Damaged Lay-By Items and Refused Refund at JAM Festival Mall

On 15 December, I went to the JAM Clothing store at Festival Mall to complete and collect my lay-by after paying the full remaining balance.

There were delays at first because the staff brought the wrong items, but I want to be clear that I have no issue with the staff themselves. My concern is with how the situation was handled.

When my items were eventually brought to the counter, I could smell a strong stench from the bag, and it was wet. On opening it, I discovered that all the clothes had dyed into each other, with some items badly water-damaged and others stained by dye transfer. The clothes were clearly damaged and unwearable.

What I don’t understand is why I was only told that my goods were damaged after I had already paid the full lay-by amount, and why I was refused a refund despite the items being damaged while in JAM’s care.

Instead, I was forced to select alternative items to the value of my original purchase. The items I originally chose were no longer available or were in different sizes. The store was extremely busy, and I felt rushed into making replacements, which was uncomfortable and disappointing.

I am highly dissatisfied, not because of the staff, but because of the lack of transparency and refusal to refund damaged goods. I would appreciate JAM Clothing explaining why this situation was handled in this manner and why I was refused a refund.