Samsung TV Repair Woes

rdwarr

Hoping somebody can give some advice on how I can best proceed here. In brief, the story goes:

Bought a 40" Samsung LCD TV from Dixons last April. In January it developed an intermittent fault where the screen would go blank and we'd have to turn off for a few minutes and try again.

I contacted Dixons who said I had to deal directly with Samsung so I booked in a repair for 19th January.

19th January - Engineer was supposed to call at 1pm. He arrived at 6:50pm carrying a PCB which he said would fix the fault. He had a look at the set and said he'd got the wrong board and would call the following week to book another visit. He made some adjustments to the set and NTL box but this didn't cure the problem and just made the picture worse.

W/C 22/1 - heard nothing.

W/C 29/1 - called Samsung. They said they would look into it and call me back. They didn't.

W/C 5/2 - called Samsung. They were waiting on a report from the engineer (they use 3rd party companies) which could take a week to come through.

W/C 12/2 - called Samsung. They had had the report back which claimed that the engineer had in fact fitted the correct board and fixed the problem. I obviously disputed that as I had a houseful of witnesses but they wouldn't take my word for it. The only thing they could do was book it in with another repairer who would:

• Send a courier to collect the set
• Leave me without a TV for up to two weeks
• Verify that the board had not been changed
• Hopefully fix the set

Samsung advised me to call the firm directly to book a collection time.

15/2 - Called the new engineers. They were surprised to hear from me as I was not in their area. Said they would confirm the job with Samsung and call me the next day.

Next day - heard nothing.

Today - called Samsung. They said that the repair should have not been booked with the new engineers as they didn't cover my area. Have assigned the job to some new new engineers who are supposed to do as above. Again I'll be without a TV.

So, six weeks on I still have a faulty TV and seem no closer to getting it fixed. Can I ask for a replacement set as they have failed to undertake the repair in a reasonable time or is my only option to stick with them and hope for he best?

furrypolka

Straight away, I will say that Dixons should not have told you to go to Samsung. Under the Sale of Goods Act, it is Dixons who are responsible for arranging a repair or replacement.

The manufacturer is only liable for whatever their warranty will give, check the terms and conditions to see what they will do. However be aware that even if they do offer to replace, if you accept a replacement from Samsung directly you will lose your Sale of Goods Act rights against Dixons as you will effectively then have a different product to the one Dixons sold you.

As your rights under SoGA can last for up to six years, this may have a real negative effect on your rights.

I would go straight back to Dixons, tell them that you have now found that they were wrong in telling you to go back to the manufacturer as it is they themselves who are liable to you under the Sale of Goods Act, therefore you are now seeking a repair within a reasonable time, or if this is not possible a replacement television.

Get this down in writing and give them a reasonable date for repair if this is what they are offering. This date isn't defined in law - it would be a shorter time for, say, a fridge than a games console as it depends on necessity. That doesn't mean they can mess you around indefinitely.

You do need to give Dixons an opportunity to repair or replace directly in the first instance but if they cannot do so within a reasonable time or provide a like for like replacement, you can rescind the contract and claim a partial refund less an amount for the wear and tear you have had from the TV.

Be aware that you can only have a like-for-like television of the same value as your current one is now, you cannot have betterment (i.e. a brand new product of a higher spec, or higher cost than your current TV would be worth had it not gone wrong).

How did you pay for the TV?

rdwarr

Thanks for the really useful reply. There's a lot in there that I sort of knew but wasn't sure of. I will have to find what the Samsung warranty actually says on this.
I'm quite happy with the TV when it works so would gladly have another one. It cost around £1200 and was paid for with an Amex credit card. It's probably worth a lot less now but that's only to be expected.