Problems returning a child car seat

FinoBlad

On monday I bought a child seat. I already have a seat but I needed to get a second one for the child-minder. The seat I have is working out well and I went looking for the same one.

In the shop I saw a newer model, with some extra features. I tested the seat in the shop and my daughter fit the seat well and bought it.

During the week, I noticed that there were were friction marks and abrasions on my daughters neck. The new seat has different padding on the shoulder strap and theres a thick steel wire running through the padding to keep the straps upright when putting the child into the seat. [I have double checked the instructions and I have the seat installed correctly.]

The padding itself has a stiff edge surrounding it and this edge rubs off my daughters neck during a bumpy journey.

I brought it back to the shop this morning. Spoke with the manager and unfortunatly the returns department of the seat manufacturer were not available today, so he took my details and will try them again on monday. I have the receipt and packing.

Before monday I'd appreciate any advice on my rights at this point. The seat cost €289 and the one I should have bought was €190 [same manufacturer]. All I want is to change seat and be refunded the difference.

Any advice on my rights?

ircoha

not my area but "fit for purpose" is a phrase I have seen else where on boards.ie re this sort of stuff
have a peep at other posts.

IMO, if the seat is damaging your child, take a few digi pics and bring them with you to shop, there should be no problem.

gerrycollins

if the item is not suitable to your needs or is not suited to your child them as an act of good faith it should be exchanged or refunded

you are entitled to a full refund within a certain period of time providing you can produce proof of purchase,some shops may require the full packaging etc but a bit of persuation will get around this

what made me sit up was the manager ringing the manufacturer,this is not necessary for you to deal with, you purchased the chair from the shop so your contract of sale is with the shop no one else they should provide the refund or exchange, unfourtanly getting the difference back in cash is not up to you, you may get a credit note this is fully legal so far as they have signs saying so.

I would watch out for the manager trying to say that the dept is closed again , he is only stalling, he should provide the refund/exchange you need.

in short (ha ha) you are entitled to a full refund in the form of cash/credit note or exchange on a different model with the difference in either cash or credit note

Buceph

I really don't think you have any rights here, but whether they'll exchange it is a different matter. You tried the seat out, and inspected it, and put your child in it, so you were happy with the purchase, in my opinion, you don't have a legal right of returning it. However, for the shop to refuse to take it back would be crazy, just be prepared to accept a credit note. If it's a case of safety then any reputable shop should take it back, and if they're a family owned shop I'd say you have a better chance.

TempestSabre

If its hurting her neck I would have said it was faulty.

Buceph

TempestSabre wrote:

If its hurting her neck I would have said it was faulty.

If you've tried on clothes, dediced that they fit you and bought them. But then realise they're too short, then it's your own fault.

ircoha

Buceph wrote:

If you've tried on clothes, dediced that they fit you and bought them. But then realise they're too short, then it's your own fault.

With all due respect, there is a big difference between clothes being too short and the problem the OP has.

OP: please see http://www.oasis.gov.ie/consumer_affairs/consumer_rights_and_protection/consumers_and_the_law_in_ireland.html

and related links

this is from the limk
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

Cutting your childs neck is hardly that

Buceph

ircoha wrote:

With all due respect, there is a big difference between clothes being too short and the problem the OP has.

OP: please see http://www.oasis.gov.ie/consumer_affairs/consumer_rights_and_protection/consumers_and_the_law_in_ireland.html

and related links

this is from the limk
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

Cutting your childs neck is hardly that

Cutting that childs neck does not mean that they are not fit for the purpose. It may just be that that particular model isn't suited for that particular child. The retailer gave the OP what seems to be every opportunity to see if it was fit for the purpose intendended. The consumer actually inspected the goods and deemed them suitable. The fact that they've come back and said that they've just noticed something about the padding would indicate that they didn't inspect it fully. How can this be the retailers fault? Had the retailer said that the seat would be fine, it would be a different matter. But the OP had the chance to check it out!!! They did not check it out properly.

Fit for purpose relates to sales based on either the information on the box, or information the retailer gives, and it is usually in the absence of a trial.

ircoha wrote:

Goods must be fit for their purpose – they must do what they are reasonably expected to do

Cutting your childs neck is hardly that

Pants are reasonably expected not to chafe, but only if they fit you! If the problem was noticable by proper inspection, and by putting the child in the seat and you didn't check it properly, tough.

FinoBlad

Thanks for all the replies and info.

No phone call from the shop but rang them. Basically we can exchange the seat for the other model and be refunded the difference in price. The manufacturer agreed to take back the problem seat.

TempestSabre

Buceph wrote:

Cutting that childs neck does not mean that they are not fit for the purpose. It may just be that that particular model isn't suited for that particular child. The retailer gave the OP what seems to be every opportunity to see if it was fit for the purpose intendended. The consumer actually inspected the goods and deemed them suitable. The fact that they've come back and said that they've just noticed something about the padding would indicate that they didn't inspect it fully. How can this be the retailers fault? Had the retailer said that the seat would be fine, it would be a different matter. But the OP had the chance to check it out!!! They did not check it out properly.

Fit for purpose relates to sales based on either the information on the box, or information the retailer gives, and it is usually in the absence of a trial.



Pants are reasonably expected not to chafe, but only if they fit you! If the problem was noticable by proper inspection, and by putting the child in the seat and you didn't check it properly, tough.

Thats doesn't make any sense. You might not notice a fault till you've used the item, does that invalidate all your rights?

leeroybrown

Buceph wrote:

Pants are reasonably expected not to chafe, but only if they fit you! If the problem was noticable by proper inspection, and by putting the child in the seat and you didn't check it properly, tough.

You're quite right about that up to a point but if you try on a pair of jeans and buy them but later find that there is a rivet in one of the seams that scratches your leg if you walk any reasonable distance then there is a design/manufacturing fault in the pants and you are entitled to a refund. This analogy is far more similar to the situation described by the OP.

FinoBlad

Buceph wrote:

Cutting that childs neck does not mean that they are not fit for the purpose. It may just be that that particular model isn't suited for that particular child. The retailer gave the OP what seems to be every opportunity to see if it was fit for the purpose intendended. .

Buceph, first of all the purpose of the seat is to transport the child in a vehicle safely. My child is within the recomended age/weight and height for this seat, so its incorrect to say the seat is unsuitable.

In my case the seat has a particularly abrasive shoulder padding at the neck area. During general travelling this results in rubbing the neck. It would be difficult to simulate the motion of a car in the shop. So the "every opportunity" point is invalid also.

What would be worrying is what would happen during a side impact in an accident. Its probably fair to say that the childs safety could be compromised.

It is possible that this issue is in fact a design flaw, the seat is very new to the market and given the speed of the resolution on this, its likely the manufacturer has heard of this issue before.