Damaged clothing bought online

BigredH

Hi all.I’m looking for help with a recent purchase.I bought an item of clothing in late June,thought it was fine.I went on holiday & when I got back I noticed on closer inspection there were marks on the front & back,possibly dye marks.
i have been in touch with the company who I bought it from & they’ve said I’m getting nothing.l as it was in good condition when they shipped it.

Do I have any rights here?It wasn’t cheap.

Thanks for any replies.

DE_612183

have you worn it?

MyRealNameToo

Who did you buy from? Are they UK based for certain? Plenty buy off unknown websites assuming they are UK based but they turn out not to be. 

If they are UK based then you'd exercise your rights under the consumer rights act. As the item is under 6 months old its up to the retailer to disprove its faulty rather than for you to prove its faulty but for marks it could simply come down to one sides opinion -v- the other. 

You mention "after the holiday"... so did you take it on holiday? Have you worn it? If the answer to both is no then mentioning the holiday is a bad idea as it implies something that isnt relevant. Better simply saying you bought it, put it away, 2 months later have gone to get it out and noticed the marks. 

BigredH

Thanks for the replies.I only tried it on before I went on holiday.I did not take it with me.
It is a CP Company sweater bought from End clothing.I have a feeling it’s a he said/she said.I did say I would accept a credit on my account or a voucher.

MyRealNameToo

Well at least End is a legitimate/sizable company based in the UK. 

Have you actually returned it to them or has this so far been conversations with their AI bot? 

BigredH

The discussion is currently by email.Apparently after my complaint was escalated they found there was no previous return on the item before it was shipped to me.Whatever that means I’m not sure.This means(according to them)that the item was thoroughly inspected & checked for damage or defects by the brand before it was sent to me.Unfortunately End goes on to say the issue I’m experiencing were not caused by them or their shipping process.Passing the buck I guess.

Exodi

Out of interest, are the tags still on the item?

You can appreciate in the context of clothing it could be perceived as suspicious an item is being returned two months later due to marks on the front and back - remember the backdrop that clothing retailers in general face a sea of disingenuous returns 24/7 from people wearing the articles to functions, and then returning them after.

MyRealNameToo said:

If they are UK based then you'd exercise your rights under the consumer rights act. As the item is under 6 months old its up to the retailer to disprove its faulty rather than for you to prove its faulty but for marks it could simply come down to one sides opinion -v- the other. 

Ordinarily I'd agree - however in this situation I think it's a bit more nuanced as the fault is visible marks on the front and back, not a flaw that exhibited itself from prolonged use. It would be like trying to return a TV for having a cracked screen several months into owning it. I'd imagine at some point there will be questions raised of why the product wasn't inspected sooner (though I'm not sure there is an obligation to inspect a product in a timely manner, but it will likely be argued).

That isn't the case for the OP as they claim they did inspect it (though perhaps not very thoroughly). The challenge is that the the cynical retailer may believe that the OP caused the marks.

BigredH

It’s been de-tagged unfortunately.As soon as  I tried it on & it fit I took it off & hung it up.I didn’t inspect it as I didn’t think it would be faulty/damaged.The brand is normally very reliable.I understand that it’s the retailer who I have the problem with & not the brand who made it?As I posted above I get the feeling End are trying to blame the maker here.

Okell

BigredH said:

Thanks for the replies.I only tried it on before I went on holiday.I did not take it with me.
It is a CP Company sweater bought from End clothing.I have a feeling it’s a he said/she said.I did say I would accept a credit on my account or a voucher.

I know this is a consumer rights forum but I think it's a bit unfair on retailers if you have agreed to accept a credit or voucher and then try to backtrack on that.

Exodi

BigredH said:

It’s been de-tagged unfortunately.

Personally I'd imagine you will have a difficult time getting anything out of them.

You've had the item for 2 months, de-tagged it and are only now noticed visible marks on the front and the back.

I suspect more staunch consumer rights forumites might suggest that there is no obligation to inspect the product quickly, nor does removing the tags forfeit your statutory rights under the CRA. The retailer would likely maintain that the damage did not exist when you received it and if it had you would have reported this sooner, or at least before you removed the tags.

If you intend to favour the second stance, you may need to pursue legal formalities to enforce your statutory rights (and there's no guarantee that the judge would side with you).

BigredH

Not sure how to individually reply to a post but in answer to being unfair on a retailer I was trying to be fair by giving them a couple of options!Nothing unfair about that to me.Something else I’ll not be doing again.
Thanks for the replies.One of those situations where an expensive lesson has been learned.