consistent that only a refund is possible, what can I do next? They / or their appointed courier have lost my my faulty goods and now I am without a suitcase that I was relatively ok with. Does consumer law mean that I have to accept the refund or do they have to offer a replacement item - even if it means that it is a more expensive item?

Any advice will be gratefully received. 

Aylesbury_Duck

If it's a warranty claim, they can do what the warranty terms say they can do.  If you're claiming under consumer rights, yes they can refund you rather than replacing.  You should be satisfied with a full refund on a six year old product, that's very generous.  You will have effectively had free hire of a suitcase for six years.

visidigi

marchesini46 said:

Hi all,
I bought a couple of DaKine 100L suitcases from an online retailer in 2017. Been super happy with them but due to lockdown, I guess they had only been used 5/6 times at most.  However, one developed an annoying sticking handle fault so wanted to see if the manufacturer / reseller could fix it.

I contacted the reseller and after initially offering a replacement, they retracted the offer (maybe because it was an 110L suitcase and wasn’t a like for like swap or simply it was much more than my original purchase - but I’m only speculating) and offered a refund. I explained that wouldn’t help as inflation etc wouldn’t allow me to purchase a replacement so could they repair it for me? 

They organised a collection and DPD delivered it successfully (have photo and proof of delivery in November). Upon chasing up where my suitcase was and how the repair was going, the reseller are saying they never received the suitcase and would talk to DPD. Further to this, they are now saying they can only offer me the original refund. As I have maintained from the start, I have no interest in a refund, only a repair or a replacement. 

I have since logged a complaint on Trustpilot and Resolver but the reseller is insistent that only a refund can be offered due to the item not being in stock. Firstly, they no longer make that suitcase so it’s not going to be in stock but they do now have an identical 100L suitcase in stock (when I initially raised the complaint, they only had a 110L option but that has since changed) but it’s just named differently and more expensive. 

Now they are consistent that only a refund is possible, what can I do next? They / or their appointed courier have lost my my faulty goods and now I am without a suitcase that I was relatively ok with. Does consumer law mean that I have to accept the refund or do they have to offer a replacement item - even if it means that it is a more expensive item?

Any advice will be gratefully received. 

They are finer to refund - no obligation to replace (desire, inflation etc doesn't matter) - they aren't doing anything wrong here.

Ayr_Rage

Take the refund whilst it is still on offer, it's a good result for such an old product.

WhiskersTheWonderCat

I need to know which retailer this was. Offering a full refund after 6 years would make me want to buy from them. That's exceptionally generous. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP I would take the refund and write off any increase in a replace against the use that's been had  

Whilst a full refund after 6 years is generous a suitcase isn't an every day item and I suspect the reduction permitted in a refund for use would be less than typically expected for things like household appliances which are in use every day.  

DullGreyGuy

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Whilst a full refund after 6 years is generous a suitcase isn't an every day item and I suspect the reduction permitted in a refund for use would be less than typically expected for things like household appliances which are in use every day.  

The law simply says a deduction for use is allowed, it doesnt state how such use should be calculated nor given any indication on if "use" should be based on actual or potential... I could claim we get less use out of our dishwasher because there is just two of us so we wash up the dinner plates instead whereas I know our neighbour in the same situation runs it daily. Law doesnt say if theirs should be discounted more or less than ours if they both broke at the same time. 

Certainly with JL they use a universal formula of age in months divided by 72 as the percentage discount to be applied. 

I'd also argue that whilst all but the most busy international sales rep uses their white goods more often than their suitcases the amount of wear per use is notably higher. If you say you use appliances daily and most white goods live about 8 year thats circa 3,000 uses... dont think many suitcases would survive that number of flights. The last budget one the Mrs bought after overbuying whilst on holiday lost a wheel on its first outing. 

Getting a full refund after coming up to 6 years is an exceptionally good outcome for the OP (giving the circumstances of the fault as a given)

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

DullGreyGuy said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Whilst a full refund after 6 years is generous a suitcase isn't an every day item and I suspect the reduction permitted in a refund for use would be less than typically expected for things like household appliances which are in use every day.  

The law simply says a deduction for use is allowed, it doesnt state how such use should be calculated nor given any indication on if "use" should be based on actual or potential... I could claim we get less use out of our dishwasher because there is just two of us so we wash up the dinner plates instead whereas I know our neighbour in the same situation runs it daily. Law doesnt say if theirs should be discounted more or less than ours if they both broke at the same time. 

Certainly with JL they use a universal formula of age in months divided by 72 as the percentage discount to be applied. 

I'd also argue that whilst all but the most busy international sales rep uses their white goods more often than their suitcases the amount of wear per use is notably higher. If you say you use appliances daily and most white goods live about 8 year thats circa 3,000 uses... dont think many suitcases would survive that number of flights. The last budget one the Mrs bought after overbuying whilst on holiday lost a wheel on its first outing. 

Getting a full refund after coming up to 6 years is an exceptionally good outcome for the OP (giving the circumstances of the fault as a given)

I do agree, the Dakine luggage bags are blooming expensive and a quick peak at their website suggests they advertise them as being well built to survive what gets thrown at them during travel, you also don't have to fly in order to use luggage. 

Obviously these things are subjective but if I went to the expense of £200-300 on a luggage bag I'd (perhaps naively) never expect to buy another one in my lifetime. 

cmthephoenix

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Obviously these things are subjective but if I went to the expense of £200-300 on a luggage bag I'd (perhaps naively) never expect to buy another one in my lifetime. 

I respect a lot of your posts but on this point I would diverge. Luggage is subject to a massive amount of knocks and abuse that unless you're making it out of materials that would make it impractical to carry are going to deteriorate and fail.

I think I would agree with the majority of others of taking the offered refund without deduction of use (which could be quite substantial for a 6 year old suitcase) and running before they change their mind.

Exodi

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You should be satisfied with a full refund on a six year old product, that's very generous.  You will have effectively had free hire of a suitcase for six years.

Ayr_Rage said:

Take the refund whilst it is still on offer, it's a good result for such an old product.

WhiskersTheWonderCat said:

I need to know which retailer this was. Offering a full refund after 6 years would make me want to buy from them. That's exceptionally generous. 

DullGreyGuy said:

Getting a full refund after coming up to 6 years is an exceptionally good outcome for the OP

cmthephoenix said:

I think I would agree with the majority of others of taking the offered refund without deduction of use (which could be quite substantial for a 6 year old suitcase) and running before they change their mind.

Similar to all of the above, I'd absolutely bite a retailers arm off if they offered a full refund on a product after 6 years!!

The fact the OP decided to push this onto Trustpilot and Resolver will probably leave many people scratching their heads.

This is one of the rare occassions I have sympathy for the retailer, sometimes there is no pleasing people...

I think reading this, the OP should at least consider removing the negative review (though unfortunately I suspect they won't).

DullGreyGuy

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:
Obviously these things are subjective but if I went to the expense of £200-300 on a luggage bag I'd (perhaps naively) never expect to buy another one in my lifetime. 

For a start we'd need to know your age and lifestyle... if you 98, still smoke 60 a day and havent travelled since 1965 then a Primark suitcase may last the rest of your life.