Poor Comet Repair Service

Kevin_Turner_2

Last year I purchased a Panasonic 3D TV from Comet costing £1070 and their extra care cover for £215. 5 weeks ago the TV developed a fault where it doesn’t switch on and flashes the light on the front. It a standard fault that after a few minutes looking on the internet the probable cause would be the power supply board. I placed a call to Comet repair centre where they recognised the fault and would send an engineer in 3 days. The engineer arrived and said he had come with a new board for the TV that wouldn’t fix the fault but as that is the only board they have in stock he would give it a go. It was no surprise when after half an hour the fault was still present. He ordered the power supply board and the other boards as a precaution. He said that there was no hope of getting the board before Christmas and we would be left over Christmas without any TV but the part would arrive before the New Year. I called Comet in the New Year and they said the part had not arrived and they had no idea why or when it would be sent. A week later we received a call to say the part had arrived and they would call to fit the part. I made arrangements to be home on the day as Comet will not give a time until the day. The night before the engineer was due to call we received a call to say that they had damaged the new part and would need to order another one. They never give any time scale but it could be another 14 days. The parts are readily available to purchase online with next day delivery.

It is now 5 week without any TV and Comet has no idea when they are going to repair the fault. Comet refused to escalate the problem until another week has elapsed. We have spent Christmas and the New Year watching iplayer on a laptop.

The TV is less than a year old and Comet have no interest in customer service. Comet has changed their 0844 number to 0871 which now costs over 20p per minute. I guess that they are trying to make as much money as possible out of their existing customers, as they are keen to put you on hold while they investigate.

Can I get a replacement TV as Comet are not repairing my TV under the sales of goods act?
What is the reasonable time to wait for the repair?
Can I get my money back for the extra cover because if this is the service I paid for then it has been mis-sold?

Gordon_Hose

You'd have to allow them to repair it first, but it seems they can't get their act together to get it repaired.

You can reject faulty goods for a full refund under the sales of goods act. I'd be boxing the thing up and taking it back personally. 5 weeks is just insane.

CoolHotCold

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

You'd have to allow them to repair it first, but it seems they can't get their act together to get it repaired.

You can reject faulty goods for a full refund under the sales of goods act. I'd be boxing the thing up and taking it back personally. 5 weeks is just insane.

No you can't

Sorry, but nowhere in the SoGA does it state you can reject for a full refund, a partial refund may be given at the discretion of the retailer.

*Ninja Edit* You can reject faulty goods outright within a reasonable timeframe for a full refund (a month usually for electronics)

Read your service arrangement carefully, I cannot offer any advice if it was purchased from Comet, but Currys state 21 days and if not fixed by then, they'll send vouchers to the value of like for like (It's actually just a voucher code sent electronically which is redeemed in PcWorld/Currys) I would expect something like that in Comets literature.

Gordon_Hose

CoolHotCold wrote: »

No you can't

Sorry, but nowhere in the SoGA does it state you can reject for a full refund, a partial refund may be given at the discretion of the retailer.

*Ninja Edit* You can reject faulty goods outright within a reasonable timeframe for a full refund (a month usually for electronics)

Read your service arrangement carefully, I cannot offer any advice if it was purchased from Comet, but Currys state 21 days and if not fixed by then, they'll send vouchers to the value of like for like (It's actually just a voucher code sent electronically which is redeemed in PcWorld/Currys) I would expect something like that in Comets literature.

lol, nice ninja edit!!

I knew you could because we've just done it with a faulty pushchair bought from Mothercare 11 months ago.

CoolHotCold

You cannot force them to give a full refund, The SoGA states you are entitled to a repair, replacement, refund (partial may be given) you can ask but the retailer can reject on grounds of cost.

Kevin_Turner_2

Thanks for your comments. I would love the TV to be repaired but the problem is getting Comet to do anything. How long can they blame not have the parts? I could order the part for less than £80 and have it here tomorrow.

Gordon_Hose

I know, trust me I'm fully versed in the SOGA after my recent experiences

If they repair it and it is still faulty, then you can start enquiring about refunds. Mothercare actually told us they would expect us to have the pushchair repaired "at least 4 times" before they'd look at a refund. When we asked what would happen if it broke for the 4th time (it had already been repaired once and the same fault developed), and their warranty period had expired, what would we do then? We were greeted with shrugs and "you'd need to take that up with the manager". Incidentally, when we were in the store arranging our 2nd repair, the lady in front of us was complaining of a fault that had been repaired once already and the assistant agreed to the refund. So we told them we weren't accepting another repair seeing as this lady wasn't being forced into a 2nd repair and they caved in and refunded our £500.

Sorry, but if I spend a lot of money on something, I wouldn't be happy waiting 5 weeks for it to be repaired. That is not a reasonable amount of time to have to wait for a repair. If the repair doesn't fix the fault you ARE entitled to a refund (whether that be partial depends on the time you've had the goods) or replacement.

CoolHotCold

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

If the repair doesn't fix the fault you ARE entitled to a refund (whether that be partial depends on the time you've had the goods) or replacement.

Nope, I do hate to disagree but I must, the amount of repairs (in terms to SoGA) does't make a difference in the slightest, only the length.

Gordon_Hose

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Nope, I do hate to disagree but I must, the amount of repairs (in terms to SoGA) does't make a difference in the slightest, only the length.

No, OK. You can ASK for a refund or replacement if the original repair doesn't fix the fault.

visidigi

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Nope, I do hate to disagree but I must, the amount of repairs (in terms to SoGA) does't make a difference in the slightest, only the length.

This is spot on - Samsung do a three strike (well did it was a while ago now) on TV repairs, where they will give three goes before replacement.

When mine failed it went in for repair - 7 weeks later I got the TV back with the same fault - I called Samsung to complain again, and said it wasn't good enough, the guy said i need to give him three chances, I said and how long should a 'chance to repair' take? He said 7-10 days.

I said in that case you've had it 35 days, so I consider that fair opportunity.

The brand new unit arrived 48hrs later and they removed the faulty one.

OP you need to go through the terms of the extended agreement with a fine tooth comb and see what it says about reasonable repair duration.

neilmcl

I'll mention as no-one else has yet. Whatever remedy the retailer provides, under the SOGA they must not cause a significant inconvenience. I know doing without a TV isn't the end of the world for some, but being without one for this length of time could well be seen as such an inconvenience. Personally, I'd be reminding Comet of their statutory duty to provide a remedy in good time. Having said that, if they still don't play ball there's not much more you can do other than starting legal proceedings, starting with a letter before action.