help needed where my rights are concerned

[jewellerjim]

Watch brought into shop - Limited Edition expensive make watch. Value £900. Sent to our recommended repair man - he causes severe damage to face - face out of production - different colour watch face offered & customer says no way. Is customer entitled by law to new watch? I would say he is but boss is saying not - cost of different face is £72 - cost of new watch is £900!! Customer seeking info on his rights and we need to aswell. Many TIA

[jewellerjim]

could I make myself a little clearer - what Iw ould like to know is where can I obtain information on internet that I can show the boss to make her realise she is responsible. In my eyes it is her responsibility to replace the watch and take it up with the repair man but I need to know where I can find in print her responsibilities so i can show her. He deposited the watch with us and is not interested in who damaged it thereafter. So, is there any website which tells people of their right regarding trading laws

[dotty.]

you need to look at this list of publications and identify one or two that it might be financially advisable to invest in
http://www.bl.uk/bipc...ry_Industry_Guide.pdf

[jewellerjim]

Could anyone just tell me where I can find out which law states that customer is entitled to refund or replacement so i can show my boss !!!!!!! I only work there dotty and just trying to make sure I know what law states before I have to go back to customer. I am not going to get involved in anything other than sorting this issue - it is neither my desire nor my job. Sorry to sound fraught - but I am not chuffed at having to deal with it all - I have a manager and a company owner who have left me to deal with it - they have passed the buck and it was not me who took the watch in for repair.

[Canary42]

I suggest you ask your boss who the shop's solicitors are, then make an appointment to discuss it with them - this is the only way to get a definitive answer short of going to Court I would have thought. Legal documentation is notoriously difficult for the layperson.

[dotty.]

http://www.consumerli...+Advice+For+Retailers

[johnny37]

I find it odd that a jeweller is not aware of his responsibliity. Let the insurers deal with it. Whoever pays, the customer is entitled to have the watch returned in its original condition, or the cash equivalent if it is not relaceable. £900 seems cheap for a Rolex.

[joko]

i agree with you - i would certainly expect a replacement and i expect most would too.. your boss is just trying to get out of it.
she must sort the customer out and then deal with the repairer separately to recover costs.

i would perhaps try to find another identical watch and give it to the customer - it might cost less than the £900.

[themas]

The work has clearly been done to an unacceptably low standard & the customer is entitled to be compensated for this. Some information is here:

http://www.adviceguid...ervice_done_badly.htm

It gives an example of a dress being ruined & says the customer should receive compensation - the amount taking into considration the age & condition of the dress. Using that principle, your customer may or may not be entitled to a new watch. Clearly, the ruined watch is far from new so it may well be that its value is less than a new one, & if that is the case then compensation amounting to its present day value would be reasonable. However, it is a limited edition watch, & I have no idea whether that means its value has not declined in the way you would normally expect. It could even be worth more now than when it was new!

As you can see, this is not easy to resolve. You need an expert to value the watch in the condition it was in before it was damaged, & you then need to decide based on that whether to agree to give a new watch. If you decide not to do so, you have to negotiate with the customer to try to find a conclusion which he will accept (such as a contribution of £x towards a new watch).

All of this is fraught with difficulty, & the customer could refuse to agree anything & start a Court claim. You would then have Court costs & could end up with a far worse situation than just giving him a new watch now. If you do give him one, you will at least have the likelihood of a customer who is not entirely p***ed off with your firm; if you make it too difficult he could easily lead other potential customers to shun you.

I assume your boss must have some good reason for not wanting to make a claim against the repairer, because he is the person who should be paying - or his insurer should.

[bednobs]

what o don't get is why your boss is putting hte onus onto you to sort it out, but not accepting what you want to do to sort it out! Sounds a bit like my boss!