Aero: received jacket with wrong zip puller

[itsme]

I bought a cloth jacket from an overseas maker a few years ago and the zip puller broke within the first week. The seller was very apologetic and sent my three replacement pullers along with $20 so I could pay to have someone solder the new puller onto the slide. I was very happy with that response.

That's exactly what separates the wheat from the chaff; or pragmatism from entitlement. Or to put it another way: working together vs. working against each other; enforcing strict EU consumer rights vs. having a sense of fairness. You choose. But expect people to choose differently.

 

[Observe]

I'm a picky guy and not always the best customer because of it, but this thread has me cringing from second hand embarrassment for OP.

 

[Monitor]

Aero is known to have always been going above and beyond to resolve customer matters so let's not be so overly dramatic. 10% of €1600 is more than what replacing an entire pocket zipper would cost you, let alone a single zipper pull, which is all you really need.

If only they'd made the same mistake on all my jackets and offered me a 10% off. . .

 

[MrProper]

I asked for the replacement jacket to be fast tracked so I don't have to wait another 3 months for this.
Also the remake should be marked as a free replacement for customs (since I don't want to pay taxes and tariffs twice) and I would hold on to the current jacket (with the wrong puller) until I have the replacement in my hand and have confirmed that there no problems with it.

I also asked Aero to mail me some pictures of the replacement jacket before they send it off.

That’s quite a demand for a wrong puller. If I were Aero, I wouldn’t go along with it.
Besides, the only way to avoid paying VAT again at customs is if you can prove the return is for repairs. In other words, holding the jacket hostage will almost certainly result in having to pay VAT again.

 

[Harris HTM]

I fully understand why the OP asks for a remake. He spent a lot and he did not receive what he specified.
Asking however to keep the jacket hostage until the new one is made and received is something I honestly don't get (and I will keep my speculation for myself).
The standard procedure in Europe when you receive a faulty item is that you return it and as soon the item reaches the seller you either get a refund or a new item. It recently happened with me with a big monitor with 3 pixels burned out. Sent it back and a couple of days later got a new one.

Legally this is a sound claim

If I remember correcty years ago you were studying law? (Please correct me if I am wrong). Is keeping the original item until you receive the new one and then sending it back legally sound?

 

[jacketjunkie]

I fully understand why the OP asks for a remake. He spent a lot and he did not receive what he specified.
Asking however to keep the jacket hostage until the new one is made and received is something I honestly don't get (and I will keep my speculation for myself).
The standard procedure in Europe when you receive a faulty item is that you return it and as soon the item reaches the seller you either get a refund or a new item. It recently happened with me with a big monitor with 3 pixels burned out. Sent it back and a couple of days later got a new one.


If I remember correcty years ago you were studying law? (Please correct me if I am wrong). Is keeping the original item until you receive the new one and then sending it back legally sound?

If Aero asks for him to send it back, I believe he cannot hold it hostage, no.

I am not even sure it is legally sound to insist on a full remake for a wrong chest zip pull, depending on how severe the fault is and importantance for the overall product, buyers right can be restricted to correction rather than remake..

Then again, luckily I am not forced to make my living in Civil Law, so take all of this with a grain of salt. As for the matter at hand, if I were Aero, I would just cancel his order, return his money and block him from future business after his last email, but again, that is me luckily not having to make a living in sales either..

 

[Zoro]

I'll beat on a dead horse saying it doesn't make sense to hold the current jacket hostage and go as far as saying OP knows it's BS and cannot justify it as otherwise he would had already replied with his logic for it, as he did with every prior comments.

I agree a remake may be too extreme or not needed nor lawfully enforceable, but that would be Aero going the extra mile for their customer, which we've seen them do in the past here in this forum. As I mentioned earlier, I don't think this would be really impactful for them as a business considering they can still sell the original jacket as new in their Ready To Wear section. Precisely because of this, it doesn't make sense to allow OP to keep it hostage, as I would not trust how he treats or stores the jacket for three months (or however long the remake takes) nor I would be happy to sell as new a jacket someone else kept for so long.

 

[Webguy]

Hi,

Again thanks for everyone's opinion and advice. Very enlightening.

First of all I am not "holding the jacket hostage".
It's fairly safe in my wardrobe and I have only worn it once to check the size and I do not intend to wear it again until this matter is resolved

I could also argue that atm Aero is holding my money "hostage" and has not delivered what was agreed to.

For the record I asked Aero whether it is ok to return the original jacket after the replacement arrives.
I have not received an answer as yet.

I have no problem returning the jacket right away (provided Aero sends me a prepaid label).
However It would be a uneasy feeling having no jacket and no money.

Also what happens if anything else is wrong with the replacement? Apart from the wrong zip puller the jacket is quite nice and has a good fit.

According to Aero (and my local tailor) exchanging the ball & chain puller with the looped ball & chain puller means that the slider has to be exchanged as well. That in turns means one has to cut the zipper and risks structural damage to the jacket.

Anyway I will talk to the Aero manager next week and I will see what he suggests and hopefully we can find common ground.


Interesting line of thought here:

Customer orders jacket > Order is accepted > wrong jacket is delivered (simple fix not possible) > customer asks for exchange > customer should be banned

Is this how you think that deals should be done?

 

[LuddGang]

Holding on to an item until the replacement arrives is not the norm, I would be surprised if Aero agreed to that. If I was them, I'd be thinking that if you've turned down a 10% refund for such a minor detail then there's no guarantee you won't find something else on the next jacket and suddenly they're down two jackets.

Missing the specced zipper is a mistake and raising it is valid, but I think the 10% discount is more than generous as a resolution.

 

[Harris HTM]

I could also argue that atm Aero is holding my money "hostage" and has not delivered what was agreed to.

They do not. You received an item not according to your specifications. If I were the seller I would pay you back as soon as I got the faulty item back (ofcourse with a prepaid shipping label).

However It would be a uneasy feeling having no jacket and no money.

I guess this is not the first time you order something online, it does not meet your expectations/ specifications and you have to return it?

Also what happens if anything else is wrong with the replacement?

You send the replacement back, get a full refund and find a better maker. Unless this is the reason you want to keep the 1st jacket as well: see which you like better and send the other back (even it is the "replacement") at their expense.

 

[jacketjunkie]

Your rights as consumer are as follows with a faulty product: allow the seller to fix it or replace it depending on severity of the flaw. He refuses that, you get to ask for a refund. You do not have any right whatsoever to keep the faulty item, ask for a remake and then choose between the two. And that is precisely what you want to do; you want two jackets for the price of one to pick from and return the other at the expense of the maker.. that's a very twisted take on consumer rights.

Besides, you started this thread claiming you could never wear this jacket and now you want to keep it incase it is better than the replacement.. so you uhm can wear it after all and enjoy it? Make up your mind how bad this wrong zip pull really is because right now it doesn't add up.

 

[Leather Walker]

I wouldn’t have overthought this; I’d have just taken the 10% off the 1600€ and moved on. Is a zipper pull REALLY worth getting into such a mess? Not to me. But hey, everyone is free to spend their time & money as they please.

To draw a parallel, I’ve often thought about replacing the YKK zipper on my 55-year-old jacket back to a period-correct Serval. What stops me? The risk: new needle holes, shipping it god-knows-where, and paying a fortune for the replacement, shipment and custom duty. I mean, what for? The YKK works perfectly. The jacket isn't crying out for it; it’s just me being a purist. This is not going into a museum or to Lightning catalogue. So, I'd rather just enjoy a great 55 y.o. jacket. Of course, I’m talking about a 2nd-hand jacket bought for 87% less than what the OP paid for their Aero. But anyway I guess you catch my drift.

After all, we are here to enjoy these jackets, not to suffer over them.

 

[Leathergato]

For what it’s worth I have the looped ball and chain that you wanted on a few of my jackets and I like the one they gave you better. For a 10% discount though I would be very happy to take either one. Prices are so high on everything these days.

 

[bobjones]

This is IMO and should be taken with a mound of salt, but having read and reread this thread, I am rather annoyed with what I believe is a broad mishandling of this situation by the OP. This is an instance of taking advantage of a company's liberal return/exchange policy and serves to make us as a community look bad, leading to companies instating much more rigid policies that will negatively impact customers with LEGIT issues.

I could comment further, but prefer not to as it might lead to an unnecessary flame war which benefits no one.

 

[bobjones]

If Aero asks for him to send it back, I believe he cannot hold it hostage, no.

I am not even sure it is legally sound to insist on a full remake for a wrong chest zip pull, depending on how severe the fault is and importantance for the overall product, buyers right can be restricted to correction rather than remake..

Then again, luckily I am not forced to make my living in Civil Law, so take all of this with a grain of salt. As for the matter at hand, if I were Aero, I would just cancel his order, return his money and block him from future business after his last email, but again, that is me luckily not having to make a living in sales either..

I would have done exactly that if I were Aero, just for having published on this site the situation before giving the company a chance to address and fully resolve it.

 

[Peacoat]

I think everyone has had his say, and it is time to put this discussion to bed.