dodgy camera from Amazon

flyer64

Hi All

I bought a compact camera from Amazon 15 months ago and it has just died. It doesn't work at all. It wasn't used all that often and it was well looked after (I'm a photographer...).

I emailed Amazon asking for assistance and they said it was outside their warranty so tough - go back to the manufacturer. Then I took advice from Consumerline and they told me to go back to Amazon, quote the Sale of Goods Act and the whole fit for purpose thing and ask for a repair, refund or replacement. They replied:

"Your item was dispatched to you on 20/5/09 and, until recently, you have used it successfully and reported no fault with the product. As you used the product satisfactorily for a period of time which exceeded the manufacturer's warranty period, it is not established that the product did not conform to the contract (i.e. was defective) at the time of purchase.

Given our obligations to you under the Sale of Goods Act and, taking into consideration that you have used this product, without experiencing problems (to our knowledge), for a substantial period of time we will not be offering you a repair, full refund or replacement."

So it seems they are playing hard-ball. Consumerline is telling me to go to small claims - but surely there has to be more I can do?!

Please help!!

D

cyberbob

Have you actually spoken to the manufacturer? After 6 months you normally go to the manufacturer not the retailer After 6 months it's up to you to prove the item was not fit for purpose. So you may have to get an independent report

neilmcl

flyer64 wrote: »

As you used the product satisfactorily for a period of time which exceeded the manufacturer's warranty period, it is not established that the product did not conform to the contract (i.e. was defective) at the time of purchase.

This is the relevant part. As the camera is over 6 months old the onus is now on you to prove that the camera didn't conform to contract, ie, had an inherent fault at the time of purchase. Once you can do this, by getting some form of fault report done, then you'll be in a place to be able to get a remedy from Amazon. This may mean sending it off to the manufacturer to diagnose the fault. You should be able to claim this cost back should the camera prove inherently faulty.

somethingcorporate

cyberbob wrote: »

After 6 months you normally go to the manufacturer not the retailer.

This is simply not true.

You have no contract with the manufacturer, only the retailer. Any rights to be excercised under SOGA would be against the person that the goods were purchased from.

You will need an independent report to prove that the goods were inherently faulty, this cost can also be claimed back from THE RETAILER if found to be true. You need to do all this prior to court action.

Hintza

somethingcorporate wrote: »

This is simply not true.

Yes but it can cut out the middleman and make it faster and easier (especailly when still under warranty).

david39

Somethingcorporate is quite correct.

Your contract is with the retailer and it is the retailer's decision as to whether they will favourably respond to you or not under the Sale of Goods Act. You have no contract with the manufacturer.

However, it may well be worth contacting the manufacturer, in a reasonable and polite way, explaining the current position and that you feel disappointed that the camera failed just three months beyond the warranty date.

Such a letter will sometimes result in a manufacturer replacing the item directly (or via the retailer) as a gesture of goodwill and to avoid customer disatisfaction.

flyer64

No, haven't gone to the manufacturer yet - I presumed they'd just tell me my contract was with the retailer then I'd be back where I started! But I'll give it a go, nice and polite.... Its very disappointing that Amazon are prepared to lose someone who spends a bloomin fortune with them over the head of a compact camera.

somethingcorporate

Hintza wrote: »

Yes but it can cut out the middleman and make it faster and easier (especailly when still under warranty).

This is a 'consumer rights' forum - the OP has no rights against the manufacturer, only the retailer.

You do, however, make a very valid point. I was just hoping to correct the false understanding that Cyberbob gave in his post. You should not approach the manufacturer as a matter of course. The retailer should be the first (and hopefully only) port of call.

neilmcl

flyer64 wrote: »

No, haven't gone to the manufacturer yet - I presumed they'd just tell me my contract was with the retailer then I'd be back where I started! But I'll give it a go, nice and polite.... Its very disappointing that Amazon are prepared to lose someone who spends a bloomin fortune with them over the head of a compact camera.

Amazon are acting quite correctly regarding this, how do they know you haven't damaged it yourself or the fault is simply due to wear & tear. Its down to you to prove otherwise, not Amazon!

Red_Panda_2

flyer64 wrote: »

"Your item was dispatched to you on 20/5/09 and, until recently, you have used it successfully and reported no fault with the product. As you used the product satisfactorily for a period of time which exceeded the manufacturer's warranty period, it is not established that the product did not conform to the contract (i.e. was defective) at the time of purchase.

Given our obligations to you under the Sale of Goods Act and, taking into consideration that you have used this product, without experiencing problems (to our knowledge), for a substantial period of time we will not be offering you a repair, full refund or replacement."



D

This is the exact same reply we received from Amazon about an item we bought from them and broke within 2 years.

We contacted the manufacturer who did not want to know as the product was over 12 months old and basically said tough.

We did perservere with Amazon though and finally after lots of emails they agreed that if we got an engineers report from an approved manufactures repair centre and it proved the fault was not down to wear and tear they would pay for the report and the repair.

If you are absolutely sure the fault is not down to anything you have done keep going with them. It seems they have a standard fob off email hoping that most people will give up!!

flyer64

Red_Panda wrote: »

This is the exact same reply we received from Amazon about an item we bought from them and broke within 2 years.

We contacted the manufacturer who did not want to know as the product was over 12 months old and basically said tough.

We did perservere with Amazon though and finally after lots of emails they agreed that if we got an engineers report from an approved manufactures repair centre and it proved the fault was not down to wear and tear they would pay for the report and the repair.

If you are absolutely sure the fault is not down to anything you have done keep going with them. It seems they have a standard fob off email hoping that most people will give up!!

Super! Was hoping a bit of nagging (stalking....) might pay off! I'm sure the manufacturers can prove it's not down to wear and tear - I've probably taken 200 pics maximum with this camera over its lifetime. A bit of Googling and this seems to be a fault that happens a lot with this particular camera too.

Isn't this website useful?!:j:T