Little Devils Direct - Wheel fell off pram - They refuse refund

[cherry14]

Hi, I need an advice if it is possible to get a refund and a reimburesement of costs of postage for returning a faulty item to the seller.

 

One week before the end of the warranty (12 months warranty)

while having a walk with my baby the buggy broke in serious and dangerous way:

the aluminium frame got ripped around the front wheel and the wheel fell off.

We had a narrow escape from an accident, as the buggy dangerously tipped.

 

A couple of months earlier I had an email exchange with the retailer when I felt that the pram is visibly leaning to one side

and one of the wheels seemed to be higher than the 3 others.

 

The company said that they will attempt a repair

but I was expected to be with no pram for 2 weeks and to pay for postage

(with 9 months old baby these were impossible conditions, so I resigned and hoped that the pram will not deteriorate).

 

Obviously the fault was more serious than I have anticipated and it led to the accident.

What's worse the accident happened while abroad.

 

I have immediately contacted the seller with the photographic evidence.

The seller was unhelpful demanding that I send the pram over on my own cost from abroad

(refusing to even meet the British part of the courier cost),

 

they also said that they are not obligated to help anyway as my warranty was over (not true),

they told me that they will weld my pram (which I find impossible, unsecure and unfit for use of any baby).

 

They were very argumentative or non responsive for many days,

which was terrible as I was stranded abroad only with email contact with the seller.

 

At the end I had to purchase a stroller to be able to return to the UK.

 

Seller says that it was my choice (not a necessity due to unresolved issue and lack of communication);

after several emails they have agreed to loan me a pram,

delivered to my uk address and only if I pay for a postage for the loan (both ways).

 

They cannot replace the broken part of the pram as they do not produce this model anymore.

 

I demanded initially a new pram but they said a firm no,

so I purchased a pram abroad and now I want my money back.

 

I absolutely would never put my baby in a welded pram!

(I asked while abroad, everyone refused a repair due to liability over a child's safety).

 

How would you go around this case?

Do you think it's reasonable to ask for money and postage back?

How should I respond to the seller if they said they have repaired the pram?

[labrat]

what pram - where brought?

[cherry14]

Hi,

The pram is called Matrix, it's sold by a small scottish company called Little Devils Direct. I bought it online from their website.

[rebel11]

Hi cherry

 

Heres some info:-

 

12) SOGA SUMMARY CLICK HERE

13) WHICH? TEMPLATES CLICK HERE

[cherry14]

Hello Rebel11,

Thank you, very interesting. I'm planning to contact the company tomorrow with new arguments thanks to you.

[labrat]

sorry i was a bit blunt before

 

what i was double checking was that it wasnt one with a known issue

 

would agree with rebel SOG is your friend

[cherry14]

Well, not suprisingly I have received very abrupt email from Little Devils saying that I might quote the correct legislation, but I don't understand it (nice).

 

They are refusing to refund the purchase and although I said that 6 weeks without baby pram is surely unreasonable amount of time

and unreasonable inconvenience, they happly said that it is a "grey area" (any parent of a baby under 1 would comment on that???).

 

They refused to refund my shipment costs as well.

 

I called the CAB and they have opened the case, but they said that my next step is to try through my credit card company.

 

I'm not only insulted - in writing - by those people, very angry and really worried,

as it seems like they keep selling unsafe products and other kids might be in danger.

 

Maybe I actually should report their products as unsafe?

 

As they obviously are ... I just went through all correspondence with the company to prepare a case for my bank

and I discovered that within 10 months of use I had 5 faults including permanent damage of the brake and it is a THIRD! chassis they are offering me....

 

If you have any thoughts, would appreciate it!

[rebel11]

Hi cherry

 

If there are 'Health & Safety' Issues with the pram, then contact your local Trading Standards. Link below:-

 

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

 

I'm not sure your Credit Card company can help, but it's worth a shot.

[labrat]

the reason they have said its a "Gray area" is that the Sale of goods act doesn't say what length of time is unreasonable

 

i would try a letter on the lines of

 

Dear sir

 

in reference to your previous response:-

 

although the reasonable length of time is not stated and therefore is a "Gray area" in the sales of goods act it is widely accepted by most retailers that loss of use for no more than 28 days is reasonable therefore your suggestion of 6 weeks (42 days) is far beyond this

 

therefore i require that you meet your obligations under the sale of goods act and either repair the product in a reasonable length of time (under 28 days), replace or refund the product

 

if you fail to meet your obligations under law then i will be forced to under take further action

 

this may include:-

 

Applying under section 75 of the consumer credit act to my credit card for a full refund of the purchase

Issuing a N1 through the fast tract court for your breaches this would include other charges such as court cost, attendance fees and may be higher than the cost of replacement

 

i look forward to your response detailing how your are going to resolve these issues

[cherry14]

Hello,

Well here I am again - just an update.

 

In response to my email written in a way as advised above, the seller very rudely replied that he challenges me to go to the court.

He said that I'm completely unreasonable, and justified his rudeness by me being "difficult".

 

I have passed all the correspondence and photos of the damage to my credit card company.

Actually when writing a little summarise to my credit card,

I have counted (and added all emails and photos) that the wheel was a sixth fault developed within 10 months of use.

There were 5 others before!

- Although minor faults, yet still needed repairs, small replacements and new parts.

 

Just for a record I will report on the progress, as I've stopped correspondence with this company from hell,

as soon as I passed the case to my credit card. I guess this is the right thing to do?

 

Thank you for all your help!

I'm really impressed how knowledgeable my readers, especially Labrat, are.

[cherry14]

Well, just learned that:

 

1. cannot proceed under section 75, as in the payment third party (PayPal) was involved.

So credit card claim is no good. PayPal no good as well, as it's beyond their time limits.

 

2. cannot win in the court as I have no independent expert opinion that the pushchair was defected

- the pushchair is still with the horrible company and surely they have discharged the broken part.

 

Seems like I have to accept that broken pushchair back, and if it breaks again get the independent opinion,

but than I will still not get any money back, as it would be far too long after the purchase and damage could occur naturally....

 

If you have any advice I'm all ears as I feel right now that there is no justice for me.

 

Thank you.

[labrat]

ive flagged the thread to site team as i will be honest i have no idea how the paypal issue does effect a S75 refund, as far as im aware its still possible

[seanamarts]

Looks like they have had problems with this type of pushchair.

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=little-devils-direct&iid=-1&de=off&items=25&which=neutral&interval=365&_trkparms=neutral_365

 

What they say in their ebay account.

We offer our customers the following security:

 

Our Personnel Pledge - 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed / Money Back Guarantee

 

PayPal Buyer Protection - PayPal is owned by eBay / Very Safe and Reliable

 

1 year Warranty With Every Product - Providing Piece of Mind

 

Excellent After Sales Service - We'll be here for years to come

 

What they say on their web site

Exceptional customer service is our primary goal. We want your shopping experience with us to be enjoyable and easy. We value your custom and hope you return to our store time and time again.

 

Maybe you need to remind them what they have stated in their web site and on ebay, because thats NOT what you have experienced.

[cherry14]

Hello,

Apologies for my yet again delay update. I have just received in writing a reply from my credit card (MBNA) why they are not going to do anything. It says:

"On review of the documentation you have provided, it appears that you have paid Little Devils Direct, who in turn used the money transfer company called Paypal. When a claim is assessed through Section 75, it is considered whether the parties involved formed part of a debtor (customer) - creditor (card issuer) - supplier (merchant) agreement. The agreement outlined above was between MBNA and PayPal. We believe it was Little Devils Direct who breached their contractual obligation to you, therefore there is no debtor (customer) - creditor (card issuer) - supplier (merchant) agreement. "

I have looked at the reviews as mentioned, they were written shortly after my purchase! Sounds like a "batch" of prams was all damaged... I have contacted the company before I purchased the pram and all seemed ok. I even talked to them before purchase about warranty.... And yes, I reminded them about their T&C and all those nice slogans about customer care, well their response was that "we could be even more difficult".

I still don't have a pram, because the company pretends they don't know if I live in England (where I live) or in Poland (where accident happened during holidays), and I'm too upset and frustrated to explain to those malicious people...

I spoke to the layer and he said that without an old broken frame checked by an independent body I hardly stand a chance in the court.

Please, any ideas? Do I really have to comply to this horribly company? Is my case lost?

[rebel11]

Hi cherry

 

That is disappointing, here's is some interesting info:- http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/cca-section-75-problems/

 

You need to find out if there is a 'Commercial Entity Agreement' between 'Little Devils Direct' and 'Paypal', if this is the case and there is a 'Commercial Entity Agreement', go back to MBNA with this information. If MBNA still won't look into the matter, then you need to file a complaint with the FOS.

https://cms.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=ua/Legal_Hub_full&locale.x=en_GB

[natalie1701]

I have had the same problem with this pushchair. had mine for 18 months and the wheels snapped on saturday while my daughter was in the pram. The company has refused to give me a new pushchair even tho there is a fault with the frame. I have found other reviews on the pushchair that have the same problem. I have contact trading standards and they have advised to write a letter a saying I want a new pushchair, they have 14 days to respond to my letter after that I have to contact trading standards again for the next step. I have also thought about going to watch dog because this is not how you run a company. Very dissapointed in little devils and there lack of concern regarding safety!!!

[Grotesque]

Little Devils seems quite an apt name. Although Paypal seem to be card-sharping here too...

[dx100uk]

thread closed to stop newbie postings

 

dx