cwc

Long story short: Husband bough $1000 suit from Brooks brother. He brought the pants to a tailor to alter (shorten) and brought home the jacket (untouched) and discover the suit is a size too small. Brooks brother refuse to exchange the jacket to a bigger size because it is a set (suit & pants) so they will need to take both pants & suit back, but since the pants already shorten, they will not take it back or exchange. File the claim with AE and was denial because "the merchandise is not in the original condition". We have been loyal customer for 25yrs and this is the 1st time we file return claim. Should I call them to complain? Write a snail mail to them? I am very unhappy and contemplating just closing all my account with them (that include our saving account in AE).

walkingingotham

Did you use purchase protection or return protection?

Return Protection: www.americanexpress.com/return
This is for when, in the first 3 months, the original seller won't accept a return, and the product is still in its original packaging/labels are still attached.

Purchase Protection: www.americanexpress.com/purchase
This is for when, in the first 3 months, a purchase is lost, stolen, or broken.

http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=7760.0

Often1

Why on earth would Brooks accept a return which you altered andwhy would Amex honor a chargeback or a Return/Purchase or any other claim for the same reason? The suit cannot be cleaned and sold and has no value to anyone.

It is unclear which route you chose here, but nothing prevents you from calling in to plead your case. But, do not expect any sympathy. It seems pretty basic to try on both pieces before taking one piece to the tailor. What if the other piece had been the correct size but needed some alterations as well?

mikesyr18

If it were the old AMEX, they would've given you your money back anyways.

This is just part of the reason why Visa and MasterCard are eating AMEX's lunch now.

AMEX is no longer a tool for buying power, but just an average credit card.

The_Bouncer

Sorry, but expecting to be refunded for a suit which you have had altered (from a resale viewpoint, read: destroyed) is completely unrealistic.

BRAISKI

AMEX and Brooks did what is right. Why would they take it back? It was sold as a "set" unless maybe in the receipt it shows separate line item for the jacket and pants.

I agree with your reasoning to exchange the jacket only, it should be ok. But a suit usually has a 7-8 "difference" between the jacket and pants so if the jacket is say 40 then pants would be 33, its a "standard" in the industry unless its slim fit or beespoke.

Every time I buy a suit I had/have to test fit it few times. In the store the sales person usually helps check if the suit fits perfectly and often suggests different sizes, especially from a place where the suit isn't really cheap they often know their stuff.

Anyways I doubt many people here would be able "help" you, as its clear that the T&C, return/exchange policy, consumer protection has been breached.

Good luck though...

mia

There is a third option, a formal dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act. This should be done in writing through the postal service:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/article...t-card-charges

If the suit was ordered with a size X jacket and the merchant shipped size Y it should be easy to prevail. However, if the merchant shipped the size ordered, and it simply doesn't fit as expected the alteration voids the Brooks Brothers return policy:

Brooks Brothers | Returns & Exchanges

jspira

I'm left wondering why someone would even begin to alter a suit where one of two pieces doesn't fit. The first step that any reputable tailor would take is to see the person have the suit on before fitting. Since the tailor wasn't part of the transaction, the buyer should not have proceeded with tailoring once it was clear that he purchased the incorrect size. American Express' terms are clear with respect to "original condition" and I don't see why the OP would punish American Express for this. It's just a normal course of action to try something on that was ordered online before going to the next step.

Often1

The old Amex might have done this for an HVC in order to keep their business. But, absorbing the cost of a men's suit from a mid-high end store is a cost eaten somewhere and I'd rather not subsidize it.

cwc

I tried to use the "www.americanexpress.com/return "

I guess I will put the long story for everyone to "judge".

In Dec, we need to buy a black suit for my grandma funeral in a hurry (with 10days). We went into the local Brooks brother store, since the last 2 suits my husband got from them fit pretty well and only need minimum alternation so we want to get the exact same model just in black. However, the local store don't carry black and suggest us to order online. The sales "looked' up our old order, gave us "his" size and we went home and order it. The suit came 2 days later, the pants was "unfinished", the jacket has baste stitching on and button not sewn. Husband took pants to a tailor to finished it (he even brought the old pants for the tailor to match the length). I offer to stitch the button on later myself. A days later, pants came back, he tried the suit on. The pants was a little tight but the jacket was very tight (I have not sew the buttons on yet and the baste stitch still there). We looked at the label and compare to the old suit. It is TWO SIZES too small! Even though my husband has lost weight in the past 6months, jacket is still too tight. The tailor said the pants can be let out a bit, but the jacket he can't do anything to and suggest us to see if Brooks can exchange one size bigger. And the rest of the story you know.

Yes, I do not expect AE to refund me the full amount and I understand the MAX is $300 per claim. I guess I was naïve or ignorant about the "complete satisfaction guarantee" term what exactly "complete" mean. Thanks for all your reply. I guess GoodWill will be getting the suit & we will have a receipt for this donation for the IRS on this more than $500 items :

mia

This really seems to be a Brooks Brothers error, not an American Express problem. When you attempted to exchange the suit did you take it to the local store?

BRAISKI

Now that you explained it, the story is slightly different now...

As much as I'd like to ask for your husband test fitted it, there's no point anymore...

However what is the size in the suit? Is it the same size as his old suits? Also how about the receipt? Did it say the size?

mhdena

A reminder to all men, suits today aren't cut the same as 5-10 years ago.

I don't see why the size discrepancy wasn't noticed when the suit arrived and was tried on in your home.

This is on Brooks Brothers.

Finkface

Assuming they sent a different size than what was ordered. OP, what size did you order and what size was sent? If different, you have a case. If they sent the size you ordered i.e. you ordered a 42 and they sent a 42 and it is just a different fit than previous suits he has had in the past, then he should have tried it on before he had it altered and it is on you. If you ordered a 42 and they sent a 40, then it is on them.

mia

As I understand:

1. Store told customer to order size A (based on prior purchase at Store),,
2. Customer ordered size A,
3. Warehouse shipped size A
4. Customer had previously purchased size C.

The misinformation in step one is the root problem.