Lisa writes that she purchased a neat Lucky Brand patchwork bag from Macy’s just about a year ago, and the bag has fallen apart long before its time. The list price is just above $150, so one would expect it to hold up for more than a few months. While the manufacturer admits that the self-destructing purse isn’t up to their usual standards, they offer no warranty or repair service to customers.

I have a defective handbag from Lucky Brand Jeans. I bought it on September 26, 2009 — I remember the date because it’s my birthday — and the handle has broken continuously since then. And it wasn’t cheap — it’s something I’d expect to make it through its first year without any hiccups. (But, alas, I just saw a review on the Macy’s website that mentioned the shoddy handle…so I should have done a bit more research beforehand, I guess. [At the very least, it proves I’m not alone.])

After nearly a year of repairing it myself, it broke again the other night. And *that*, Consumerist, was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I wrote Lucky customer service to tell them of the broken handle and I got a pretty useless response, assuring me that shoddy craftsmanship is not standard and noting there are no refunds, exchanges or repair services available.

I spent good money on this purse and loved the Lucky bag I had prior to this…so it’s a shame to have a bad experience with this one — and I certainly don’t trust Lucky enough to ever buy a bag from them again. (In fact, I found a very nice handbag from Fossil that I think will replace it.)

Here’s the first part of the useless e-mail Lisa received back from Lucky.

Dear Lisa,

Thank you for contacting Lucky Brand.com. We are always interested in hearing from our customers!

We apologize for your experience with our product(s) and appreciate you bringing it to our attention. We assure you that this is not standard for our product(s). Unfortunately, we are unable to process refunds or exchanges for product(s) purchased in stores. At this time, we do not have a repair service available. Please contact our Store Customer Service for additional assistance at: 888-943-2653 or email at: storecustomerservice@luckybrandjeans.com

Self-destructing handbags are the worst. From the photos, it looks to me like the break is fixable in theory. I’ve had good luck bringing beloved leather purses to small shoe repair shops, which have the equipment to stitch up and securely glue leather pieces, and don’t charge much. Try to find a shop that could secure the broken strap, and get some more life out of the bag.

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