Returned item. They fixed it without me knowing

ravenscroft_3

Bought a remote control car. Went faulty after 2 weeks - electrical fault. Brought it back. He said he would look at it. Does not contact me at all. Then I ring him and he says its fixed and he's replaced a part (he had no authorisation from me) - but it will cost me £39.
He's also thrown away the original part he claims.
I'm reluctant to take the car back now, and am thinking I want my money back.
What options are open?

MX5huggy

Not that it really matters but how much was it originally? I would say you are due to get the car back for free as it was faulty when you bought it or it did not last a reasonable length of time. Unless you damaged it somehow.

They should give you the car back or a refund but it is there choice, not yours.

fiddiwebb

I presume the remote control car was not new then?

ravenscroft_3

The car was bought new for £146. He has also got a bit shirty with me the customer. He also said that I should disconnect the battery after use as it may blow the part that was changed. So what he is saying that if I forget to disconnect the battery then the same part may blow again, and I'll bring it back and he'll expect me to pay to fix again.
Actually sounds like its not fit for purpose now. I don't take the battery out of my phone when I'm not using it!!

4743hudsonj

ravenscroft wrote: »

The car was bought new for £146. He has also got a bit shirty with me the customer. He also said that I should disconnect the battery after use as it may blow the part that was changed. So what he is saying that if I forget to disconnect the battery then the same part may blow again, and I'll bring it back and he'll expect me to pay to fix again.
Actually sounds like its not fit for purpose now. I don't take the battery out of my phone when I'm not using it!!

that made little sense but he does make a point out of removing batteries if you dont use something for around a week plus, i make a general rule of 5 days


also you should charge the battery monthly to look after it

aside from that can you please explain your situation in consise chronological order

ie what is wrong
what happened
why
what did the shop say
what did you agree too

without clear facts on your situation you cannot possibly hope for proper advice.

ravenscroft_3

1) Went to shop
2) Bought remote control car + battery + charger total £208
3) 2 weeks later whilst it was being used it suddenly stopped going forward/backwards. Steering still worked
4) Brought back to shop. He said he would look at it if I brought it back complete i.e in box an well
5) another week passes bring it back to shop complete and ask him to look at it. He said he would and nothing was said actually about what would be done.
6) 3 weeks later I call shop - assistant says its fixed!! Nothing said about a charge to fix, and I did not ask either.
7) Few days later wife goes to collect car and is informed there is a charge £39. Wife calls me then I talk to owner. He replaced part without my knowledge and wants now to charge me. says faulty part thrown away. Gets shirty on phone and talks about I should disconnect battery.

When I visit the shop if I don't pay the £39 then he probably won't give me the car so I should sue or whatever to recover my money. But why should I have to pay the £39

fiddiwebb

For £146 I would expect a years guarantee/warranty.

Does it say in the instructions that the battery should be disconnected when not in use?

RadoJo

Sounds like it wasn't fit for purpose when you bought it if it broke within two weeks of purchasing it new, in which case you are entitled to a refund, repair or replacement under the terms of the SOGA. It's not up to you which of these you get, but paying for a replacement certainly doesn't come under that. There's a sticky at the top of this board which tells you what you are entitled to, so I would check that out and then approach the shop armed with the information and ask how they intend to remedy it.

N.B If they do decide to waive the repair fee, then this will consitute the upholding of their end of the bargain (ie a repair) so you won't be able to demand a refund if they do remedy the situation by repairing or replacing the item.

4743hudsonj

i cant see whay the battery has anything to do with this, sounds like transmission or something

as for the problem, does it have a warrenty or not? look in your manuals etc, if you dont have them rign the company who make the goods and ask what their standard warranty is.

even if there is no warranty you are protected by the sale of goods act

this act states that goods should be "of a satisfactory quality" and "durable" in relation to your case which the item clearly was not.

if you write to him via recorded post or email stating what i have mentioned (this site and consumers direct have loads of info on the sale of goods act.) as the sale of goods act makes it your statutory right to a repair, replacement, refund in that order usually as decided by the retailer free of charge.

in this case the retailer has taken the "initiative" and chosen to repair your rc. so under soga this should be free as the goods were not durable of of satisfactory quality.

now if he fights this then tell him you are getting trading standards informed and are prepared to go to small claims.

also you could throw in the law about contracts.

ie bilateral contracts at the most basic level rely on two key acts. Offer and Acceptance.

without these two thing a contract cannot possibly exist

in this case, neither one of you offered a repair, so neither one of you could accept to repair or have it repaired, as a result a contract does not exist for a repair and so he cannot charge you anything. And the fact that he has already thrown away the faulty parts is his problem not yours.

but that may just anger him making things harder lol

HINT search these forums for "faulty" or "soga" and have a good read through and you will get the same advice hundreds of times over

sorry for the vague detail but it would be far too tiring to write everything out to every poster who comes on here with something faulty.

EDIT:beaten to it!

The_Pedant

As the others say, should bee a free repair, provided there is no explicit instructions with the item telling you to disconnect the battery after use to avoid damage.

advent1122

Everyone seems to think that the SOGA & trading standards are the Holy Grail for the consumers.
They are not, small businesses are a law unto themselves and the mention of the SOGA send them into fits of laughter.
They know the only way for you to remedy the situation is to take them to court, and lets be honest for £39 you are not going to do that, no matter what you might say when you are angry.
I vote that you sit outside his shop and lick the window continuously during opening hours. Each customer that goes in the shop you say "Excuse me guv - do you want to sell me some hamsters". I guarantee the shop owner will get bored of this before you and will give you the car back with a hearty handshake.