Faulty jewellery returned in worse state

ainsworthrachel

Hello. Looking for some advice please. 

I took an item of jewellery back to the store after a matter of weeks due to hairline cracks having appeared on the enamel coating. The item was sent away for investigation but the company (Hermes) stated the item was not faulty and there was nothing they could do. I was unhappy about this, as it was very expensive and barely worn, but I accepted the decision. 

Upon collection of the item, however, there was further damage to be found on the bangle, with a chunk of the enamel now completely missing. The store are adamant the item was like this when dropped off, but it most definitely was not! 

They took photos of the item and are using this as their evidence, but the photos were not taken when we were there, so I’ve asked for the time and date stamps, but they refuse to show me these and state there is nothing further they will do.
The item remains in their possession, but I am now at a loss as to what to do next. Any advice on my rights? Thank you.

DullGreyGuy

Have they sent you a copy of the photo? Depending on how it's been processed the date/time may be in the ExIF of the meta data of the file. 

If they claim it isn't faulty what are they proposing has happened? Presumably impact damage?

ainsworthrachel

Thanks for the message.
Hermes have provided the photos, but won’t tell me when they were taken.
Because they won’t accept fault, they are saying the damage is due to ‘impact’ that we have caused, not them.
I will take a closer look at the image files to see if that tells me anything. Thanks for the suggestion.

Okell

ainsworthrachel said:

Hello. Looking for some advice please. 

I took an item of jewellery back to the store after a matter of weeks...

Presumably this is a Hermes store and it's where you originally purchased the jewellery from(?).

How many weeks after purchase did you bring it back?

How much did it cost?   (Ultimately you may have to sue the store you bought it from/returned it to.  Obviously the item's value - or loss of value caused by damage - needs to be factored in to deciding whather it's worth suing).

What outcome do you want?  Repair?  Replacement?  Refund?   Compensation for loss of value?

DullGreyGuy

ainsworthrachel said:

Thanks for the message.
Hermes have provided the photos, but won’t tell me when they were taken.
Because they won’t accept fault, they are saying the damage is due to ‘impact’ that we have caused, not them.
I will take a closer look at the image files to see if that tells me anything. Thanks for the suggestion.

If you google you will find several website where you can upload the photo and it will give the ExIf data if it still exists, as mentioned certain manipulations can strip it. Ordinarily the ExIf data contains the date/time the image was captured and potentially other things of interest like where it was taken, what device etc.

 
If they won't budget that its impact damage then it really comes down to considering commissioning your own report on the damage and hoping the court prefers your expert over theirs or call their bluff and look to issue without further evidence in the hope its not cost effective for them to defend so they'll settle despite the lack of evidence.

Halcyon Days used to comparable enamel bracelets for a lot less than Hermes, assuming you want the aesthetic rather than the brand, but seems that they may have stopped doing them recently.