Your rights when something goes wrong?

SavageDonkey_2

So, I bought a graphics card for overclockers.co.uk. It's my third faulty product from them and it's dead on arrival. I asked for an RMA and my rights for postage (I thought they had to pay postage both ways by law)

After several email I got this response :-

There are two ways that you can claim postage back from us, however depending on how the product was returned to us depends on what we will cover.
If the item is returned to us under the sales of goods act because the item is faulty then we will cover the return postage costs but not the original cost of sending you the item.
If the item is being returned to us under the Distance selling regulations, then we wont cover the return postage costs as this is paid by the consumer however we will return the cost of the original shipping.
I hope this is a little clearer on what we cover and what we dont.

Is this all they are legally responsible to do?

I also have a graphics card from them made by Sparkle, which they sold with a 2 year warranty. After over a year this card has died. After 28 days they won't help you and refer you to the manufacturer for support. All well and good I thought but I can not get any support from Sparkle. They have a website called Sparkle-Europe.com with a returns procedure but don't answer emails and have moved from their Gateshead location with no forwarding address.

Now Overclockers sell products a lot cheaper than competitors but this seems to be at a price!

I was hoping someone could help with both problems. Are they right not to pay postage to return a faulty item? Has anyone ever had a faulty Sparkle computer product?

thanks

Trinitrotoluene

Quite a pickle this. With DSR you are entitled to a refund for the initial delivery cost so what they are saying there is correct. If you return it under the SOGA for a faulty item then yes they have to refund your postage.

Regarding the graphics card that you purchased with them - legally they are obliged to deal with the issue if you force them to as the contract was with them. In most cases it is easier to go through the manufacturer as it can be quicker but in your case this obviously cannot happen.

Email them with the following:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/txt/soga_letter_2.doc

Remember your contract is with them and not the manufacturer. They cannot simply ignore your request regardless of what their T and C's say - it is the law. Telling them you have out of courtest contacted the manufacturer but have not received a response may get you further, quciker, than just saying "It is your issue". Last resort is small claims court.