Leeds mum says that 'Christmas is ruined' after claiming Timpson staff broke watch she bought for her daughter

The mother-of-three said she bought the Michael Kors watch second-hand two months ago for her 11-year-old daughter and went to Castleford on Wednesday to get it a new battery at the Timpson store within the Asda on Leeds Road. She claims that as the member of staff was changing it he put it to one side to serve another customer.

After finishing the job the mum said he told her that one of the three dials on the side of the watch had broke. “He didn’t own up to doing it”, she said. “But he said that he wasn’t going to charge me for it."

She said she then took the watch to a specialist in Castleford town centre who told her it had likely been damaged by the member of staff at the Timpson store if he had not held the dials in place for the duration of the time that he changed the battery.

She said she then took the watch to the town’s other Timpson store at Carlton Lanes and left it with a member of staff who said he would try to fix it. However, she received a call not long after from the man who said that when he went into the watch another of the dials had popped out and so he would have to send it to one of the company’s specialists, meaning she would not get it back until after Christmas. She said: “I said that I’ve not got any money to buy another one and it’s my daughter’s main present.

"I got a call from the area manager who had quite a lot of attitude. He said you don’t have to hold the dials when you’re changing it and when I asked for his occupation he said he didn’t have to give it me and hung up.” She said she also called customer service but that the woman she spoke to was “disrespectful”.

“It’s just not good enough really”, she said. “I can’t replace it so they have left us without a main present. It feels like Christmas is ruined.”

Timpson has been approached for a comment.