Faulty item --- in or out of warranty

Mike_J

Wondering about thoughts on this one...(which may also serve as a cautionary tale to others). Daughter got an MP3 player from Argos at the beginning of August last year. Whilst on holiday with her grandparents, the MP3 became faulty and they went into the local Argos store near their location. Argos position...."Sorry without the receipt we cant do anything"..... Mid August I go up to spend some time and return to the store with the receipt to be told "Sorry its more than 12 months old we cant do anything".

An email to the Argos customer service department results in the reply stating "The goods must be returned to Argos within 12 months"

Firstly...the goods were, but as Argos has no procedures for logging such visits until such time as the receipt can be produced, in their eyes it was only Mid August so more than 12 months.

Secondly.... how many people carry receipts on holiday for good that are for goods where the warranty is about to expire and whos first task when arriving is finding the location of the nearest store..... well maybe you should.

I have asked Argos for their comments about this specific issue of goods becoming faulty whilst in a location where it is physically impossible to get to a store. I have also contacted the manufacturer (as instructed by Argos) to seek their assistance. Will keep you informed.

oldbuffer

Go back to Argos with the reciept and inform them that for £xxx amount you expected it to last more than twelve months.
Tell them politely that you either want a refund or a replacement.
No joy with that?

Write to Argos head office with a COPY of the receipt telling them the same.
No joy with that?
Inform them that they have fourteen days or you will go to the Small Claims.

It worked for me with both Comet and Currys.

Mike_J

oldbuffer wrote: »

Go back to Argos with the reciept and inform them that for £xxx amount you expected it to last more than twelve months.
Tell them politely that you either want a refund or a replacement.
No joy with that?

Write to Argos head office with a COPY of the receipt telling them the same.
No joy with that?
Inform them that they have fourteen days or you will go to the Small Claims.

It worked for me with both Comet and Currys.

Just got backed from Argos armed with a copy of the Eu directive stating that UK goods are "covered" for two years irrespective of the sellers policy. Spoke to a YOUNG manager who promptly said....."oh yeh, I know all about the EU thingy", turned to the till-operator and told her "just change it for the gentleman". Sorted !!!
Then he followed it up with a very interesting comment....."Dont know what the other store had a problem about, we'll cover electrical stuff for 5 years"

hungrynurse_2

What EU directive was that? Graco have said they will only guarantee a push chair designed for birth to three for 6 months. Have told them I expect it to last longer for that price, but would love to point some EU at them

TheFlyingGerbil

Hmmm, I believe the EU directive is not applicable, but the sale of goods act is applicable. This means a shop is liable for a maximum 6 years (5 in Scotland). Obviously dearer items should last longer. Cheaper items less time.

The important thing with this law though is that you have a contract with the retailer. Never let them fob you off by telling you to go to the manufacturer after the first year, it is the shops responsibility always. They can take it up with the manufacturer if they want to.

Mike_J

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bargains-and-rip-offs/tips-and-guides/article.html?in_advicepage_id=131&in_article_id=487339&in_page_id=53954

read the article and also link to PDF explanatory booklet

mrsproudmum

Hi

This is interesting to read.
I have a £55 ikea lamp which has been sat beside my bed since the day we bought it.Last week the touch mechanism stopped working, so the light does not turn on or off.
I cannot find the reciept and if truthfull cannot remember when we got it apart from it maybe say 15 ish months old maybe less.
This is a big metal lamp very hefty and i love it.
I rang and they refused to exchange it or repair it , i cannot find the reciept but they said anything over 12 months and they do nothing.
I insisted surely a £55 lamp should last longer than 12 months but they would not have it.
sorry I am no help with your problem , would be interesting to see where I stand too and what to say to them.

Mike_J

mrsproudmum wrote: »

Hi

This is interesting to read.
I have a £55 ikea lamp which has been sat beside my bed since the day we bought it.Last week the touch mechanism stopped working, so the light does not turn on or off.
I cannot find the reciept and if truthfull cannot remember when we got it apart from it maybe say 15 ish months old maybe less.
This is a big metal lamp very hefty and i love it.
I rang and they refused to exchange it or repair it , i cannot find the reciept but they said anything over 12 months and they do nothing.
I insisted surely a £55 lamp should last longer than 12 months but they would not have it.
sorry I am no help with your problem , would be interesting to see where I stand too and what to say to them.

This is still a grey area under UK law. It appears that most "users" of this legislation are using it to reinforce UK law. Previously under UK law its been implied that if an item is more than 6 months old its down to the buyer to show it has an inherent fault (an implied term for "reasonable period". This is usually academic as most companies give 12 month warranty period. This legislation is pretty much giving the consumer a 2 year "reasonable" period. (In fact UK consumers already have 6 years to raise a fault...5 in Scotland). The further reinforcement is that irrespective of what the seller says...its THEM not the manufacturer that has to sort the problem out. Like all contract law, a seller can offer the buyer BETTER terms than those granted under law but not less. I would take a copy of this legislation and the lamp with you to IKEA and explain you dont want to return it under THEIR terms and conditions but under consumer law. This is what I explained to Argos and had absolutely no problem getting an item changed.....(although i do wonder how I would have got in if I didnt get a YOUNG clued up manager). Oh, and as for as the lamp being £55, so what. Even if it cost £5 just what can go wrong with a bulb and a bit of wire unless its faulty.

mustbemoreorganised

I would also value some advice. I bought a sony camcorder in aug 07, used approximately 10 times, always very careful with it etc. Went to use it for the holidays in July and the tape that's in won't eject. I took it back to jessops who said tough, so I have just left it in the cupboard.

After reading advice on here I took it back to jessops again today, I have the receipt and all of the original packaging, I also printed a copy of the sales of goods act. The manager said he wasn't budging, it was out of warrenty, he had never heard of the sales of goods act and suggested I buy a new one, so I stood my ground and said I was pretty sure he had to refund, repair etc as it wasn't fit for purpose. He then went in to the back for a good 10 mins came out and said he had called jessops customer service dept who confirmed that he was correct and as it was out of warrently he wasn't obliged to do anything, he suggested I call customer service if I wanted confirmation. I did insist before I left that he put in writing his refusal to take the item back which he did although he wasn't happy. Not sure on the next best move, do I call customer service or do I put something in writing to MD etc, thanks in advance,

ladypinkof66

Mike_J wrote: »

Wondering about thoughts on this one...(which may also serve as a cautionary tale to others). Daughter got an MP3 player from Argos at the beginning of August last year. Whilst on holiday with her grandparents, the MP3 became faulty and they went into the local Argos store near their location. Argos position...."Sorry without the receipt we cant do anything"..... Mid August I go up to spend some time and return to the store with the receipt to be told "Sorry its more than 12 months old we cant do anything".

An email to the Argos customer service department results in the reply stating "The goods must be returned to Argos within 12 months"

Firstly...the goods were, but as Argos has no procedures for logging such visits until such time as the receipt can be produced, in their eyes it was only Mid August so more than 12 months.

Secondly.... how many people carry receipts on holiday for good that are for goods where the warranty is about to expire and whos first task when arriving is finding the location of the nearest store..... well maybe you should.

I have asked Argos for their comments about this specific issue of goods becoming faulty whilst in a location where it is physically impossible to get to a store. I have also contacted the manufacturer (as instructed by Argos) to seek their assistance. Will keep you informed.

I had a similar experience with argos over returning a faulty portable dvd player, i bought it primarily to use when we were away from home, on holidays etc, as I dont venture out very often it rarely got used. I must have used it only twice during the 12 month warranty period, then guess what the 13 month it packed up, it had had no real wear and tear as it was kept in the box when not being used and as i said only used twice. I contacted Argos who basically told me tough luck. I had paid £89 for it and it was basically a waste of money for the amount of time i used it. Needless to say i bought another one from another store and have used it every night for 18 months and had no problems.

sco0ter

mustbemoreorganised wrote: »

I would also value some advice. I bought a sony camcorder in aug 07, used approximately 10 times, always very careful with it etc. Went to use it for the holidays in July and the tape that's in won't eject. I took it back to jessops who said tough, so I have just left it in the cupboard.

After reading advice on here I took it back to jessops again today, I have the receipt and all of the original packaging, I also printed a copy of the sales of goods act. The manager said he wasn't budging, it was out of warrenty, he had never heard of the sales of goods act and suggested I buy a new one, so I stood my ground and said I was pretty sure he had to refund, repair etc as it wasn't fit for purpose. He then went in to the back for a good 10 mins came out and said he had called jessops customer service dept who confirmed that he was correct and as it was out of warrently he wasn't obliged to do anything, he suggested I call customer service if I wanted confirmation. I did insist before I left that he put in writing his refusal to take the item back which he did although he wasn't happy. Not sure on the next best move, do I call customer service or do I put something in writing to MD etc, thanks in advance,

I would be carefull with this. Although items are supposed to last a reasonable amount of time, after a set amount of time you have to prove the fault was there when you bought it. A jammed tape could be caused by almost anything from a slight bang, faulty tape, or rewinding, playing, fast forwarding continually to find a place on tape (as happened with my Panasonic). If you persue and they check and its user error then they could charge you for the repair as well.

Have you tried fast forwarding to the end of the tape and then rewinding it fully. also try playing it for a while to make sure none of the tape has become unwound.