Shopping problem with faulty watch

MTONG_2

I bought a watch which was on sale in jan (26-1-10).
Whilst on holiday i went into a paddling pool with the watch which claimed to be water resistant to 100metres. Needless to say it wasn´t and the chamber flooded and it is inoperative.
For the past 3 weeks i have been speaking with the retailer based in mitcham, surrey and they have refused to take the watch back for repair or replacement unless i use the manufacturer´s warranty.
To do so menas that i would be paying for the watch again.
To boot the md no less wrote to me yesterday saying that if one of the screws was not tightend then it would not be covered under warranty anyway.
This is because i have been in touch with consumer direct and told the watches shop this - i am still waiting for consumer direct´s response to his comment.
They are obviously annoyed that i got in touch with consumer direct and have refused to honour the sale of goods act 1979, which obliges them to repair or replace the item, unless i pay for the manufacturer´s warranty.
1.can i claim the money paid by credit card but through paypal?
2.if not, can anyone suggest an alternative form of compensation?
The watches shop sold the watch at a discount of around 80% and this is something typical on their website. I strongly urge people to avoid this company because they do not follow the sale of goods act 1979 with regards the warranty aspect.
The watches are cheap but you end up paying for any repairs and the shipping costs to and from your house!
Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

jarviser

How far did you get with this? I am in a similar position regarding a 30m rated watch from a very large retailer

(see my complaints blog page in Jarviser's Workshop at all the w's dot jarviser dot co dot uk for details)

Retailers really do stretch the ISO 2281 standard to extremes, for examply you might think that water resistant to 100m means you could immerse it to 100m, which you certainly can't, BUT a 100m watch is wearable for swimming and snorkelling provided the winder is fully pushed in (or screwed in if it's something like a Rotary).

The RETAILER is responsible for repair of that watch under warranty, the manufacturer may or may not refund the cost to the retailer, but that is irrelevant to you. I am sure Consumer Direct would have guided you that way.

If you ever wanted to go to small claims court, you have to try mediation first using Consumer Direct or C.A.B. or the judge may not award costs. The retailer would also understand that if he was a decent one.

However, it's not a fair world, and in the end, if the manufacturer claims that in their expert opinion you "must have" exceeded the resistance limit (in my case by accidental immersion of a splashproof model) it seems to me that the burden of proof that you did NOT abuse remains with you, and that surely cannot be fair. Saying the crown "must have been" operated/ clicked out/ not screwed down is another cop-out for manufacturers.

Having gone through mediation, I am going to court with mine as I know that I did not exceed the spec with my watch, and nobody diddles me out of £99!

In the mean time it would be good if retailers and manufacturers stopped abusing the ISO 2281 test by using the test pressure as though it was the usage pressure whilst disclaiming it on another web page or in the user manual, then sticking a 30m or 100m logo on the watch face!