Grieving mother of stillborn son denied refunds on baby items
A mother grieving for her stillborn baby has been left distraught after she was refused a refund for the brand new baby items she had purchased for her son.
Belinda Ainley gave birth to son Ash on Easter Sunday, but at 38 weeks and just over three kilograms, Ash was stillborn.
The Melbourne mum and her partner Aaron were devastated.
Ms Ainley said her heartbreaking experience started from the moment she left hospital, saying she was disappointed with the discharge process.
Her short two-day stay meant she would be entitled to an early discharge package. but she was initially told the packages were “geared towards babies”, Fairfax reported.
"There was no compassion from the people that work in industries that are supposed to be all about babies,” she told Fairfax.
“You're left feeling like you not only don't have your baby, but that you don't count because everybody feels too awkward to talk about it and so nothing happens."
Accessing bereavement payments from Centrelink also added to her distress, but Ms Ainley said the worst response has been from baby retail stores.
One Melbourne store refused to refund Ash’s cot and accessories valued at $611 as it was no longer in the original packaging.
Instead, they offered a partial refund because the item would have to be sold as second-hand.
Ms Ainley declined.
Another prominent baby store told her a refund on a $100 gift card could not be processed due to the terms and conditions on the voucher.
The sales assistant advised the mourning mother to read the fine print on the card.
Only one retailer, Baby Bunting, refunded Ms Ainley more than $2000 worth of stock with no questions asked.
When she was finally ready to pack up Ash’s cot, she decided to sell it on Facebook in a private group.
After finding out why the cot was for sale, one of the members of the group - a woman unknown to Ms Ainley - started a Go Fund Me page to raise enough money to cover the cost of the cot.
In a matter of days, $1800 had been raised and Ms Ainley now wants to donate the cot to St Kilda Mums.
She has also vowed to split the money raised between SANDS, a stillbirth charity, and Heartfelt, a volunteer organisation of professional photographers who create memories for families affected by stillbirths and serious illnesses.
"I've looked at the cot next to our bed every day and felt so sad," Ms Ainley said.
"Taking it back to that shop was going to be so hard for me, but instead parting with it is turning into something that's going to be a really good moment," Ms Ainley said.
"Knowing that it's going somewhere where someone will appreciate it, that it's touched so many people, that strangers have donated money, and people who lost babies 25 years ago have posted messages of support - that has made me feel so happy."
News break – June 8
