blockbusters faulty TV

bouble

Hi

My mum brought a TV from blockbusters in July 2010 on the good faith from the staff in store that the TV was made in the same factory as Panasonic even though it had no name. My mum purchased the TV for just over £200 but has been unable to watch it for the past 6months due to a black line running across the top third of the TV and the picture under the line being highly pixelated and unwatchable. The TV was faulty whilst still in warranty.

I went in store to report the problem 1 month after the year warranty had ended with the store and the sales staff were very aware of the problem and told me they have had to send a number of the same TV's back due to the same fault. My mum had been out of the country for the 4months prior to me going into the store to report the problem so we were unable to produce a receipt until she arrived back into the country. I have been trying to get the problem resolved for my mum for the past 3 months as she still has no TV to watch.

Blockbusters have just contacted me to say they aren't willing to do anything about the situation as it is out of warranty, i am disgusted that the TV is faulty and that they are not willing to do anything about it. my mother is a pensioner who does not have £200 to spend on a new TV. We had thought that the initial £200 TV might last longer than the 6months she has actually used it for? Where do we stand with this as the TV is unwatchable and faulty. It has not been damaged or mistreated in anyway by ourselves, it is purely a manufacturers fault on the TV? Blockbusters are now claiming that there was no fault reported to them for any of the same TV's they had sent back but my partner has friends who work in the Melton Mowbray store who have assured her that they have had the same TV's returned due to the same problem last year, and that they are very aware of the fault with the TV.

I don't know where we stand with this problem and would like some assistance on how to resolve the matter.

whitelabel

and breath
punctuating that bulk will make it far easier to read and youll get more responses
i gave up after first few lines

since when do blockbusters sell tvs ? not been in for ages but thought they rented films and the odd used console

questions you need to answer will be
was it new or used ?
what was written on the receipt ?
what guarantee was given ?
how long after purchase did the fault develop
how long after purchase did you report the fault, regardless of when it occurred.
what name is on the tv if its not panasonic

edit just checked the blockbuster website - was it a pangoo tv ?
http://www.blockbuster.co.uk/buy/hd-lcd-tv.aspx
if so they have a 3 year warranty

bouble

thanks, sorry, i was so angered that I posted it without putting it into paragraphs.

bouble

It was a brand new TV with a 1year guarantee through the store, the fault was reported a month after the initial instore warranty ran out but was visibly there prior to this.

The fault had been there before this time, but due to my mum being out of the country I had no receipt to look at the time of sale etc until my mum arrived back in the country. She hasn't been able to watch it since August when she arrived back.
The TV has no name and is now 18mths old, but hasn't been used in 9mths at least.

whitelabel

ok well regardless of when it occurred you only reported it outside the guarantee period so they are correct in that the guarantee has expired.

that said, if you believe it to have an inherrent fault, as is the case of all items over 6 months old the sales of good act applies but the burden of proof lies with you to prove this.

so you can either approach blockbusters and ask if they wish to inspect it themselves or you will have to arrange an independent expert report to examine the tv ,

if they find an inherent fault, the cost of their report can be claimed back in addition to the cost of the tv, or a proportional cos of the tv, as although you say it was faulty before as fair as they are concerned the fault didnt occur until you told them. the fact you didnt have a receipt should not stop you reporting a fault at the time of occurrence.

search the forum for the sales of good act 1979
and check your local are for a tv repair man to do a report if blockbusters wont inspect it.
you may need to remind them of the sales of good act and your rights relating to it though, but they are under no obligation to inspect it, as I said the burden of proof is down to you to prove it was faulty at the time of sale.

bouble

cheers whitelabel, i'll get a TV repair man round to take a look for me

arcon5

Before you get somebody round to produce an independant report showing the fault to be inherent, send a letter to Blockbuster first inviting them to inspect it. May save a bit of hassle.

They can then decide whether the repair, replace or offer a partial-refund.

vyle

For future reference, evern if something WAS made in the same factory as a panasonic TV, it doesn't mean that it's the same quality or using the same components. Nintendo, Sony, Apple and Microsoft all use Foxcon in China, but that doesn't mean they make the same stuff.

mattyprice4004

Same factory as a Panasonic? Sounds like salesman jibber jabber to me.

Panasonic TVs (by and large of course) don't fail at 9 months old in my experience.

bouble

vyle wrote: »

For future reference, evern if something WAS made in the same factory as a panasonic TV, it doesn't mean that it's the same quality or using the same components. Nintendo, Sony, Apple and Microsoft all use Foxcon in China, but that doesn't mean they make the same stuff.

Hi thanks for the comment. The point I was trying to make [ badly ] was that the sales staff at the store pushed the fact that it was made in the Panasonic factory with Panasonic components

bouble

just to update the tv has now fully stopped working. what do i do now?