EBuyer Faulty Portable DVD Player - Warranty doesn't apply?

cdpetrie

Hi there - first post so sorry if I make a mistake etc....

In February 2010 I bought a portable dvd player from EBuyer for my son. By August 2010 it had stopped working. I contacted EBuyer who accepted the return of the dvd player, had a look at it, decided it was indeed faulty and then sent my a replacement in September 2010.

Last week this replacement DVD player stopped working i.e. after 11 months. I've contacted EBuyer today as I would have thought the DVD player would still be under warranty but they said the warranty applies from delivery of the first unit (which only lasted 5 months). According to them the fact that neither unit has lasted 12 months does not matter.

Is this correct, I was quite surprised by this response, surely the product is not fit for purpose if both of the DVD players have not lasted a year and should therefore be repaired/replaced/refunded by EBuyer?

I would really appreciate anybody taking the time to advise on this matter - particularly in regards to the legality of EBuyer's rejection of warranty statement.

Thank you
Craig

wealdroam

Ebuyer are right on that point.
The warranty clock does not start again when the original item is replaced under warranty.

However, if you can convince them that the thing is inherently faulty, then ebuyer are responsible for providing a remedy under SOGA.

cdpetrie

Thanks for reply. The fault on the second unit is different from the the fault on the first unit so not sure whether it'd be possible to prove it's inherently faulty - though from looking at the build quality I sure believe it is!

How do you go about proving such a device is inherently faulty, are there any guidelines etc?

Thanks again
Craig

wealdroam

After six months, the SOGA places the onus on you to prove the thing was faulty at the point of sale.

Sometimes the seller just accepts that you haven't caused the problem, and sometimes you need to get an independent report confirming that.
You will probably need to pay for that report, but if it confirms the thing is inherently faulty, then you should get that cost back from the seller too.

It seems as though the seller has so far said "you have no claim under warranty".
This is not the same as denying responsibility under SOGA.

Under SOGA, assuming it is inherently faulty, the seller must provide a remedy.
That remedy could be a repair, replacement or refund.
The refund could be a partial refund taking account the use you have had of the thing.

Have a read of MSE's Consumer Rights article for more detail.