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PC World 28 day rule???

I bought a netbook from PC World for my daughter on 23rd December. I would never usually buy from them, but they were the only store that had it in stock so close to Christmas.
I took it back today as it had developed a fault on the motherboard and was refunded in full as I requested.
During my initial conversation with them I was told if I had bought it more than 28 days ago I wouldn't be entitled to an exchange or refund only a repair.
I disagreed with them on the 28 day limit and said under the Sales of Goods Act I would still be entitled to a refund. I was then told the law is different for computers because of the licence for windows 7 which is preinstalled. I asked what has that got to do faulty goods. The netbook has an inherent manufacturing fault and is not fit for purpose, as in it doesn't work. They just repeated the same story, to which I replied "I think Trading Standards would disagree".
I know it doesn't matter to me anyway as I was under their 28 day limit, but surely thats not right? They can't just fob people off like that surely?
There is no way I would have accepted a repair on an item that was just over 28 days old.
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Comments

  • Yse, they have refunded/replace item as it is under 28 days. though the SOGAs does say that a repair can be offered, just that the retailer offers more than the minimum required.

    Normally if the item is less than 6 months old, the onus is on the retailer to repair of replace as necessary, after 6 months it is up to the user to prove the fault is inherant
  • zppp
    zppp Posts: 2,476 Forumite
    PugLady wrote: »
    I bought a netbook from PC World for my daughter on 23rd December. I would never usually buy from them, but they were the only store that had it in stock so close to Christmas.
    I took it back today as it had developed a fault on the motherboard and was refunded in full as I requested.
    During my initial conversation with them I was told if I had bought it more than 28 days ago I wouldn't be entitled to an exchange or refund only a repair.
    I disagreed with them on the 28 day limit and said under the Sales of Goods Act I would still be entitled to a refund. I was then told the law is different for computers because of the licence for windows 7 which is preinstalled. I asked what has that got to do faulty goods. The netbook has an inherent manufacturing fault and is not fit for purpose, as in it doesn't work. They just repeated the same story, to which I replied "I think Trading Standards would disagree".
    I know it doesn't matter to me anyway as I was under their 28 day limit, but surely thats not right? They can't just fob people off like that surely?
    There is no way I would have accepted a repair on an item that was just over 28 days old.

    You are entitled to a remedy under SOGA, unless the retailer can prove that there was no inherent fault with the product on purchase.
    It may be that they wish to send the item for repair, which is a reasonable remedy if it resolves the fault with the item. If it cannot be repaired or it is uneconomical for them to repair the item, they should offer a replacement or refund.
    Best Regards

    zppp :)

  • Flyboy152
    Flyboy152 Posts: 17,118 Forumite
    Yse, they have refunded/replace item as it is under 28 days. though the SOGAs does say that a repair can be offered, just that the retailer offers more than the minimum required.

    Normally if the item is less than 6 months old, the onus is on the retailer to repair of replace as necessary, after 6 months it is up to the user to prove the fault is inherant
    Actually SOGA says the consumer is entitled a full refund, if the fault is apparent within a "reasonable time."

    "Reasonable time," is undefined in law, but it is not very long. Twenty-eight days has normally been the accepted standard for consumer electronics. If this is disputed, it will be up to a court to decide.
    The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark
  • PugLady_2
    PugLady_2 Posts: 235 Forumite
    H'mmm, going off your replies I'm glad I was under the 28 days.
    I dont think I'd be too happy if I'd bought an expensive laptop and just over a month later all I was entitled to was a repair, if it developed a fault. A month doesn't seem a reasonable time to me.
  • CoolHotCold
    CoolHotCold Posts: 2,158 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thats the law, if the item was inherently faulty (especially a laptop or desktop) it would fail within a few weeks and usually as soon as it was opened up. A month is perfectly fine for computers, Best Buy only give 14 days for a full refund before a repair is required. It varies on whats being purchased, A rug and you would have a couple of days maybe a week at most, a Computer a few weeks to a month and a pair of ski's purchased in a sale in summer, a reasonable timeframe could be 3 or 5 months.

    The law doesn't give a definite timeframe, fact is they were wrong regarding the license and you were wrong acting like you knew the law.
  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Flyboy152 wrote: »
    Actually SOGA says the consumer is entitled a full refund, if the fault is apparent within a "reasonable time."
    No it doesn't.
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    bris wrote: »
    No it doesn't.
    Yes it does. If the fault is discovered within a reasonable period the buyer can reject outright for a full refund.
  • fthl
    fthl Posts: 350 Forumite
    This is an odd area - for some products and circumstances a reasonable time has been held to be years - in others days. I think 28 days is a bit light to be honest, but that might also depend on the cost of the kit in the first place too. Might stand up though. A second tier right is a partial refund though, which will probably also be almost a full refund anyway...
  • fthl
    fthl Posts: 350 Forumite
    neilmcl wrote: »
    Yes it does. If the fault is discovered within a reasonable period the buyer can reject outright for a full refund.

    I agree. It does. s35 (4)

    "The buyer is also deemed to have accepted the goods when after the lapse of a reasonable time he retains the goods without intimating to the seller that he has rejected them."
  • CoolHotCold
    CoolHotCold Posts: 2,158 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    fthl wrote: »
    This is an odd area - for some products and circumstances a reasonable time has been held to be years - in others days. I think 28 days is a bit light to be honest, but that might also depend on the cost of the kit in the first place too. Might stand up though. A second tier right is a partial refund though, which will probably also be almost a full refund anyway...

    There is no second tier, the consumer has a resonable timeframe to inspect the goods and if faulty can get a refund/replacement/repair outside the reasonable time frame the retailer can choose what is most cost effective to them, which will in most cases be a repair
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