Jelane B

Just in it for the money? What about your customers!!!!

I purchased a size 22 “Speedo LZR Racer X, closed-back” for my 13-year-old daughter from Speedo, at the EGA Winter Jnr Short Course Champs on Saturday 14 July 2018 for R2,500. It was advertised at 50% off the normal price for one day only and I was advised by Speedo & many others that it was an exceptional price. Also, I felt it was a well-deserved reward after we learned that my daughter was selected for the EGA Xcel Junior Development swim squad. The gala ran over two days, so My daughter was very excited to try on her race suit that same evening so she could wear it on the last day of the gala, being Sunday. The short of it is: 1. It took me & my husband over 40 minutes to get the swimsuit on my daughter. She couldn’t even get it over her knees so me & my husband jumped in to help. 2. She was in tears at one time, as the swimsuit was so tight it hurt her upper legs (This happened while we were trying to work it over her hips & bum) 3. We had to use a lot of baby powder in the process. (Something we were aware of would help, as My daughter did have a couple of Blue Seventy swimsuits before, but never before required) 4. We managed to get it on, but she complained it gave her a “wedgy” and the shoulder straps were very tight. 5. On Sunday morning, we got up an hour earlier to get it on before her races, but after 30 mins of struggling to get it over her hips & bum, it tore at the upper-back (top-right). My heart was broken, as I knew My daughter’s was too. She was so excited, she barely slept the previous night, even after swimming 5 heats & 5 finals the day before. Very important to note is the following facts: 1. We were not allowed to try on any of the swimsuits to see if they fit. (I can go and test drive a R1m car before buying it?) 2. Speedo also stated that once purchased, we were not allowed to return it. (Surely this can’t be legal? What about the Consumer Protection Act?) 3. Speedo assured us that she would be able to determine ’s size by taking her measurement. (I later learned that there were three measurements required, of which Speedo only measured ’s hip & middle – the body-loop was not measured) 1. Speedo performed the measurement herself and advised us that My daughter was the smallest size on the chart, a size 20. (according to the Speedo measurement guide document she had with her). 2. We are not the swimsuit experts here so we relied absolutely on Speedo to advise us in on the correct size. 3. Speedo didn’t have a size 20, so after asking us if my daughter also did long-distance swimming, upon us confirming that she did, suggested a size bigger (a 21, especially when swimming long distance events, as to not restrict continuous movement on the arms & shoulders) 4. I then bought the 21. It was a the Red/Orange costume & my daughter had her heart on the Purple & Gold, so my husband went back after about 30 minutes & exchanged it for the size 22 Purple & Gold, which Speedo assured us would fit. Where to now? We did tear the swimsuit, but even if I take it to be sown and patched (which is my plan, as I cannot afford to throw R2500 “in the water” – excuse the pun), my biggest concern here is that I am convinced the size we were given by Speedo is too small for my daughter. Surely no swimmer has 45 minutes before a race to get their swimsuit on? This is a difficult situation for me. I cannot afford to spend another R2500 – R5000 for a new race suit. I also feel that this situation could have been avoided if we were allowed to try on the swimsuit, before paying for it. I must admit, this is the first time we were not allowed to try on a swimsuit. Even when I bought my daughter’s Arena, we could it try it on (with the assistance of an Arena representative (who even wore gloves)). I have not yet received a response from Speedo.