Faulty TV refunded by Argos (nearly 3 years old)

michaelodonnell500

I returned my 2years and 8 months old tv to Argos and received a partial refund including costs today so I can now buy a new TV!!

I thought I would share my story in the hope that it helps someone else.

I bought an Acoustic Solutions TV from argos. All was well for about two and a half years until a dea line line appeared. A month or so later it was failing to switch on from standby about a quarter of the time. ( I never left it on standby, couldn't see the point of paying to light a blue light overnight!)

I only paid £200 for it, and while I wasn't expecting a cinematic experience from my unbranded tv, I expected it to continue to switch on, a fundemental requirement of a TV!

I contacted consumer rights (direct.gov.uk) who told me the retailer was still responsible for the item being in servicable condition for 6 years. However, after 6 months the onus is on the owner to prove that the fault is a manufacturing issue and tear.

I filled in their template letter and sent it to Argos (recorded delivery). The response asked me to get an engineers report. A bit of a pain, but it had to be done.

I often use freegle and since alot of people are moving on to LCD's, there are a large number of people giving away CRT's, as long as you can fit it in the back of your car! I collected a 28" beko CRT for free, which gave me the luxury of putting the TV into the repair shop while still being able to watch the TV.

The engineers report estimated a repair cost of £444, a bit ambitious I guess, but enough for me to make my point with Argos.

I took my receipt, the response letter from Argos, the engineers report and the TV back to argos. The argos employee took the letter away for 10 mins or so ( the time it took for them to calculate the value of the 2year 8month old tv) and came back with £35 cash to cover the engineers report and a store credit for £137 for the TV. Not the £200 I paid, but I guess it was still cheaper than radio rentals!

There was no discussion or argument throughout the whole process, I've had more issues with them trying to return a box of plates to Argos that were already broken!

Well worth sticking with the process because it does work.

A few points I would mention though:

• Had I returned the TV sooner I would have been given a larger refund. The tv's value is proportional to it's age so don't hang around
• get a replacement on freegle before you start. Makes life alot simpler!

Cheers


Michael