Fields - No Refund

jclally

I bought my girlfriend a watch in Fields. When she opened it, one of the stones in the face was missing.

I brought this to Fields, and they offered to order a replacement. My girlfrend, worried that the same would happen to another watch, asked for a refund. We were told that they did not provide refunds under any circumstance.

I argued that if something is damaged then surely they had to provide a refund. The answer I got was along the lines that my contract was with DKNY (maker of the watch) and not Fields, and as such Fields had no responsibility. I find this absurd - at no point did I ever have any dealing with DKNY.

Can anyone confirm if their stance is correct?

The Lovely Muffin

AFAIK your contract is with Fields, not DKNY as you say you bought the watch from Fields not DKNY.

Consumer contracts are protected by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980.

Under this Act the purchaser of goods has a number of rights - the main ones are

Goods must be of merchantable quality – goods should be of reasonable quality taking into account what they are meant to do, their durability and their price
Goods must be fit for their purpose – they must do what they are reasonably expected to do
Goods must be as described - the buyer must not be mislead into buying something by the description of goods or services given orally by a salesperson or an advertisement.

If you have a problem with an item that you have bought it is always the seller who should put things right. As a general rule, the seller can either repair or replace the item. Alternatively, they can refund the costs of the item or service to the consumer.

If you are not satisfied with the quality of goods or services you can:

Return the goods to the supplier who sold it to you (you should not return the goods to the manufacturer)
Act as soon as you can – a delay can indicate that you have accepted faulty goods or services
Do not attempt to repair the item yourself or give it to anyone else to repair it
Make sure that you have a proof of purchase (a receipt, cheque stub, credit card statement or invoice)

You have no grounds for redress if

You were told about the defect before you bought the item (for example, if the goods were marked 'shopsoiled')
You examined the item before you bought it and should have seen the defect
You bought the item knowing that it wasn’t fit for what you wanted it to do
You broke or damaged the product
You made a mistake when buying the item (for example, if you bought an item of clothing thinking it was black when it is actually navy)
You change your mind

AFAIK, the shop gets to decide whether you get a refund, repair or replacement.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_rights/consumers_and_the_law_in_ireland.html

It would seem to me, that watch is not as described as some stones/diamonds are missing, which I assume you were not told about prior to making your purchase.

I would print out the page I linked to (or the relevant parts of it) and go back to Fields and show them that.

If they still refuse, contact the CAI or else file a case with the Small Claims Court.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In the event of a defect (which this was) the shop is fully entitled to offer a replacement or repair.

amdublin

It is up to the store which of the three Rs they want to offer: repair, replace,refund

mdebets

amdublin wrote: »

It is up to the store which of the three Rs they want to offer: repair, replace,refund

It's also up to the buyer which of the 3 Rs he accepts.
However if shop and buyer can't agree on the R they both want, the only way is to go to the SCC and let them decide. However, if the shop offered one of the 3 Rs, the buyer needs a very, very good reason, why he soesn't want to accept it.

Fey!

The customer deals with the shop, not the manufacturer. Any other claim by the shop is just fobbing off the customer.

The shop is within its rights to offer replacement. With any product you can have the odd one which is not up to scratch. With a big brand like DKNY, it's unlikely that you'd have the same problem with a replacement one. If you did have the same problem again, chances are they'd go for refund.