A furious mum has slammed a school uniform shop after she was sent a "ridiculously large" pair of trousers. Lauren Corkhill, who forked out £180 on her son Josh's uniform, claims he was left with trousers that didn't fit for the start of school term.
The 31-year-old said had taken Josh to get his measurements taken at the Just-Schoolwear Limited back in Augus, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports. The 11-year-old was given his sizes but didn't try anything on, as the store policy was order online.
Lauren went ahead and ordered two pairs of trousers which cost just under £20 each - but couldn't believe it when the "massive" trousers arrived. She claims that shop staff mistakenly measured Josh at 38 inches around the waist and 34 inches at the leg, both of which are significantly bigger than his actual size.
"Even on the tightest adjustment they were massive, ridiculously large. A belt did not help either," the parent said.
Ms Corkhill, who said she later measured her son at 34ins around the waist and 30ins on the leg, said she hadn't been entitled to a refund or able to exchange the trousers. "They do not offer refunds or exchanges, only if they still have their tags on. But obviously you have to send your child in the uniform to begin with," said the mum.
However, shop directors responded and said Ms Corkhill first complained about the sizing of the trousers six days after her son had started back at school. And they said the original trousers could only be refunded if they had not been worn.
Dwayne Keward, managing director at Just-Schoolwear Limited, said: "After apparently visiting our shop to try uniform on, Lauren Corkhill placed an order on August 4, which was dispatched to her two days later. Her child’s school opened on September 1.
"On September 7, she emailed to say the trousers (38/32) were too big and she had ordered two more trousers the next size down (36/30). In fact, after her email she actually placed an order for two pairs size 34/30.
"Lauren Corkhill, in her email, asked if she could return the trousers to the store for a refund and our customer services department replied that we would accept them back and offer a refund if they had been unworn. Her new order on September 7, of 34/30 trousers were picked, processed and delivered to store the next day.
"Lauren Corkhill collected them that morning approximately 24 hours after ordering. On September 8, we received an email from Lauren Corkhill basically saying 'he had nothing else to wear, this left me with no option at short notice but to send him in them'.
"This clearly was not the case. The fact is she ordered the wrong size and left it over three weeks to reorder and to contact us and request a refund which would have been processed if the trousers had not been worn."
Ms Corkhill said her son had been "embarrassed" when he wore the overly large trousers. "When he came out, they were falling down. They were terrible," she added.
"This is completely their error. I had no choice but to order another set of trousers for my son. They do not accept any responsibility at all. I have had to order another pair from them because you are only allowed to go to that shop."
Ms Corkhill said the store "is the only place where you could get the uniform with the school badge". She said: "It was a massive difference between the measurements. I need more pairs because obviously school is five days a week. So I have got two pairs of trousers that cost me around £40 that I cannot use. It is a complete waste of money. And now I need to buy more."
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