Refund for a faulty product

laurenzo99

Overview

In April 09' I bought a dehumidifier for £69.99 from argos and payed with the 'energyplus argos card' (where you load it with credit and save 10% through gas and electricity supplier)

Last week it stopped working and upon contacting Argos I was told I can get a refund or exchange for the faulty product. FINE- apart from the following;

1) They no longer sell the dehumidifier i bought and so cannot provide a 'like-for-like' replacement. The cheapest one they now have is £10 more than I paid and is of MUCH POORER quality. Indeed a 16l one like I had is over £100 more than I paid. They say they will not upgrade the dehumidifier i have

2) so they said I can have a refund BUT because I paid via my energyplus card they will only give me gift vouchers. Now these are useless since I cannot/ will not use them towards another dehumidifier of worse quality that is more expensive.

I have asked for a CASH refund but at the moment they are refusing- do you think I am entitled to a more expensive/ equal quality refund or the CASH that will allow me to purchase from someone else.

The_Pedant

If the goods are faulty and they are unable to repair or replace the item, then you are entitled to a refund. The sellers obligation is to repair, replace (with an acceptable and comparable item), or to refund. They cannot be forced to replace with a higher valued item.

If a refund back to the card is not possible then I would have thought that cash must be a possibility, in order to allow you to try and find a replacement at a comparable price elsewhere.

By forcing you to have vouchers they are limiting your ability to replace the item as required.

There is some advice on the sale of goods act on the government BERR site here: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

Q9. Must I accept a credit note instead of a refund?
- It depends on why you want to return the goods.
• But if the goods are faulty, incorrectly described or not fit for purpose, then you are entitled to your money back (provided you act quickly), and you certainly don't have to take a credit note

So I'd say stand your ground and insist on something other than vouchers (which essentially equates to the same as a credit note).

molerat

If the card was "pre-loaded" and could only be used at Argos / Homebase it could be considered a gift voucher purchase and would be refunded as such. If the card was used only to gain a discount and payment was by another method then a refund of the discounted price should be made by that other method.

laurenzo99

Well they can't refund to the 'energy plus card' so that must be why they are offering vouchers.

Thanks for your help.

Any other comments would be appreciated...

The_Pedant wrote: »

If the goods are faulty and they are unable to repair or replace the item, then you are entitled to a refund. The sellers obligation is to repair, replace (with an acceptable and comparable item), or to refund. They cannot be forced to replace with a higher valued item.

If a refund back to the card is not possible then I would have thought that cash must be a possibility, in order to allow you to try and find a replacement at a comparable price elsewhere.

By forcing you to have vouchers they are limiting your ability to replace the item as required.

There is some advice on the sale of goods act on the government BERR site here: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

So I'd say stand your ground and insist on something other than vouchers (which essentially equates to the same as a credit note).

McKneff

Christmas is coming, vouchers could be used for that.

laurenzo99

maybe im just being grumpy. Just not happy im going to have to pay MORE money for a MUCH POORER quality product :.(

McKneff

Do you have any solid evidence that it is of poorer quality.

KeithP

laurenzo99 wrote: »

Just not happy im going to have to pay MORE money for a MUCH POORER quality product :.(

Can't be much poorer quality.

Don't forget... your current one doesn't work.

laurenzo99

yes.

Mine is 16l
The cheapest one that is £10 more expensive is only 10l meaning it cannot extract as much water from the air.
It also lacks various functions that mine has so is most definatly of poorer quality

jonnyd281

laurenzo99 wrote: »

yes.

Mine is 16l
The cheapest one that is £10 more expensive is only 10l meaning it cannot extract as much water from the air.
It also lacks various functions that mine has so is most definatly of poorer quality

That just means that it's of a lower specification not poorer quality. There is a very big difference.

Regards

Jon