A mum who almost died three times after developing Covid-19 has been left unable to take her baby daughter outside because a designer pram she bought online is faulty.
Mhairi Mornin said her joy at finally being well enough to take baby Demi for a walk in the fresh air after a nightmare six months during which she suffered coronavirus, an infected gallbladder and sepsis, had been diminished.
She said: “After nearly dying three times and fighting my way back to being able to take care of my new baby, all I dreamed of was being able to take wee Demi out in her pram.”
In June, we told how Mhairi faced multiple life-threatening conditions after giving birth to Demi two months early.
Mhairi had bought the pram back in March. Her health struggles meant she was only well enough to take Demi out for the first time in it towards the end of the summer. Mhairi, 35, from Renfrewshire, said that within a couple of weeks the hood mechanism became loose.
“It has now completely parted from the main frame of the pram, exposing sharp screws,” she said. “I cut my own hand on these screws and it was painful.”
The mum of four said the pram mechanism became unstable and she did not want to leave Demi near it.
Mhairi said: “The mechanism controls the hood and it could have easily collapsed.”
She had spotted the pram for sale on eBay. She said: “It looked so lovely. I paid £419 for it plus I got another £300 worth of accessories. I can’t afford to lose that kind of money and I can’t afford to buy another new pram.
“I’ve tried contacting the seller a number of times to complain but I have never even had a reply. I’m at my wits’ end.”
Mhairi bought the pram – designed to act as a car seat as well as a stroller – from Poland-based Baby World Europe. The company is described as an eBay “top seller”.
Baby World Europe did not respond to contact from Raw Deal. However, we advised Mhairi to open a chargeback claim with her bank as she had paid for the items by debit card. A chargeback is a charge returned to a payment card after a customer successfully disputes an item on their account statement or transactions report. It is done through the bank and works with transactions paid for by debit or credit cards.
Mhairi said: “I think eBay should be investigating whether this item meets safety standards.”
eBay pointed towards its Money Back Guarantee scheme, which is designed to protect both buyer and seller.
It means if the seller doesn’t respond or a resolution is unable to be reached after eight days, eBay can step in and a refund can be issued.
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