Comet and the EU two year warranty - things that make you go hmmm

nicjh

I've just had a conversation with a lady at Comet customer services, who told me that the two-year warranty on all consumer goods sold within the EU does not apply in Britain because we are not a member state of the EU!!! She claimed that she knew this because if we were we would have Euros!!!! :rotfl::rotfl:

However, my claims that the regulation applied just as much to Comet as to the rest of the country fell on deaf ears and I had to pay the call-out fee to get an engineer booked to see to my washing machine. I pointed her in the direction of a webpage (not allowed to post a link as a new user but it was on the thisismoney website) that talked about the law and she quickly changed her argument to one about 'inherent fault'. So when I told her that I would be claiming my money back if it was proved that that problem was due to an 'inherent fault' she agreed.

Has anyone had a similar problem and, if so, did they manage to get their money back?

nicjh

I know! It was like when someone famous dies but you're away and don't hear about it for years - for a split second I thought, hang on, did we leave and I wasn't paying attention????

Mark_Hewitt

nicjh wrote: »

I know! It was like when someone famous dies but you're away and don't hear about it for years - for a split second I thought, hang on, did we leave and I wasn't paying attention????

Unfortunately the joke is on you, who appear almost as clueless as the shop assistant! Sorry!

nicjh

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

Unfortunately the joke is on you, who appear almost as clueless as the shop assistant! Sorry!

Sorry, why am I clueless? Did we leave the EU?

stugib

nicjh wrote: »

Sorry, why am I clueless? Did we leave the EU?

Not at all, you just don't understand how an EU Directive was incorporated into UK Law

Hint: use the search function.

nicjh

Thank-you for your polite response. As far as I am aware from the research I've had chance to do this morning, this law was incorporated into the UK Sale of Goods Act. However, I shall look some more.

Clueless? Really? Mr. Hewitt, you could have been more forthcoming and less dismissive.

stugib

nicjh wrote: »

As far as I am aware from the research I've had chance to do this morning, this law was incorporated into the UK Sale of Goods Act.

Correct. The confusion comes, IMHO, from the word 'warranty' in the EU Directive (or its translation). It's effectively equivalent to the 6 year limitation already in the SoGA, and not a 'warranty' as we usually understand it in English - i.e. it's not a guarantee it won't go wrong in 2/6 years and a retailer will fix it no questions asked. No doubt you found the Daily Mail article during your research which made things far more black and white than it actually is - see 6 months burden of proof etc.

nicjh

stugib wrote: »

No doubt you found the Daily Mail article during your research which made things far more black and white than it actually is - see 6 months burden of proof etc.

Dear god, please don't confuse me with a Daily Mail reader.:) Actually, my partner mentioned that he'd heard about it from someone and I found an article about it on thisismoney.co.uk

I am just looking at the responses to that article and it appears that everyone is as confused as me. Some are adamant that it is not UK law and never has been, some say that as EU law it has to be UK law, some mention the 6 months/two years burden of proof business. What I want to know is how Comet can get away with saying this doesn't apply to them. Are they not bound by UK/EU laws like everyone else!:cool:

Mark_Hewitt

Of course they are bound by UK law. Keep in mind that UK law is the only law that applies in the UK. EU 'laws' don't exist as such. (merely directives which governments are bound to incorporate into local laws)
But a sales assistant can say what they like, doesn't make it official policy!

stugib

nicjh wrote: »

Dear god, please don't confuse me with a Daily Mail reader.:)

No offence intended It was just the usual one that people linked to when a flurry of these posts were on the forum 6-12 months ago.

nicjh wrote: »

What I want to know is how Comet can get away with saying this doesn't apply to them. Are they not bound by UK/EU laws like everyone else!:cool:

They are of course bound by UK law, but the SoGA is what they're bound by which gives you everything the EU Directive does, and more. I imagine there's some internal memos gone round some stores which says any customer mentioning the EU 2 year warranty doesn't know what they're talking about so to blag them! Depending on how long you've had the item will determine your next steps.

zorber

HI
You havent stated what is wrong with your washing machine or what manufacturer. Comet unfortunately are prefectly entitled to tell you to prove that the machine has an inherant fault and for you to commision an engineer to inspect the issue. The 2 year warranty is not an automatic right in the UK, we only have 6 months but most stores will give you 1 year free of charge.