Makro and consumer rights?

jennymadmum

Could someone please advise me on this...

My husband has an account with Makro for his business. He (& others) frequently buy goods in bulk for our house and he recently bought a Wii from them for the kids. As soon as we got it home and tried to set it up, we realised it was faulty as it wouldn't switch on; at all! The power light stayed on but there was no life at all and it wouldn't take any games etc. He immediately packaged it all up and took it back to Makro and asked them to replace it (we only wanted it replaced for a working one or a refund if they couldn't do that). They've since refused to exchange/refund it and said they don't 'have to' as we are not protected by the Sale of Goods Act (instead, we apparently have to comply with their 'contract' which states they won't refund/exchange). They said the only option we have is to send it for repair but we obviously don't want a faulty/repaired one, we just want a new working one! We paid by Visa debit card (personal, not business) and the transaction was over £100 - can anyone help us here as we don't think they should be able to get away with this. Otherwise, what's to stop them from always selling faulty goods if they're not being held to account for this?

Judas

They are right in that the SOGA doesnt apply if its not a B2C contract. However unfortunately its a matter of fact whether you are a consumer therefore your husband basically profits from his deception.

Makro are liable to repair/replace/refund it; however; they could also take action against your husband for their losses in doing so as he has breached the contract with them in that he was not buying as a business despite joining and signing as such.

As for not being held to account. They are being held to account as any contract will take it as fact the item is working unless factors suggest otherwise therefore even if SOGA doesnt apply it would be completely unfeasible for Makro to supply faulty goods and still expect payment unless they contracted to this.

fthl

The SOGA does apply, it is just that there are some bits that apply only to consumers. s14 is not one of them, it does apply.

Ironically the repair stuff (they seem to be punting) is a part of the SOGA that doesn't actually apply here as it is limited to b2c contracts.

Your rights are therefore to reject or damages.

There are provisions in the SOGA that state that where a problem is minor then whilst a consumer might be able to reject a business purchaser cannot. I don't think that completely !!!!!!ed is a minor issue.

I can't comment on the Makro t's and c's as noted by Judas above, it seems probable that you undertook to only purchase for purposes related to your business, but as a point of law a business can act as a consumer in some circumstances. Depending on the nature of your husbands business this might be one of them.

undaunted

You could ask you bank / card issuer if they can do a chargeback
http://www.which.co.uk/advice/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/chargeback-on-credit-and-visa-debit-cards/index.jsp

BigLee_24

Am a little confuesed if you paid with your personal bank card what relavance is the business account or the t and c surrounding it???

jennymadmum

As far as the 'business' side of it is concerned, Makro are well aware that there are numerous 'businesses' who buy for their personal use which is why they actively 'employees' at their home addresses as they obviously want any business and not just those purchases made for forward retailing, as such, I thougt that part of it would be covered by custom & practice but I can't believe that businesses themselves have no protection from the sale of faulty goods. If this was something that we had purchased for retail, how could we pass it on to our customers as a faulty/repaired item? this would devalue the item straight away thereby cutting our mark up. We obviously wouldn't sell it on to the public without declaring the fault/repair so if that was the case, it seems a highly one sided transaction (in favour of Makro) regardless of whether it was bought for resale or not... My thinking was that we'd be covered by the SOGA because we are in effect Makro's customer/consumer and when we sell the items on (if we do; after all, we might have bought it for use within the business itself), then joe bloggs becomes our customer/consumer. I take it that's not the case?

BigLee_24

Sorry I still dont understand what the business account has to do with it if you payed on your own private Debit card???

BigLee_24

My apologies misread the store name.....

adam.mt

I recall a number of threads regarding Makro and consumer rights on here; have you tried searching to see if one of those already contains the answer?

OlliesDad

You need to register to post as a business on MSE. contact [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL] to do this.

I normally dont have an issue with companies not following this rule strictly, but since you have been advertising your products in other posts without stating you are from Makro, i think that it is important for you to follow the rules.

unholyangel

Manchester_deal_seeker wrote: »

This is for jennymadmum's attention only.

We've seen your post and would love to help you so please can you call Makro's Customer Service department on 0161 788 4700 on Monday 9am - 5pm or by e-mail: [EMAIL="customer.services@makro.co.uk"]customer.services@makro.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Want to be a company representative?

If you work for a qualifying company and are in a position to represent that company (we will require official confirmation) please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL] to ask.

EDIT: Forgot to say that was copied from forum rules and that i am not a staff member. Just so i dont mislead newbies