TV Faulty 12month and 7 days old!!

berna123

I bought a TV in ASDA 30/11/08. It works fine, had no problems with tv at all. On Tuesday 2/12 i had to retune the channels because of the digital switchover and it wont save the channels. Every time i turn the TV on i have to retune all the channels.
I spoke with customer services at the ASDA where i bought the tv told them what was happening and asked if i could bring it back. I have got the receipt. I was told they do not accept anything back after 12 months.
What do i do now? Does anybody know if i have any rights?

4743hudsonj

berna123 wrote: »

I bought a TV in ASDA 30/11/08. It works fine, had no problems with tv at all. On Tuesday 2/12 i had to retune the channels because of the digital switchover and it wont save the channels. Every time i turn the TV on i have to retune all the channels.
I spoke with customer services at the ASDA where i bought the tv told them what was happening and asked if i could bring it back. I have got the receipt. I was told they do not accept anything back after 12 months.
What do i do now? Does anybody know if i have any rights?

You have rights under the Sale of Goods Act.

This act protects you the consumer, it requires products be "of satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose" among others (irrelevant for your case).

The SOGA is an implied term of EVERY business to consumer transaction of goods. If the goods do not meet the requirement of the SOGA they can be said to not conform to contract.

Soga allows protection for UP TO 6 years (5 years in Scotland). This depends on price paid, brand, features etc. So a cheap tv with the same features as a tv double the price, would be expected to last half as long (in practical terms).

In any case, 13 months sounds well within the time frame "a reasonable person" would expect a tv to last at any price (within reason ofc, what did you pay?)

You should provide us with the tv model, price paid and we shall give you a better judgement.

You should go to Consumer Direct. They have lots of template letters and info on this. Your next step is to send them a letter via recorded delivery stating your case, stating the SOGA and that the TV is not what a "reasonable person" would see as "satisfactory quality". Also, if your t was stated as digital ready (the purple tick), or has inbuilt freeview, you can state that it is also not "fit for purpose" (what's the point in a tv stated as switch-over ready if it doesn't work after switch-over?). Give them a time frame of 7 working days to respond with a suitable solution (DONT specify a refund as SOGA allows them to provide a refund/replacement/repair, this is up to them) or you will report the matter to trading standards and issue small claims.

They may well turn around and ask you to prove the fault. As in SOGA, after the first 6 months of the contract, it is the onus of the customer to prove there was an inherent fault with the TV from manufacture. This is usually done with an independent report which will cost you money but if your claim is successful you have a right to claim for the money back.

Hope that very long post helped.

berna123

Thank you very much for your reply. The tv i bought has built in freeview and dvd player. I paid £147.00 for it, it was on special offer the weekend i bought it, discounted from £179.00. This tv is in the bedroom so hardley ever gets used.
I know i did not pay a great deal of money but i did expect it to last longer than 13 months!!. I will write the letter tonight and send with a photocopy of my receipt tomorrow.
Thanks for your help, i will keep you posted.

4743hudsonj

berna123 wrote: »

Thank you very much for your reply. The tv i bought has built in freeview and dvd player. I paid £147.00 for it, it was on special offer the weekend i bought it, discounted from £179.00. This tv is in the bedroom so hardley ever gets used.
I know i did not pay a great deal of money but i did expect it to last longer than 13 months!!. I will write the letter tonight and send with a photocopy of my receipt tomorrow.
Thanks for your help, i will keep you posted.

like i said, its not so much the price, but the price in relation to brand and features.

For example a £500 32" tv with very basic features will be expected to last longer than a £550 42" Tv with lots of feature.

Its assumed that the money saved on features went into the quality of the product.

In your case the size of the screen is also relevant. so may i ask what it is?

If somebody bought your tv (same brand and model etc) but at a higher price, their tv in the eyes of the law will be protected by SOGA for longer.

If somebody bough a tv identical to yours, including price, except it didnt have a dvd player, theirs would be protected longer. See how its all relative?

tamarto

It is all relative but largely irrelevant to the OP as clearly a TV is expected to last longer than 13months.

4743hudsonj

tamarto wrote: »

It is all relative but largely irrelevant to the OP as clearly a TV is expected to last longer than 13months.

well yes but the point is if it was a larger screen size, for that price it will be more difficult to put in a successful claim.

berna123

Hi the screen size is 17". Sorry did not answer sooner, just got home from work.

4743hudsonj

berna123 wrote: »

Hi the screen size is 17". Sorry did not answer sooner, just got home from work.

i would say you have a good case then. I would expect 18-24 months out of a tv that spec and price. maybe longer but not to the point worth court action.

Follow mine and consumer direct;s and write them a recorded delivery letter

berna123

When i turn the tv on only the BBC channels work. I have to do the auto tuning and then all the channels work fine. But you have to go through this procedure every time you switch the tv on. You are not given an option to save the channels even on the manual tuning option. The aerial is fine. We have two other tv's in the house and they retuned no problem after the switchover.

Esqui

If it's a branded product (i.e. not Asda's own, I think they call it Durabrand - oxymoron much?), try the manufacturer, as they often link their warranties to the serial number. If, by some chance, the serial number has a warranty, until, say January, it'll be much quicker and easier than putting in a claim with Asda.

berna123

Hi everyone i just wanted to keep you all up to date. I wrote to ASDA head office telling them my problem with the tv. I received a letter back from ASDA telling me that they actually gaurantee all their electrical products for one year and one month. They gave me a return code to quote in my local store. I took the tv back on Saturday and they swapped it for a new one.
So i am happy.

Thank you again to everyone who helped me.