Yesterday was my friends' little girl's birthday. She was so excited to receive an ice cream maker from her aunt and uncle, but when the (rather dated and sun-faded) box was opened it was clear it had been used... a lot! There was sugar stuck to the inside of the bowl, dribbles on the outside and aged, yellowing grease in every join: really made me quite queasy. Everyone was so apologetic but I figured it was no big deal - clearly it was the shop's mistake as it had been bought just that morning, and a quick return with the receipt would result in a replacement or a refund, right?
Wrong! I went in with my friend to see how this sort of situation was handled in Italy and the owner was very dismissive, insisting the item was old but not used. He plugged it in to show it worked, wiped it a bit with a cloth and then forcefully stuffed it back into its box continuing to argue, without any sense of apology, that a fly must have got in the box and left all these marks! Seriously! He told us to return home and give it a clean, and if it didn't work come back to see him.
Of course, in UK a big company like Argos or BHS would fall over themselves to apologise and replace the item without question if bought just that day, perhaps even with a gift voucher if you played up the birthday girl's crestfallen face. But a small shop like this in a small town, dealing directly with the owner, they should surely be even more aware that people talk and a damaged reputation will cost him far more than the profit he made on the item sold. How do these businesses survive?
The whole thing made me so angry! What about the Sale of Goods Act, what about the Goods Missdescription Act? It seems none of these exist here, and after hearing my friend's stories of other parts of Italy where people have bought boxed goods only to find when opening the box at home that it contained only bricks, I am feeling very wary!
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