Faulty item..but have no proof of purchase.

Longford Lass · 18-01-2014 11:20am #1

Hi guys.
First time posting in this Consumer Issues section.
I bought a coat approx 2 weeks before Xmas in a TK Maxx store.
After a number or wears the coat is now a baubling mess...clearly of very poor quality even though it was e80!
The problem I now have is that I paid for it with cash and am unfortunately unable to locate my receipt.
Do I have any comeback without my proof of purchase??

MrBobbyZ · 18-01-2014 11:28am

No.
Have you tried yet. Never hurts to ask in the shop itself. However without proof of purchase they are not obliged to do anything.

Fresh Pots · 18-01-2014 11:33am

If you could give them a ballpark of when you were in on a certain date they could look up the cctv. At least if you give them that info they will be more likely to believe that you did actually buy the coat there. Worth a try anyway.

P. Breathnach · 18-01-2014 11:34am

If you went to court without proof of purchase your case would be much more difficult to win. But it's possible that you could, if the judge believed you.

I doubt if you are considering going to court over an item that cost €80. You might find, if you went back to TK Maxx, that they will believe you and try to do something for you. While much of what they sell is end-of-line oddments, they often have batches from suppliers, and they might recognise the coat as being of a type they had been selling.

Don't go in, as some people do, demanding your rights. That raises hackles. Go more along the lines of "I bought this here last month, and look at it now. What can we do about it?". Note that I said "we". Build it into a collaborative effort. If they ask for a receipt, say that you haven't found it yet - that is telling the truth in a way that is most favourable to your circumstances, because it might still turn up.

Longford Lass · 18-01-2014 11:42am

Thanks for your replies so far folks.
In reality I know I have no entitlements in the situation I find myself. So annoyed at my carelessness as if I went to do a fecking spring clean its likely I'd find receipts going back years and I cant find a receipt going back a few weeks! Grrr!
I bought the coat in Galway while down there for a night to visit Continental Markets. Took coat back into Blanch store the other day as happened to be up that direction. Spoke to a manager who was very nice but unable to assist me. He suggested I go and have another look for receipt and if at all possible he'd try and help me out..but I've had no joy.
Am just raging! At the poor quality of coat but even more so at my stupidity misplacing receipt. I'm one of the unemployed statistics atm so every euro counts as you can imagine.
I've sent a message via facebook to TK Maxx so will await their response but in my heart of hearts I'm fairly sure I'm just gonna have to suck it up...and learn a lesson in the process!!

P. Breathnach · 18-01-2014 1:47pm

It's not worth much, but I offer my sympathy: it's hard to take a €80 hit when you are on Jobseeker's (or on minimum wage).

Teagwee · 18-01-2014 5:26pm

May not be of much help, but could you take a photo of the coat, record any label info from inside and send to the Galway store (or post to the Facebook page) with the date and time you purchsed to see if they will offer any assistance in tracking down receipt details? It's worth a try.

Gatling · 18-01-2014 6:32pm

By any chance has the coat been washed at all ,
What material is it .
If its just covered in bobbles you can easily fix it yourself if you have a spare 45 mins to and an hour

Longford Lass · 21-01-2014 3:53pm

***Update***
So I sent a message to their FB page and I also sent the same message to the customer service email address thats on their website...this was an afterthought.
I got an email back from the customer service apologising etc but unfortunately without proof of purchase there was nothing they could do. So at this stage I'm resigned to just sucking it up and learning a lesson!
However!!
Just today I got a phone call from a lovely lady again apologising for inconvenience etc and she offered me a gift card and is going to send it on in the post tomorrrow.
To say I am thrilled is an understatement!
I asked this lady would I take back the coat to 1 of their shops so that maybe they could recoup some of the costs but she said maybe I'd be kind enough to bring it along to a Charity Shop which of course I'll be delighted to do...after spending some time trying to make it a little more presentable of course! The least I can do I reckon!

dudara · 21-01-2014 9:21pm

Extremely decent of them. Have to say I've never had a bad experience with TK Maxx.

carltonleon · 22-01-2014 12:52pm

Good Result.
Again, and this is just what I do.
If I have a purchase for a decent amount, then I scan the receipt (if you have a scanner or MFP Printer) to my pc and then rename the PDF to 'Article Bought, Store Bought and Date'. So for example, a pdf could be called 'Bosch Dishwasher Harvey Norman 011213'.
I know it may seem like overkill but it is very handy.