J Peterman Company HORRENDOUS "customer service" REfused return of defective jeans Lexington Kentucky

I have been a happy J. Peterman customer for years...was sorry to see it drop off the radar. THey are now back "reinventing the brand"...and have totally overlooked customer service. I'm so shocked at the treatment I took time to blog about it and write about it--that's rare for me.

In March of this year  I ordered a pair of jeans guaranteed to let me "zig when they zagged". The jeans arrived nicely packaged, and although not the quality I hoped for, the fit was great, so I popped them into the washer prior to use. (Note: Consumer reports advises that ALL clothing should be washed prior to wear to remove formaldehyde contaminants. Cotton is a fabric especially high with this contaminant).

After washing, the zipper stuck halfway up and refused to work smoothly. Not usually an urgent problem, but I;d just enjoed a couple of long tall glasses of ice tea. My husband came to the rescue and helped me get out of my pants.  I returned them the next day, and several weeks later received a snippy email stating "Quality assurance has inspected the zipper and we have not found it to be defective. Unfortunately, the item has been washed, we are unable to accept the return. We are shipping it back to you promptly today. "
Customer service calling me a liar. That is a first. I order thousnads of dollars of merchandise online, and can count on one  hand the number of items I have returned. (No problems on any of them).
I wrote back protesting, and Ms. Bernetta Paulson in customer service replied this time the item could not be returned because it had been washed. (Why would this matter on a defective item anyway???) Any other company I have purchased from REQUIRES that an item be washed prior to return.

The company refused to refund my money, and shipped me back the pants. I refused the shipment and am currently in a credit card dispute with this company. All over a $100 pair of jeans. (I have spent over $3,500 with this company over the last 4 years).

This is NOT the way to treat a customer. The management team at J. Peterman better take some lessons learned about best practices from Zappos.com....and I'll learn from fellow bloggers and warn others not to patronize J. Peterman.

I am out $100 for a pari of jeans. J Peterman is out at least 4 good customers....hopefully more. I have never run into a brick wall like this with such rude "customer disservice people".