Money Moral Dilemma: You tore it, should you pay?

savememoremoney · 31 March 2010 at 11:16AM

She should bring the tear to the attention of the shop so another unsuspecting customer doesnt buy it, if she wants to buy another she should, but if it rips so easily does she really want it?

jamespir · 31 March 2010 at 11:19AM

she should explain whats happened

ShakeyStacey · 31 March 2010 at 11:28AM

Funny thing is, if she had bought it, and it had torn the first time she wore it, she'd probably take it back and ask for a refund (I would anyway, clearly bad quality), so why should she be forced to pay for it because it tore before she bought it?
She should definately bring the damage to the shop owners attention, but I would be tempted to say I had noticed the tear rather than caused it. Just in case :P But I wouldn't feel guilty about it.

relaxtwotribes · 31 March 2010 at 11:46AM

MSE_Penelope wrote: »

should she fess up and buy the damaged one as well?

Well, if she did buy the damaged one as well, then she wouldn't need to fess up, would she?

Quite a boring MMD this week, MSE. 25 replies and no OT arguments. Please try harder next week.

rsharp · 31 March 2010 at 11:50AM

My understanding is that, as long as the damage occurred accidentally, which it did in this example, the shop cannot force you to pay for the damage. This also applies to shops where they have signs stating 'all breakages must be paid for'.

You should admit that you ripped it though, but point out how low quality it must be.

pbsis · 31 March 2010 at 11:54AM

As some people have already mentioned, it's totally the responsibility of the retailer to decide if they want their products to be touched / handled / tried on by customers - and they have to accept the consequences.

All these little "breakages must be paid for" signs across the country are effectively unenforcable. The only want to make someone pay for a breakage would be to call the police and have them charged with criminal damage. If a retailer is worried about breakages then they should lock their products away in a display cabinet - but then they'd probably make fewer sales!

nurse-money · 31 March 2010 at 12:06PM

Ah this is a tough one! However the material obviously isn't.

I'd leave it on the shelf...And wouldn't buy it at all...

XdaydreamerX · 31 March 2010 at 12:27PM

Wow! What a lot of honest people! I guess if you know for a fact that they won't charge you for the damage then it's more likely you'll fess up, but what about if you knew it was going to cost you £30 / £40 for your honesty and peace of mind?

I know I personally would say nothing, the shop has allowed try before you buy and is expecting (and raising the cost of everything else you've ever bought in there for) some damage.

As for 'couldn't live with myself' like a lot of people have said, I guess I'm either terribly dishonest (which I'm not!!!) or I just don't see accidents in shops as high priorities for my concience to keep me up at night over - cheating, theft, murder, tax evasion YES (not neccessarily in that order!) but ripping a top in Dotty P's NO.

Well done to all the honest people on here who would fess up though :T

pennypinchUK · 31 March 2010 at 12:42PM

Clothes must be "fit for purpose". They should be able to withstand wear and tear, which also means they should able to be put on and taken off in a reasonable manner without the risk of damage. If an item is damaged on the first attempt at taking it off it's clearly not fit for purpose. She should tell the assistant and buy the alternative, but certainly not buy both.

dec_ckc · 31 March 2010 at 1:56PM

And it didn't bother you that they were happy for you to try on and buy a product that they already knew to be below par?:beer:

ThatAmericanGirl wrote: »

This actually happened to me not too long ago. I was trying on a gorgeous dress for a wedding, and the salesgirl brought me a pair of amazing shoes to try on with it... silk dress, sharp heels, not paying attention, I know, I know... straight through the side seam in the lining. I was horrified, but knew I couldn't face myself if I didn't say something, even though the rip was in the lining and not visible... so I took a deep breath and pointed it out to them. So sweet and sympathetic, they told me not to worry, they'd noticed the linings were pretty flimsy, and put it on a "return to factory" rack in the back. Yes - it definitely made me want to buy something from them the next time. I suppose the moral is that the truth is often less painful than we think.

Money Moral Dilemma: You tore it, should you pay?

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