Problem with Scan.co.uk and Warranty Issue

thestonefox

Hi all,

I purchased a motherboard from Scan in May, 2008 and in July, 2009 the motherboard was faulty.

It has a 3 year warranty so I RMA'd it with scan, who accepted it back and received it on 6th august, 2009

They told me they had no replacement boards in stock so had to send it back to the manufacturer for replace or repair. They sent it back on 13th August 2009.

I've still not received my motherboard replacement back from them and I phoned Scan last week (26th August 2009) and asked them for a status update, which they told me they would get from Scan.

I have heard nothing from them, so I phoned them again today and was told they still have no status update from the manufacturer.

Now, Scan have my exact motherboard back in stock and I asked if I could just have my board replaced with them and I was told:

"No, these boards are for sale only and not for replacing stock, because my motherboard is out of the initial 12 month warranty and is in the 3 year manufacturers warranty and therefore Scan are not obliged to replace with a new motherboard"

So even though they have stock, they are refusing to replace like for like!

I then said it is bordering on unreasonable time for getting the board repaired now as its been over 4 weeks and I still don't know what is going on, to which I was told:

"The law doesnt define unreasonable time, and they could have it for 12 weeks if they wanted"

What are my rights here? Because I'm getting really annoyed with the whole process and being without my motherboard for 5 weeks (meaning without my computer) and scan seem to be just hiding behind the greyness of the law and not sorting out my replacement.

Any Ideas?

Thanks

Meepster

They don't need to replace it. The law states they have the option to repair, replace or refund, which ever they see fit, as long as it is done within "a reasonable amount of time".

Just keeping hounding them. I used to use Scan as they were based near I used to live and never had any problems with them...

thestonefox

This is what they keep hiding behind, saying they have a reasonable amount of time.

But as the law doesnt specify what a reasonable amount of time is, they could have it indefinitely unless I take them to a small claims court, which would cost me money anyway.

Seems that this warranty law is very outdated and not in the best interest of the consumer.

They can replace it now, but they wont because they are saying the stock they have is for sale only. That doesnt seem fair to me, they can replace it but wont.

cleo1299

You can't expect Scan to hand over a motherboard from their stock unless you can show that they have an obligation to replace the one you returned -- especially given that you've already had more than a year's use of the board.

Scan are a good company. I've dealt with them several times, and always had good service. I know it's frustrating being without your computer but this doesn't sound like it's Scan's fault. And it may not be the manufacturer's fault either.

Also Scan probably don't have any control over how long the manufacturer takes to deal with the problem. Look in your manufacturer's warranty, see if it states a maximum time (it won't).

Very frustrating, I know.

cleo1299

thestonefox wrote: »

This is what they keep hiding behind, saying they have a reasonable amount of time.

But as the law doesnt specify what a reasonable amount of time is, they could have it indefinitely unless I take them to a small claims court, which would cost me money anyway.

Seems that this warranty law is very outdated and not in the best interest of the consumer.

It's confusing, that's for sure. In your case it sounds like your motherboard came with a one-year warranty from Scan, and a 3-year warranty from the manufacturer. And on top of that you have rights under the Sale of Goods Act.

The one-year warranty has expired, so you can forget about that. And it has been returned to the manufacturer under the 3-year warranty, so that's all in order.

If they keep the board for an unreasonable time without addressing the problem, you can presumably take them to court for breaching the terms of the warranty, but you have to allow them reasonable time or you will just lose the case. It's a problem, not knowing what is "reasonable time", but if Scan mentioned 12 weeks, maybe anything below that is generally considered "reasonable time".

You could try ringing Consumer Direct to find out if there's anything you can do under the Sale of Goods Act but my guess is that you'll get a better outcome by letting the manufacturers deal with it under warranty.

thestonefox

I guess I have to just sit tight then

cleo1299

thestonefox wrote: »

I guess I have to just sit tight then

Keep in touch, don't let them forget you're still waiting, but try to do it in a "can you help" way rather than an angry "where's my motherboard" way.

Although there may be little they can do to speed things up, being civil usually gets better results than being angry, as well as being less stressful. Well, that's what I've found, anyway -- being myself all too inclined to fly off the handle if I don't take a deep breath and count to ten.

Good luck.

savemoney

If you go on to Hexus forums http://forums.hexus.net/ scan have there own board

Scan generally seem pretty good. I agree what others said though you have used it the sticking point is what is unreasonable.

ex.astris

It's worth noting that your purchase from Scan may not fall under SOGA, it may fall under the Distance Selling regulations, so you need to check the smallprint.

However, 'reasonable amount of time' is meant to infer a time period that a consumer should be prepared to wait, but it should also not overly inconvenience the consumer. So for example, if you had an internet business and your PC blew up, it clearly isn't a reasonable amount of time to wait at twelve weeks. Even To compare, DSGi (PC World, Currys etc) has an absolute maximum of 6 weeks, sometimes 4 weeks, depending on the circumstances, so 12 seems excessive.

As to what cleo1299 mentioned, I'm fairly certain (although I'll need to check later) that if a manufacturer offers 3 years warranty, the retailer cannot say 'we only offer 12 months, then it's not our responsibility'. They are responsible for the item, although they are within their rights to get the item repaired or replaced by the manufacturer - they don't have to do this themselves - providing it is still done within the 'reasonable time frame'.

The_Pedant

Would it not be a case though that yes, you have rights under SoGA, but we all know the 'fun' of proving the relevant points can be. As the item is outside a year, you could have a bit of an uphill battle and ultimately could they simply ofter a partial refund, based on your use to date?

Additionally, as the motherboard is outside of Scan's warranty period & therefore would your only recourse not be through the manufacturer's 3 year warranty?.

[Open question to folks here, but is it the seller's responsibility to honour a manufacturer's warranty once you are outside any stated store warranty etc? ]

In such a case aren't Scan simply acting as an intermediary? If you a case had to be pinned on anyone, I would have thought it would be against the manufacturer?

Just thought I'd throw those thoughts into the pot.

ex.astris

The stated store warranty as you put it is a bit of a get out clause for retailers. Ultimately they are accountable for the full warranty period to my knowledge, even though they don't have to actually replace it themselves - the manufacturer will. If they can't though, the responsibility falls with Scan.