ARE GUARANTEES WORTH ANYTHING?

jonven

I bought a cyberhome DVD player which states it has a 2 year guarantee and if anything goes wrong they will replace it with a new one in 24 hours, sounds great, it was till it stopped working after 14 months. I phoned the number given, who gave me a reference number and told me they were out of stock and would have some in a week, each week the same answer is given, till I asked when did they last have some and the answer was weeks ago. I was also told they were just a centre that takes messages and sends the players out when they get them. I was given an e-mail address and a name of someone to e-mail but I didn't get a reply, which is what I expected. I find now that there are loads of angry people before and after me waiting for replacements, which I can't see any of us getting, any suggestions. By the way these players come from abroad

clock24

Your first step would be to contact whoever you bought it from - the shop etc. Do not be fobbed off with a phone number of an 'agency'.
Your contract is with YOUR SUPPLIER.
Sale of Goods Act could help here, the goods must be 'fit for the purpose supplied'.
Often quoting this gets the shop to act!

jonven

Thanks for your reply. I got this from WH Smiths, I did ring them and told them the situation, but they didn't seem interested. I asked if they had another one they could swap mine for but they said they had no stock in anyway. They seem to think my gripe is witht he manufacturer, who is very conveniently not in this country. I'm really annoyed, the only consolation is I got 14 months out of it, but it will now mean buying another.

jonven

Just to let you know the outcome. I phoned Trading Standards about the faulty DVD player and they said they would speak to WH Smiths, Trading standards rang me the next day and said I could take the faulty player into Smiths and they would give me a full refund, which they did. So nice one, Trading Standards, the DVD was 14 months old but did have a 2 year guarantee, so they were still obliged to do something. I was told by Smiths that they had had 8 back of this make, so they weren't that reliable. Hopefully I'll find a different one that lasts a big longer next time.