freesat box I need help fast

leosrfab

Hi all, I need help fast
Hope this is in the right forum.
Last year i was given a freesat box recorder for my birthday it cost my OH £280+ all the other stuff that went with it.
Any way it was all working nicely lovely recordings and stuff, then wham 6 months to the day had gone by and the Hard Disc Drive was corrupt, picture was breaking up on record, so boxed it up and sent it off , they said it was a fault and sent a brand new one out no questions asked.
Last month, 6 months after the new box had been installed this box develops the same fault.
I spoke to them today they said it was uneconomical to repair and that we could have a miserly £15 off a new box.
I 've been told I should send a letter or email to freesat as they won't replace the box.
They've admitted this is the same fault as the first box developed and that it was only 2 weeks outside the guarantee.

Please can someone advise me on how to word a letter of complaint and asking for the box to be repaired.

Regards
Fran

somethingcorporate

Who is the retailer? is this who you have been dealing with?

leosrfab

Sorry bought the box from Maplins and they sent it off to Humax who then contacted my OH with the result and offer.

The box is out of guarantee by a couple of weeks.

somethingcorporate

No problem, you need to deal with Maplins as your contract is with them. Given the period of time elapsed (greater than 6 months) the onus is on you to prove that the fault was inherant. This would mean Maplins could require you to commission a report from an independent expert to confirm such (and you can claim back the cost of the report from Maplins if found to be inherantly faulty).

However, that is getting a little ahead of ourselves. Have you spoken to Maplins about this yet?

adam.mt

Have you tired the box's option to reformat the harddisk and restore to factory default settings? It might start to function then, unless of course you've already tried that and the problem reoccurs immediately.

fluffnutter

Do you have the humax set to automatically download updates? There are regular software updates to Humax and it's worth ensuring that your box is up-to-date. If you're not sure take a look in the user guide. It shows you how to scan for updates and download any you're missing.

leosrfab

Maplins have the box at present. Humax is not involved with this now just Maplins.

I did try the factory reset.

Maplins have confirmed there's a fault and that they wont repair, as I had a problem within the first 6 months, which they replaced the previous box with a new one.
Now it seems my only course is reject the goods and claim partial refund.

I can't believe this company can offer such a small amount of money £15 for P&P that I paid.
I know I've had the use for a year but that was interrupted and had to have a new box.
I spoke to consumer direct, they were helpful and have taken all the details.
Thanks for all your help guys:T

Zandoni

Might be worth checking the documentation that came with the Humax as aome of their products have a 2 year guarantee.

isplumm

leosrfab wrote: »

Maplins have the box at present. Humax is not involved with this now just Maplins.

I did try the factory reset.

Maplins have confirmed there's a fault and that they wont repair, as I had a problem within the first 6 months, which they replaced the previous box with a new one.
Now it seems my only course is reject the goods and claim partial refund.

I can't believe this company can offer such a small amount of money £15 for P&P that I paid.
I know I've had the use for a year but that was interrupted and had to have a new box.
I spoke to consumer direct, they were helpful and have taken all the details.
Thanks for all your help guys:T

Hi ...

You need to look at the Sales Of Good Act - you have rights up to six years - after 6 months, it is up to you to prove the fault (which looks like has been done) - the retailer then has the option to refund, replace, repair - so I would be pushing for a refund - you will not get a full refund - but no harm in pushing for that - don't accept vouchers.

I would be tempted to tell them this on the phone - then ask for complaints address & send letter before action - then court - hopefully they will settle before then.

Mark

adam.mt

leosrfab wrote: »

Now it seems my only course is reject the goods and claim partial refund.

You can't reject the goods, that's only an option when you have a problem with something new.

Check the manufacturer's warranty, some Humax gear is 2 years.

Failing that you could make a claim under SoGA but you may need to prove the product is 'inherently' faulty. (Maplin have confirmed it's faulty but not the cause, ie. 'inherent' fault). Maplin could insist on an independent report as evidence.