Need advice with a mothercare issue

RustyFlange

Where do I start ...

I bought some washable nappies a couple of months ago basically as a cost cutting scheme and because it was something I had always wanted to try. So my patrner and I chose the nappies we wanted (Mothercare Smart Nappy System) paid £56 for everything we needed to get us started with enough nappies and liners to last me a day so I could wash and dry through the night.

After 1 month the nappies look an absolute state, they are stained, they leak and the velcro doesn't stick together properly to keep the nappy on. So I contacted customer services through their website. I have had several emails since then where I am basically questioned about my daughters weight, build, what solids she is on, whether they are home made or jars, and whether I breastfeed or formula feed and if the latter what formula I use.

Now after the emails made me feel like a complete failure I have finally waited over a month for another response as I am unhappy with the items and can no longer use them for obvious reasons. So today I phoned them up. Explained the situation gave them all reference numbers and contact details of who I have spoken to previously. Turns out they cannot refund my money for these items due to them being nappies and basically having babies poo in them on several occasions :mad: They are sending me £35 as a gesture of good will which is being sent out to me shortly. However I have told them I am unhappy and want a refund as I cannot afford to be £56 out of pocket! They are still refusing.

Where do I stand to fight for a refund for faulty rubbish items?

(ps I was kept on hold several times today phone call totalling 29 minutes on an 0870 number and I was calling off a mobile :mad: )

Any help please guys? Do I write to head office? if so what do I say? or do I need to speak to someone from trading standards about this?

Please help

DaisyFlower

The nappies will stain, lots of clothes stain for everyday use nevermind what nappies have to contend with. If they leak, it may mean you need an extra liner or a more absorbant one - all babies are different so the leak could be down to many things other than just a faulty nappy - too much urine, frequency of change, position of nappy etc.

Personally, I would accept the £35 refund. Its only £21 difference bearing in mind you have had use of the product for a while. The starter system can be purchased for £39 anyway.t.

RustyFlange

I had the starter system, aswell as extra pads, liners etc. I have phoned head office today they have said they will send me a £20 cheque to cover the rest of the refund. However they are refusing to honour the goodwill gestures. I understand clothes stain etc, but not within the first use. I used doubled up liners most of the day, she is not a baby that urines a lot, I change every 2 hours so she is kept clean. This is even if she has done nothing in her nappy. It is the fact that I have had the questioning on how I bring my daughter up and the way I have been made to feel like a failure that I am bringing her up the wrong way.
I am awaiting a manager to call me back and they have told me to contact trading standards!

Disgusting customer service especially when over the last 6 years I have spent an absolute fortune with them.

Ishtar

Sorry you've had this experience - ours was similar in that we bought a real nappy system from the NCT and had no end of leakage problems with it. Turns out our baby was the wrong build for the type of nappy.

Not sticking up for Mothercare at all, but different nappy systems fit different children - we didn't get a refund for ours and ended up having to buy a different system second hand off eBay. Nappies do stain whether you use liners or not - some of ours are pretty bad, but stained or not they are clean.

If you were thinking of carrying on with real nappies, try https://www.thenappylady.co.uk - there's a questionnaire to fill in, then someone will contact you with suggestions for a suitable system. We did this, and there's no obligation to buy from them, which is why we got them from eBay. The system they recommended - TotsBots - was fantastic and restored my faith in real nappies.

Hope you manage to get somewhere with Mothercare - the least they could do is honour their original offer.

And no, you're not a failure at all - just trying to do the best for your little one and it's not Mothercare's place to question.

Hope that helps
D.

hollydays

I am not familiar with the product-but surely,yes,the product WILL stain after first use? I stand to be corrected if i have not got the gist of this.
What is the highest temperature you can wash the product at?