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Consumer advice/legal assistance required - new waterproofs leaking
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I'm hoping there might be someone on here with some legal knowledge
who could offer me some advice:
About a month ago I bought a textile jacket and trousers on-line,
apparently 100% waterproof and breathable.
The first time I wore the gear in the rain water came through the
trousers within minutes, and has done the same a couple of subsequent
times, even in quite light rain (I had no choice to continue using it
as I was away touring).
I contacted the shop where I bought the kit at the first opportunity
to tell them the problem and ask for confirmation that I could return
the goods for a refund, as would be my right with faulty goods.
The reaction of the shop at first was "It doesn't happen" (regarding
this particular item).
They then said they wouldn't give a refund until they'd sent the goods
back to the importer for confirmation of a fault.
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Name and shame.
Even if you had no legal rights you should always be prepared to say
where you got bad service or shoddy goods so the rest of us can not shop
there.
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Wasn't sure whether that was good form or not as it's not fully resolved yet
but their attitude sucked anyway:
It was Spada Podium trousers (bought with Circuit jacket based on "Ride"
magazine recommendation) from Chase Superbikes.
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At the moment I haven't accepted this as I don't consider that it's in
impartial assesment of whether there is a fault or not. Also my
contract is with the shop and nothing to do with the importer but it
seems the burden of proof that a fault exists lies with me.
Any informed advice on my best course of action or the best way to
prove my case would be greatly appreciated.
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Explain to the Shoppe that you're sending the goods back as they're
faulty and would like a replacement from a different batch as the item
you've had from that batch is faulty and others in that batch may also
have skipped quality checking (or waterproofing[1])
Send the goods back, via a 'signed' delivery service that you can
trust (Ask the shop to recommend one, or, even better, get them to
arrange for the collection) and see what happens.
Try not to get nasty until you need to. I trust you bought via a
credit card, just in case?
[1] A BMW rider with BMW waterproof goretex jacket/trousers recently
bought a new set and they leaked everywhere. The BMW dealership said
that this batch must have skipped the waterproofing stage and it
wasn't picked up in BMW QA (if they have any these days) so has sent
the whole batch back.
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IIRC, the SoGA states that your contract is with the shop, so take them
back there and they should sort it out with the manufacturer and offer
you a replacement or refund.
Incidentally, I bought some boots at HG in Slough back in April. After
a few weeks wear, I noticed that the zip on the left one was getting a
bit iffy[1] and so I took them back to the shop, expecting a bit of a
fight to get anything done. They didn't quibble at all and
yesterday[2] I picked up a brand new pair as a replacement.
So well done HG.
[1] It wasn't broken as such, but the two sides didn't join properly
for the full length of the zip.
[2] It's been almost four weeks since I originally took them back and a
combination of getting them ordered, me faffing about and picking them
up meant I only got round to it yesterday.
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Thanks for the replies.
Just an update - when I rang the shop yesterday they had spoken to Feridax
who had told them that although it was unusual, they couldn't prove that the
kit doesn't leak so they should give me a refund.
The shop say they will do this.
Thanks again
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