trying to return a fulty camcorder

mustbemoreorganised

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 warrenty 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,

vicshippers

You are not within your rights to return an item after 2 years...fault or no fault. Jessops could argue that the fault was due to misuse (whether it was or not).

I'm afraid the manager was correct. Maybe you could ask him about a way you could pay to get it repaired? He's right though, it will probably be cheaper for you to buy a new one.

barvid

While vicshippers is right, you should probably check that it really is out of warranty - some manufacturers offer more than just a year. If it was bought in August 2007, which is 2 years and 1 month ago, then you're probably not going to get much joy, but you never know...

hippyadam

When did the 3yr warranties come in for electrical goods? If it was purchased after that it should be covered...

nomoneytoday

hippyadam wrote: »

When did the 3yr warranties come in for electrical goods? If it was purchased after that it should be covered...

AFAIK there isn't a 3 year warranty as std on electrical goods.
There is a 2 year euro standard, plus the SOGA states goods should last for a "reasonable amount of time"

mustbemoreorganised

Thanks for your advice. Do you think 2 years is a reasonable amount of time to have something before it malfunctions, I have only manged to fill a one hour tape, I have put a little date on the tape box each time I used it and checking back it's been 11 times in total. I thought I could return it under SOGA.

Esqui

You must prove it's an inherent fault, then you can claim for repair or replacement

vicshippers

mustbemoreorganised wrote: »

Thanks for your advice. Do you think 2 years is a reasonable amount of time to have something before it malfunctions, I have only manged to fill a one hour tape, I have put a little date on the tape box each time I used it and checking back it's been 11 times in total. I thought I could return it under SOGA.

Personally, I think 2 years is a reasonable amount of time. They could argue that the amount you have used it is irrelevant -Esqui is right, you have to show that it is an inherent fault with the camcorder (pretty much impossible unless you are aware that other cameras of the same model have the same fault or are an expert in the field).

You would also have to prove that it wasn't damaged while in your care - although not used, could you prove without doubt that it had not been banged or knocked while in a cupboard or dropped at any point in the last 2 years? I doubt it.

oldagetraveller

Are you 100% sure the camcorder is faulty and it's not a duff tape, already in the machine, that's causing the problem? I presume the tape is encased in some sort of cassette/housing?
Have you tried rewinding/fast forwarding, recording, playing back the tape first then trying to eject?
Has the same tape been in the machine for 2 years? i.e. has another tape been used previously and ejected correctly?

mustbemoreorganised

Pretty sure it's the camera rather than the tape, it;s hard to explain but it opens so far in a way that make's me almost positive it's not the tape. Same thing did happen to a bloke at work with exactly the same model but that maybe a coincidence rather than an inherent fault.

To begin with I just put it down to hard luck but after reading other posts regarding SOGA and people returning items after the warranty had expired I thought I might have had a chance. Although I know I have looked after it well I can see that 2 years is probably a fair time. I will chuck it in the bin and think of it no more!