SHARP LCD TV faulty need consumer rights help!

cece1980

We bought a sharp LCD tv in August 2006 for almost £800 and for the first 9 months it was fine, then suddently when you turn it on the picture flicks up for 2 seconds then the screen goes black. the sound is still on but the picture is gone, we called Sharp who were to send out an engineer but everytime he kept arriving at the wrong times when we were at work and it never got round to being fixed. It improved and the black outs stopped so we stupidly left it at that, then of course after the 12 month warrantly was up it started happening again, and for the last year its got progressivly worse to the point where it takes at least an hour turning it on and off before you get a picture.

Sharp will not send an engineer as our warranty is up and say we will need to pay £175 call out fee for an engineer. The place we bought it from wont help either, I do understand that our warranty is up but it annoys me that these TVs just break after 2 years and there is nothing we can do about it, it would cost a few hundred to have it fixed whats the point?? I have read on various forums lots of people with exactly the same issue with Sharp LCD TV's

I heard there may be some consumer rights for products that break within 5 years of purchase, can anyone help with info on this?

I really cant afford a new TV or even to have it fixed. I had my last TV for 13 years they were so much better than LCD that last a few years if lucky!:mad:

Thanks!

Wig

Who is the retailer?

You should have done this last year, but it's still not too late. If you want to help yourself you are going to have to show the retailer you mean business, and threaten court action if they do not move on this to repair the unit free of charge. And you may have to apply to the court -there's 2 stages 1st stage = £30 (£25 online), 2nd stage =£25. The retailer could capitulate at any stage e.g.
letter writing stage
1st court fee stage
2nd court fee stage
Just before court date..

Your contract is with the retailer forget about Sharp.

You need to write a letter to the retailer something like this

Trader’s Name
Address

Dear Sir/ Madam (or name of person);

Re: Invoice / Contract Number, Faulty television Make and Model.

On the (date) I bought the above (item) from your firm, at a cost of £.... .

On the (date) it developed the following fault(s). (describe the fault(s)).

I complained to you/or Sharp on the (date) about these faults but the engineer sent by Sharp was always sent at inconvenient hours - The problem still exists and is making it very difficult to use the TV

I complained to you on the (date) about these faults but was informed that, as the item was outside the guarantee period, you/Sharp would not repair it free of charge.

However, irrespective of the guarantee, I believe implied into our contract under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) are certain “statutory rights”. One of these is that the (item) you supplied me should be of a Satisfactory Quality.

To be of a Satisfactory Quality, goods must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory bearing in mind the way they were described, what they cost and other relevant circumstances.

Also relevant to this obligation is the durability of goods.

I feel that the (item) I purchased should not have developed the above fault(s) considering the price and the length of time that it took for the fault to first appear

I would therefore ask you to reconsider this matter with a view to arranging for a free repair within the next 14 days. If you do not agree to this I shall consider getting the (item) repaired myself, if this is possible, and look to you for the cost of doing this.
Or
I believe the (item) is beyond economic repair I therefore request that you arrange for it to be replaced free of charge or a refund provided.

I look forward to receiving your response as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely/ faithfully;

Sign and print your name.

This is only a sample letter to give you guidance on what to write. You will need to write the letter out and substitute your own detail at the appropriate places
Send your letter by recorded delivery and keep a copy.

I would not follow that letter with an immediate repair at your expense if you get no free repair, I would follow it with another letter referencing the 1st letter giving a final 7 days before you will arrange to have the item repaired.

Then get it repaired at your expense and sue them for the recovery of your money.

If the retailer offers to split the costs of the repair with you, refuse the offer, and insist on a free repair.

If you have to repair at your cost, you will have to give another two or three letters asking for them to settle with you, the 3rd letter can be a 7 day notice letter after which time you will open a case in the court costing you a fee of £25/30 and any subsequent offer of settlement must be for "cost of repair" + £25/30.
You then write another letter asking for "cost of repair" + £25/30 warning that after 7 days you will complete your court applcation, by applying for a hearing and any settlement must be for "cost of repair" + £50/55 as applicable.

You can find out how to lay your court case on www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and it can all be done online if you prefer or at your local courthouse. The staff at the court will offer you help as will the local CAB office or your local Trading Standards.
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm

COURT FEES

Keep copies of everything and send everything recorded delivery with a return address on the back, and keep the recorded delivery stubs, and keep the stubs in the same folder as the letter copies.
.
.

cece1980

Wow that is so helpful thank you so much I am going to follow your advice and hopefully it will get me somewhere!

Much appreciated.:A

Annubis

Hi all,

I have a similar problem to CECE 1980 and have pretty much followed Wigs excellent advice. Comet have now offered to do my repair for £295 down from £520 but it should be free and I'm prepared to go all the way to get justice. My question is this, could you allow Comet to do the repair and then sue them in small claims court for that amount or must you get it repaired by someone else and then sue Comet. Aprreciate anyomes input soon as.

Thanks in advance.

David

Wig

Hi,

My own opinion, is that you can send another letter to comet saying that you feel you have the right to a completely free repair as the goods are not satisfactory in regards to durability. That you ask them to reconsider their offer of repair at discounted cost to yourself of £295. Tell them that if they refuse to reconsider you will have to accept their offer "under protest" and you intend to recover your loss of £295 from them through the courts. They might in turn, withdraw the offer and you will be left to have it repaired elsewhere at your expense, leaving you to sue them for the cost of repair or £520 which ever is the least amount.


I am of course assuming you do have a right to a free repair, which you might not have.
What did you buy?
Was it new?
How much?
When was it bought?
When did the fault develop?
What was the fault?
When did you tell them?
Any other relevant info?


To specifically (try to) answer your question.....
You don't have to repair it somewhere else at your cost and then recover the full cost or partial cost from them. As I said earlier you can agree to their repair "under protest", in fact, this is likely to be the only sensible way to proceed.

You are obliged to allow the retailer the chance to resolve the problem, in the most economical way (to the retailer). If they have said it will be repaired at a cost to you of £295, you can't have it repaired elsewhere for more than £295. Well, you might be able to, but you could only recover from comet £295 of the cost.

I'm not sure (in your situation) what might be the case, if you got it repaired elsewhere at your expense, it might be that you could only claim £295 from Comet, it might be you could claim nothing from comet. In the unlikely event, it could be repaired for £150, I'm sure if you let them know that and they refused, you could legitimately pay the £150 for it to be repaired, and then recover £150 from them.

It will cost about £30 to start the claim, and then a further £25 ish to proceed to a court date. At any point Comet might back down and offer you a settlement, more than likely only after you have paid the second court fee. If I were you I would only accept at that point a minimum of the full claim amount e.g. £295. The courts will not refund your fees so you will still be out of pocket by about £60.

There is an idea that when they make an offer to settle before court you can say you will only accept £295 + £30 or £295 + £55 (as appropriate depending on how much you have paid out to the courts). But I'm not sure how this might affect your case if it subsequently went to court - (because the court would be told that you refused an out of court settlement of the full amount of £295). So if you ever get to that stage make sure you take good advice from someone with more knowledge than me.

Annubis

Hi Wig,

Sincere thanks for your input and apologies for late reply. I thik I will follow that advice and accept under protest as you suggest.

The info you asked for is as follows:

Samsung 42" LCD TV, bought new from Comet, cost £1800, at the point they took it in which was April this year it was 3 years and 4 months old.

The fault itself, they tell me it needs a new screen, i was watching the Simpsons when the screen just went blank, full sound but no picture. Although I didn't realise it at the time I suspect this is a problem that has shown itself in the past. Since purchase of the set there have been several occasions when the screen went blank, but as I only have it hooked up to cable I just assumed there was a problem with them as the picture did come back.

Didn't notify them of the early faults but told them the day after picture loss this time when it was clear that the fault was with the set.

Other info, I have written twice now and had several phone conversations prior to that. They say they have disscused the matter with trading Standards and dont feel they are obliged to pay up so to speak. I have kept all copies and did send recorded delivery. They do admit that items should last 5 years but refuse to do the repair for free.

guess thats about it, will check to see if you have any further input and then send the letter.

Once again sincere thanks.

David

woody01

Wig wrote: »

Who is the retailer?

You should have done this last year, but it's still not too late. If you want to help yourself you are going to have to show the retailer you mean business, and threaten court action if they do not move on this to repair the unit free of charge. And you may have to apply to the court -there's 2 stages 1st stage = £30 (£25 online), 2nd stage =£25. The retailer could capitulate at any stage e.g.
letter writing stage
1st court fee stage
2nd court fee stage
Just before court date..

Your contract is with the retailer forget about Sharp.

You need to write a letter to the retailer something like this

This is only a sample letter to give you guidance on what to write. You will need to write the letter out and substitute your own detail at the appropriate places
Send your letter by recorded delivery and keep a copy.

I would not follow that letter with an immediate repair at your expense if you get no free repair, I would follow it with another letter referencing the 1st letter giving a final 7 days before you will arrange to have the item repaired.

Then get it repaired at your expense and sue them for the recovery of your money.

If the retailer offers to split the costs of the repair with you, refuse the offer, and insist on a free repair.

If you have to repair at your cost, you will have to give another two or three letters asking for them to settle with you, the 3rd letter can be a 7 day notice letter after which time you will open a case in the court costing you a fee of £25/30 and any subsequent offer of settlement must be for "cost of repair" + £25/30.
You then write another letter asking for "cost of repair" + £25/30 warning that after 7 days you will complete your court applcation, by applying for a hearing and any settlement must be for "cost of repair" + £50/55 as applicable.

You can find out how to lay your court case on www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and it can all be done online if you prefer or at your local courthouse. The staff at the court will offer you help as will the local CAB office or your local Trading Standards.
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm

COURT FEES

Keep copies of everything and send everything recorded delivery with a return address on the back, and keep the recorded delivery stubs, and keep the stubs in the same folder as the letter copies.
.
.

Not a hope this would help unless you can confirm that the fault is inherent.

Which ever way you cut it, the TV is out of warranty and you cannot overide that.

Court action would be a waste of time and money.

Wig

woody01 wrote: »

Not a hope this would help unless you can confirm that the fault is inherent.

Which ever way you cut it, the TV is out of warranty and you cannot overide that.

Court action would be a waste of time and money.

That is rubbish, the SOGA requires goods sold to be of satisfactory quality as to durability. This means, Goods must last as long as a "reasonable person" would reasonably expect the goods to last. Various factors would come into play here to determine how long any given item should last without fault. The type and nature/function of the product, the cost of the product etc.

I believe a judge would agree that an expensive TV would be reasonably expected to last without fault for 5 to 6 years.

The case you quoted me commenting on, was an £800 TV broken after only 2 years use,
The latest contributor to this thread has an £1800 TV broken after 3+ years. I believe both these cases would win the cost of repairs against the retailer in court.

You make it sound very complicated to say "you have to prove the product was inherently faulty at point of sale" (my words) when in reality all that this means is that you have to put a case to the judge that such an expensive TV should not have failed at such an early stage, that a "reasonable person" would have expected the TV to last a lot longer than it did. If you succeed in persuading the judge -who is a very reasonable person- that this is the case then you have by default proven the item was "inherently faulty". Because, if it wasn't inherently faulty it WOULD have lasted as long as the "reasonable person" expected it to.

Simples

Which ever way you cut it, the TV is out of warranty and you cannot overide that.

Absolute tosh. Warranties or the lack of, do not affect your statutory rights.

Court action would be a waste of time and money.

Tosh again, court action costing roughly £60 to attempt to re-coup £290. With little to no risk of having to pay any extra costs if you lose the case, sounds eminently practical and efficient to me. Not to mention the principle involved aswell.

Wig

Annubis wrote: »

They say they have disscused the matter with trading Standards and dont feel they are obliged to pay up so to speak.

Have you spoken to your trading standards for their opinion? Mentioning SOGA "durabilty" of goods. I think they will agree with me. But at the end of the day it is up to the judge to decide whether it would be reasonably expected to last more than 3.5 years.

They do admit that items should last 5 years

Excellent! that's half your work done for you, given to you on a plate! Hopefully they said this in a letter, and if they said it on the telephone to you, you made notes of what was said on the telephone.

will check to see if you have any further input and then send the letter.

Once again sincere thanks.

David

Yep your further info £1800/3yrs pretty much convinces me that you have a good case, and you should accept their offer under protest, see what happens, and act appropriately, i.e. if they still say the offer of the dicounted repair is available accept it, under protest, aswell as your letter (which you keep a copy) saying you will be accepting the repair offer under protest, also, when you pick up the repaired TV and you pay the repair bill £290, write "paid under protest" on their copy and your copy of the receipt/repair paperwork.

If they withdraw the offer then have it repaired -either by them or someone else for equal or less than they quoted- and go after them for the full amount.

(£60 for claims up to £300)
Be warned, court costs will be £80 for going ahead with a claim of 300.01 - £500.00

and £120 for a claim of £500.01 or above (to the next tier)

But I still think it's worth it.

These fees are the initial setting out a claim fee, and then if they don't back down (and they probably won't at this stage) the second (online) fee which is to book a court date. After you book a court date, you could well find that they back down and make an offer of settlement. Like I said earlier, look into the idea of insisting that the out of court settlement figure includes your court costs to date...... ask trading standards or citizens advice or a legal helpline, or an online forum, or in the google newsgroup "uk.legal", it's not a newsgroup that belongs to google it's just relatively easy to access it through google-groups, it's actually a thing called "usenet" if you want to look it up.

P.S. Sorry I was also late to respond.

PPS, also look into "the one show" on BBC1 they did a piece on Comet ignoring the requirements of the sale of goods act, and everyone who sent in their case details to "the one show", has had their cases looked at more favourably by Comet. This was announced a couple of days ago on "the one show". You'll have to contact the producers of "the one show" to find out if they can still relay your case onto Comet via "the one show"

PPPS if you want me to find the correct reference no. in the law exactly I will do that for you. but from memory it is something like....

Sale of goods act (1979) as ammended
Section 14(1) ....bla bla bla...........
(d) ....... durability .....