A school uniform shop in Arnold has hit back after a mum claimed her son wasn't measured up properly for a pair of school trousers which were 'ridiculously large'. Lauren Corkhill, 31, said she had spent around £180 on her 11-year-old son's uniform ahead of the new academic year.
She explained she and her son Josh Hallam went into the Just-Schoolwear store on High Street in Arnold at the beginning of August for measurements. Her son was measured up but didn't try on a pair of trousers in the shop. Ms Corkhill explained the policy was to order online - and she said she paid for two pairs of trousers which came to just under £20 each.
But she claims shop staff made an error and measured Josh at 38 inches around the waist and 34 inches at the leg, and the trousers, which arrived in time for the new term, were too big for Josh. "Even on the tightest adjustment they were massive, ridiculously large. A belt did not help either," she added.
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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, whose son goes to Colonel Frank Seely Academy in Calverton.
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 (first form of contact from Lauren Corkhill) 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 Just Schoolwear store in Arnold "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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