In July last year I spent £630 on a Silver Cross Pioneer buggy from Kiddicare. It developed a dangerous fault: the front wheels would buckle when going up or down steps or over a bit of bumpy terrain. My daughter was jolted forward on many occasions, snapping her neck forward, and I was stuck in the road while trying to get the wheels to move. The back wheels also clunked and constantly made a clicking noise.
After exhaustive emails, over 10 months, Kiddicare collected the buggy and eventually returned it (with the same faults) untouched – plus, it didn’t send back the seat or liner.
The buggy was collected again and a new chassis fitted, but the back wheel locked up again. I sent another email requesting my money back. It stated that my warranty allows repair or replacement, but I want a full refund. RB, Sutton, Surrey
The model you chose from a reputable brand has been highly rated by websites such as Best Buggy, which makes it all the more surprising that it developed serious faults that were difficult to fix.
We contacted Kiddicare – a company about which we have had many complaints, after its sale last year by Morrisons to a new owner promptly appeared to wield the axe over customer services.
It confirmed your purchase in July 2014 at its Croydon store, and your contact with its customer service team at the end of January 2015 advising there was a fault with the wheels.
In accordance with the manufacturer’s warranty (all Silver Cross pushchairs are guaranteed against faulty workmanship for 12 months), Kiddicare arranged for the pushchair to be collected and returned to Silver Cross for inspection. Silver Cross then provided a lengthy statement, which suggested that a repair was not deemed necessary. “Each returned product is given a general quality check to identify any unreported issues and repairs performed accordingly (none were required in this specific case).”
But you then had to return it for a second time to Silver Cross in June.
Kiddicare says its own investigation concluded “that the pushchair was serviced by Silver Cross in accordance with the manufacturer’s warranty and went through a thorough check before being returned to the customer on each occasion”. But after our intervention it has agreed to a full refund. We are glad to have helped you obtain it, but you should perhaps have received a better service through Silver Cross’s warranty – particularly given that you were worried about your child’s safety.
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