BEWARE the Bertini MIO!

[PhAnToM]

I must get this off my chest and hope that i save others the grief i'm dealing with.

We bought a brand new Bertini Mio before our little one was born. I am distressed to say, that after spending $750, our Mio fell apart the first week we used it. (and we only use it max one day a week.. purely for shopping.) the front wheel never quite swivelled properly and then as I was taking it out of the boot of the car, i found it felt a bit strange. Looked down to find the front wheel had fallen off and was lying on the road. Needless to say, i was less than pleased. My husband tried to fix it, but it fell off again and still wont' swivel. I returned tit back to the store to have it repaired on Friday, only to find out on the weekend that it appears to be a manufacturing fault.
Other reviews on the internet show countless others who bought their Mios about the same time as us, and have had the EXACT same problem. Some say their wheel fell off while their babies were in the pram!!

Pretty poor since we only took the pram out of the packaging late January and use it VERY little.

Having realised it's obviously a design fault, I returned the full pram, basinette and seat included, back to the store who refused to refund. I had to then take it back to the factory on that day for assessment.
They didn't call me back when they said they would (suprise suprise) and i have been dealing with grief ever since. They want to "repair" the wheel with glue. Yes a pram so expensive, fell apart before it reached 6 months of GENTLE use and they want to repair the wheel with glue!
I haven't picked up the pram and am still calling around to see what i can do to get a refund. i have lost faith in this product.

I have contacted Recalls Australia and they replied saying they will definitely investigate.
I urge people who have had similar problems with their Bertini Mios to either contact me or make a complaint to Recalls Australia. This is a very dangerous pram as is evident in others' reviews also.

And if you are looking to buy a pram, stay away from the Bertini Mio!

[JasmineLouise]

Regardless of the instore policy... They MUST refund the item ESPECIALLY under the circumstances you have provided them with... my advice, tell them you are calling consumer affairs right away if they continue to refuse your refund. If that doesn't spark a response, ask to speak to the stores head office and see how you go from there. I once worked in a retail store and their refusal of a refund is simply not on!! Do they honestly expect you to place your child in a pram that obviously has serious faults?:banghead: (shame on them)

I hope you have some more luck with it! Let me know how you get on. :fingerscrossed: for you!

[mum33]

i wouldnt bother telling them i would call consumer affairs, i would do it. call them. once they are involved you should get your refund. once consumer affairs calls on them, they give them a certain amount of days to fix or refund and if they dont comply u have to call back and tell consumer affairs about it then they do a follow up call and i dont know what goes on from there. i had to call them once and also had to call the TIO (telecommunications industry ombudsman) and i didnt need a follow up call once CA and TIO were involved.

[Elfin]

If you have no luck with Consumer Affairs, you could try the Not Good Enough website, they often get very good outcomes for people.

[PhAnToM]

Thanks so much eveyrbody.
I have been frustrated no end for days about this.
I have contacted Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs (who quite frankly i believe to be the same place.. no idea why they have 2 different names!) and Recalls Australia.

I refuse to put my child in a death contraption. The OFT and CA say that i am entitled to a refund, however i need to put it in writing and if they still refuse then i have to take them to VCAT (Vic Civil Admin Tribunal). This is because they have offered to "repair" the pram. However, based on other's reviews who have done this and their pram has STILL had problems with the wheels, i refuse to take the chance with my child's life. Yes i paid ALOT of money for this pram, but no amount of money is worth me risking my child's life.
IGC (the manufacturer) have assessed the pram and said they can repair by "glueing!" the wheel in and seeing how it goes. Now that just doesn't sound like a a professional repair job, nor one i would trust! If i wanted something that was held together with glue, i'd have DH make us a billycart instead of forking out so much money for a new pram. :mad:

The chasi has also started to get a little hard to click into place when you open it. When i spoke to the company they patronised me saying "when you come in we will teach you how to open the pram properly!" THAT ticked me right off.
I like to think that i'm a pretty switched on person. if we (both DH and I) were able to open the pram JUST FINE a few months back, then i'm thinking we haven't lost this ability all of a sudden.

They are ALL hell bent on NO REFUND!
When i said i'd take it to CA, they said "ok. Get them to give us a call then." Obviously knowing that CA will not drop everything and give them a call- which is what CA said when i called for advice.
I'm stuck.
I have enough to deal with, without this stress.
What happened to customer service??

Oh and by the way, the person i dealt with at the store took my receipt, claimed i had bought the pram Jan the year before (when i wasn't even pregnant or planning to be!!!) and said i had the receipt and lost it. The dishonesty. She freaked when she saw i got my phone out to make a call and ater much arguing, happened to be able to locate my lay-by card manually. Amazing! she did that WITHOUT my receipt to match up the docket number.... disgraceful.
AND i was a loyal customer!

I wonder how long Recalls Aus take to investigate. Any clues anyone?

Thanks Easterlilly. I was unaware of Not Good Enough. I will take a look at that.

I suppose it's lots of pen pushing now. i have to send them an official letter of complaint. :gloomy:

Will keep you all up to date!

[JasmineLouise]

Have you considered telling them you are willing to call today tonight / aca over the matter and with particular reference to the store? Failing that maybe you could give the bertini company a call and let them know the situation and that you are prepared to take the matter public. By doing this it may just prompt bertini to deal directly with the retailer. Can i ask if it was a large store/francise/family owned?

Maybe a petition on 'bub-hubbers not purchasing anything from the store if the issue is not resolved'. hahaha:D

It's all a little drastic i know, but i can understand your frustration.. :banghead: I really feel for you and hopefully the store will come to their senses eventually.:fingerscrossed:

[Tam-I-Am]

We had a sort-of-similar situation with our pram - not that it was faulty, just that it wasn't what it had been sold to us as (we were told it was an all terrain pram - we couldn't use it anywhere where the ground was COMPLETELY even!:banghead: )

We went back to the company and demanded an exchange, and wouldn't leave the store until they did so - We were there for 3 hours and were fighting with them, head office, the local rep etc for that whole time. They finally agreed (I think just to shut us up:rolleyes: )

Stick to your guns - ours wasn't even faulty/dangerous, just not what we'd paid for - yours should DEFINATELY get at least an exchange on a different brand of pram.

[Elfin]

Lut, here it the link to the not good enough website http://www.notgoodenough.org/ It is a great site and they often get companies to bend when individuals can't. It may also help to avoid legal action.

Good luck and let us know who you go. It is just not reasonable that you are being denied a refund.:no:

[twins+another]

If you purchase a product brand new and then find that it is not fit for its purpose, it is your choice as to whether you want a refund, a replacement or repair.

This also must be available from the place of purchase, not the manufacturer. It is the retailers responsibility to arrange reimursment from the munufacturer after they have reimbursed the consumer.

Good luck :fingerscrossed:

[PhAnToM]

Thanks so much for the ear everyone.
I can't believe how much stress the purchase of a BRAND NEW *EXPENSIVE* pram has caused. i'm starting to think i'm crazy.
I have 2 children to worry about, exams, the usual house stuff and now this pram. Aaaah....:(
I think i'm about to fall to pieces. I'm sick of being treated like an idiot by these places.

TruthfulSalesAssistant- the pram is currently AT IGC (the manufacturer). They've had it since i dropped it off there on Monday morning. They say there is a problem with the wheel and they will glue it and I should "use it for a few weeks and see".
See what exactly? If it falls of while my baby is in it and how much injury my child CAN get from this? Unreal! :no:
:no: I've made it clear that since i am aware that there are many others who have had the same problem with the Mio, i am not willing to risk it with a repair. See website for other reviews: http://strollersandprams.com/strollers/112/reviews.html

Virtually the same story over and over again!

I just rang the store, which i have NO problem now mentioning the name of.. it's Baby Mode (Sunshine store). I asked to speak to the manager. She tells me that the warranty means the manufacturer has the right to repair it 3 times before i can ask for a CREDIT! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
I told her i spoke to Consumer Affairs and ACCC and that i AM entitled to choose whichever i want since the product is defective. She says "you bought it in October and returned it in May". SO WHAT??? It has given me problems since i unpacked it and used in January. If it is a common problem across the product, it MUST be a design flaw!
She kept giving me some rubbish about how even if the manufacturer does say it's a fault, i can only get a store credit. AAaaa.. NO THANKS! I don't intend to buy anything from there anymore. They tried to take my receipt so i couldn't prove the purchase date! I don't trust them.

Saturday is approaching fast and i need a pram. Heaven help me!



If you purchase a product brand new and then find that it is not fit for its purpose, it is your choice as to whether you want a refund, a replacement or repair.

This also must be available from the place of purchase, not the manufacturer. It is the retailers responsibility to arrange reimursment from the munufacturer after they have reimbursed the consumer.

I told her this and she argued it with me until she said she would have to speak to the manufacturer and see what they can do (though refund STILL didn't appear to be an option!) They don't do refunds... she just kept saying that. :banghead:

I wonder how long it takes for a product to be assessed and recalled. Any ideas?
They (Recalls Aus) were prompt to reply to my email and ask for the contact details of the manufacturer.

[PhAnToM]

SUCCESS?!?!?!
Well, after much backing and forthing, threats of media etc (thank God i have nothing better to do than chase after a pram :rolleyes: ), i was just contacted by lady who is at the top somewhere at IGC. She was told to look at the reviews i found i'd say. She gave me the option of credit or replacement. Guess what i took.
I've won the battle, now i have to win the war.
NOW I'll probably have to fight the store about deserving a refund and not a store credit. :rolleyes:

I'm exhausted. I could do with a sleep... Can someone wake me after the pram issue is sorted and my exams are finished???? :D

[JasmineLouise]

So glad you could finally work it out!! Yes, i can imagine you are exhausted... well needless to say you will probably look at the store policies before making the next purchase. I just can't believe they didn't offer a refund service!! Get the next store to put the refund policy in writing (with a signature).. you are allowed to be a little pedantic (after all this).:o

So now the next step.. what to buy next? :eek: LOL

[PhAnToM]

I know. So here we go again!
I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks for listening!
Was a huge relief to know i could vent.. :ecomcity: and the support here was great too.
Thanks everyone! :hugs:

[lizzyamiller]

Hi there

I have this pram also and am really dissapointed with it. I actually bought the pram on special for 600 dollars reduced from 900, this pram is not even worth a cent. After the first week the hood on the bassinet broke off completely, then the wheels broke - wont swivel properly and get stuck within the first 3 weeks, just 2 weeks ago my baby was sitting in the pram when the entire side bar unscrewed and collapsed!!! The break has now broken and locks down when your walking quite dangerous when you happen to be crossing the road. I took it into the shop i bought it with the receipt who said they would repair it but after reading all the reviews on this pram i told them i didnt want it repaired I wanted a refund or exchange only to get told a similar story that prams wear and tear and we can refund it. I have had this pram now for 6 months, i dont think sooooo.
Please let me know if you have any luck with getting something done about this pram its really a shocker.
Im a single mum who cant afford to pay for a new pram but am worried my baby may seriously get hurt one day in this thing.

Liz W.A