Misadvertised product- Craddocks

[Alan Drover]

Genocache, do you have a consumer protection organisation like Trading Standards in the UK? If so, it would be worth contacting them first. I don't know what Trading Standards here in the UK do about problems with imported items or whether they'd take up your case with you not being a UK national.

[diffwhine]

It seems to me as though Craddocks are playing slopy shoulders on this one, knowing that you are in the US and unlikely to challenge them.
You are right - its  a long time since anything made in India could be regarded as "British"... Its clearly an issue of misrepresentation and they should be prepared to deal with it and address the cost. Dealing with a UK trading standards operation will probably not get you much support as they have other fish to fry and bigger priorities. Likewise a US trading standards operation will probably run a mile.

Were I in your situation, I would send a formal letter to Craddocks by email attachment (request a "read" receipt). In that letter detail your whole grievance sticking purely to fact and the point that the goods are not what they were advertised. Detail what your expectation is for a realistic resolution. If you can provide screen grabs of their web pages showing the "British Origin", they will not have a leg to stand on if you can also provide images of the springs showing India C.O.O.

Request that they provide a proper response within 14 days and state that if the issue is not resolved reasonably you will have no option but to refer the matter to Staffordshire Trading Standards and take further legal advice. The only trouble is that I can't find an email for them, so it will be a last resort.

[GlenAnderson]

It's not much help, but I stopped using Craddocks probably twenty five years ago for anything I could buy elsewhere. Their service/attitude has always been poor in my experience, and their prices high. Experiences of others, like this, only serve to reinforce my opinion.

In the UK there's a thing called the "Distance Selling Legislation", which specifically lay out the rights of a purchaser in respectr of the product delivered not being as described. Given you took pains to purchase springs declared "Made in England" because they were marketed as superior to alternatives, the fact that you were supplied with ones made in India is without doubt contrary to the distance selling legislation. It may be worth a strongly worded letter from a solicitor, but I suppose it depends entirely on how much you want to fight...

Did you pay by credit card? If so, raising a claim through them might be a better way of proceeding.

Whatever, I think that your experience has done nothing but harden my attitude to Craddocks, and I would urge other members to do as I do and deal with them only as a last resort. Maybe, just maybe, this thread topic will find its way to their attention and the potential loss of business will make them do the right thing.

[Birdsnest55]

Laura Hinton (John Craddock Ltd) <[email protected]>

Try that email address.

Paul