Returned goods questions

Carpetman

Hi,
On 22/06/09 I purchased a Powakaddy II Electric golf trolley from Direct Golf's store at Becketts Farm in Wythall just outside of Birmingham.

On it's first outing it cut out a couple of times, but worked for the whole of the 18 hole round, yesterday it managed just half a hole before it died. The battery was fully charged so that can be eliminated as a problem.

Today 26/07/09 I returned it to the store informing them of the problem and requesting that they replace with a new trolley, this was met by 'Company Policy' that as I hadn't returned it within 30 days of purchase they couldn't replace it and that it would have to be sent for repair. (Note 4 days outside the period with no leeway given!)

A number of questions arise:
1 - How valid is the 30 days policy, should I have a right to a replacement?

2 - If sent for repair how long is it reasonable to expect for the repair to take?

3 - If repaired should the guarantee period start again or stay as it was on the original purchase date? (I will be denied the use of the trolley whilst it is away for repair.)

4 - What would my position be if the same fault occurred within the first 30 days of return to me.

5 - As the journey to the store is a 60 mile round trip should I be entitled to a refund of my out of pocket expenses for both the return and collection of the trolley?

Your thoughts much appreciated.

Carpetman.

ABH_3

Carpetman wrote: »

Hi,
On 22/06/09 I purchased a Powakaddy II Electric golf trolley from Direct Golf's store at Becketts Farm in Wythall just outside of Birmingham.

On it's first outing it cut out a couple of times, but worked for the whole of the 18 hole round, yesterday it managed just half a hole before it died. The battery was fully charged so that can be eliminated as a problem.

Today 26/07/09 I returned it to the store informing them of the problem and requesting that they replace with a new trolley, this was met by 'Company Policy' that as I hadn't returned it within 30 days of purchase they couldn't replace it and that it would have to be sent for repair. (Note 4 days outside the period with no leeway given!)

A number of questions arise:
1 - How valid is the 30 days policy, should I have a right to a replacement?

2 - If sent for repair how long is it reasonable to expect for the repair to take?

3 - If repaired should the guarantee period start again or stay as it was on the original purchase date? (I will be denied the use of the trolley whilst it is away for repair.)

4 - What would my position be if the same fault occurred within the first 30 days of return to me.

5 - As the journey to the store is a 60 mile round trip should I be entitled to a refund of my out of pocket expenses for both the return and collection of the trolley?

Your thoughts much appreciated.

Carpetman.

It seems the shop concerned isn't going to be playing too fair with you. They obviously fear you might reject the trolley and then they'll be stuck with trying to get it repaired etc.

your rights can be seen here:
http://img198.imageshack.us/i/reverseburden.jpg/

and on Page 15 of this: www.berr.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf

Essentially, if an item develops a fault within the first 6 months, then it's deemed to have had a inherent fault. So you can simply reject the item and either choose another trolley or go for a repair or replacement. In truth, judging by their behaviour so far, I wouldn't expect too much if anything else goes wrong. I would get your money back from them, and find the trolley elsewhere from a firm that values your custom and doesn't try to escape their liabilities when situations like this arise.

Oh and yes, they owe you some petrol money, there's no reason you afterall should be out of pocket. You should put all of the above into a letter send it to head office, or if its a one man band operation. Suggest a suitable solution before taking them to small claims court if needs be, where you'll be able to add on petrol, lost wages or whatever expenses you've lost due to this issue, hopefully it won't come to that and they'll settle before all of that takes place. But put your reasoning in a letter so they've got something to show their solicitor etc.

HTH

Carpetman

ABH thanks for your quick response.

FYI Direct Golf are a very large concern, with the store local manager hiding behind 'Company Policy'.

Incidentally, nowhere on the receipt or in a prominent position in the store is 30 day rule stated.

Carpetman

Littlemiss27

If you have a look at page 4 of the link posted by ABH (http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf), it actually states:


" [FONT=&quot]Remedies[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]If a product that was faulty at the time of sale is returned to the retailer, the buyer[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]is legally entitled to:[/FONT]

·[FONT=&quot]a full refund[/FONT][FONT=&quot], if this is within a reasonable time of the sale ("reasonable time" is not defined in law but is often quite short); or[/FONT]

·[FONT=&quot]a reasonable amount of compensation (or "damages") [/FONT][FONT=&quot]for up to six years from the date of sale (five years after discovery of the problem in Scotland).[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]This does not mean all goods have to last six years! It is the limit for making a claim in respect of a fault that was present at the time of sale. It is not equivalent to a[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]guarantee.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Additional rights for consumers[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Alternatively, consumers (see definition in the "Introduction") can choose to request[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]instead:[/FONT]

·[FONT=&quot]a repair or replacement. The retailer can decline either of these if he can show that they are disproportionately costly in comparison with the alternative. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]However, any remedy must also be completed without significant inconvenience to the consumer. If neither repair nor replacement is realistically possible, consumers can request instead:[/FONT]

·[FONT=&quot]a partial or full refund[/FONT][FONT=&quot], depending on what is reasonable in the circumstances."




As far as I was aware most retailers put a limit of 28days from purchase on refunds due to faults.
[/FONT]

Esqui

As I believe, you can get a refund if you have not accepted the item; acceptance can be implied too, e.g. using it in a way consistent with intent to continue using the product, customising it, keeping for a length of time which could be assumed to be accepted. And the 30-day rule generally covers this last one (as, where I work, does the 28-day rule).

However, a golf trolley is not exactly something you use often. Like you say, it was the second time you've used it - it's not as if you'd been using it with no problems for a long time. So I'd say they could be a bit more flexible.

Though you may find that a repair doesn't cause you too much inconvenience anyway...you've only played two rounds of golf with it in 5 weeks, and must have survived before.

Blacksheep1979

ABH wrote: »

Essentially, if an item develops a fault within the first 6 months, then it's deemed to have had a inherent fault. So you can simply reject the item and either choose another trolley or go for a repair or replacement.

Be careful with what you're quoting here - you can either reject the product flat out due to not conforming to spec (this can be done at almost any reasonable period of time after purchase) or if you're relying on the six month clause then it is the retailers choice as to which you get from a refund/replacement/repair.

Carpetman

Lo & behold,

Monday comes along and Direct Golf now tell me that their agreement with Powakaddy only allows them to exchange faulty goods in the first 14 days not 30 days as they quoted me yesterday!

14 days doesn't sound 'reasonable' to me.

Can this restriction be legally enforced?

What if you had bought it for a present, it wasn't used in those 14 days and it was didn't work when it came out of the box?

However, that is all academic to me as mysteriously Headoffice have authorised a complete replacement.

Cheers
Carpetman