Can retailer take away your statutory rights?

teabelly

Retailer has told me if I return a faulty item via the manufacturer instead of through them they'll deny all future responsibility for the goods if they become faulty in the future. Can they do this? I'm only doing this out of desperation as the retailer have sent me two duff phones and are taking their sweet time to get off their backsides and send me a returns slip. They encouraged me to have an exchange in the first place, claiming there was a low return rate for the phone, yet I get a second duff one!

Funny how the manufacturer can organise a courier for the following day but the retailer takes 3 to 5 working days to even send a returns pack and then another 3 to 5 working days with no limit to even do an exchange/repair! Still waiting for the pack after over a week. I reminded them so they told me the above and said it would be another 3 to 5 working days so they clearly haven't bothered sending one out as they know I'll reach the 28 day limit for an exchange soon so they can fob me off with a repair. The manufacturer has a 7 day limit so if they cannot repair the phone in that time then you are sent a replacement. There is no such limit with a repair with the retailer so I suspect if I send my phone to them then they'll deliberately string it out for as long as possible as I quoted SOGA at them and expressed irritation that they wouldn't comply with the law effectively.

After over 3 weeks of a contract I have no fully working mobile from them and have wasted time phoning these people to be told they aren't going to take any notice of their legal obligations to provide an equivalent loan phone, or pay service charges incurred because they haven't provided a working phone. They even refused to allow me to return the phone directly to them - they are 10 minutes away from me! It seems at every turn they are deliberately trying to make this process as long and drawn out as possible.

I'm very :mad: :mad: :mad: .

I will be writing a complaint letter so I need to know whether the information the customer service person gave is incorrect.

mo786uk

I dont know the full answer but...

Your legal rights cannot be denied but your contract is with the retailer, therefore if you disobey them then they could techically say you have breached the contract. I am not 100% sure tho....

dmg24

mo786uk wrote: »

I dont know the full answer but...

Your legal rights cannot be denied but your contract is with the retailer, therefore if you disobey them then they could techically say you have breached the contract. I am not 100% sure tho....

I agree, it is a grey area. I would imagine that the retailer's argument is that if you are allowing someone else to tamper/ fix the item then their liability ceases, as it is no longer the product they supplied to you.

(That doesn't read as well as it could, but you know what I mean!)

wealdroam

In the first paragraph you seem to be asking...

If I return a phone supplied by a retailer direct to the manufacturer and the manufacturer replaces it with a new phone, does the retailer then become responsible for the replacement phone?

I find it difficult to understand why the retailer should take on the responsibility for the replacement.

But of course I may be wrong, or mis-understood your question.

mo786uk

I would take the risk with the manufacturer to be honest, what are the odds of getting another dodgy phone?

halibut2209

An interesting one seeing as a lot of retailers tell their customers to take issues up with the manufacturers.

unholyangel

Well a breach of contract doesnt always mean that the contract will become null and void.

You are supposed to give the retailer a chance though. And whether they could legally be held responsible for a replacement they hadnt provided may not work in your favour.

CoolHotCold

Some of the advice given is dubious at best,
Your rights are Statutory which means regardless of how a contract is worded you cannot give them up, if the manufacturer replaces the phone under warranty your contract is still with the retailer if anything goes wrong down the line. Your contract is with the retailer, though they may tell you to contact the manufacturer because its a) quicker and b) less hassle for the retailer. You can insist the retailer deals with it as per your statutory rights but as you've discovered it takes extra time, which is to be expected they do the exact same as you would do phoning the manufacturer but it adds a extra step in.

mo786uk

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Some of the advice given is dubious at best,
Your rights are Statutory which means regardless of how a contract is worded you cannot give them up, if the manufacturer replaces the phone under warranty your contract is still with the retailer if anything goes wrong down the line. Your contract is with the retailer, though they may tell you to contact the manufacturer because its a) quicker and b) less hassle for the retailer. You can insist the retailer deals with it as per your statutory rights but as you've discovered it takes extra time, which is to be expected they do the exact same as you would do phoning the manufacturer but it adds a extra step in.

So what will happen in the current situation where someone is being told by the retailer NOT to go to the manufacturer?

If the manufacturer makes a !!!! up of it for whatever reason I am not so sure the retailer should take liability - not when they are actually offering a resolution themselves, albeit one that will take longer.

CoolHotCold

Seems I sorta skimmed though, but Retailer takes precedence over Manufacturer

Oopsadaisy

Your contract is with the retailer. It's up to them to sort it.

Having said that, for certain items you're probably better off dealing direct with mfg'er as the retailer would merely slow down the process.