Technika TV - Tesco Offer :-(

Jakg

unholyangel wrote: »

Personally I think the offer is a bit low. Could you really pick up a 2nd hand 2 year old one for £20? I think maybe £50-70 would be more realistic.

They aren't saying you could - they are refunding the use you didn't get on the product, based on it's average lifespan, and how much earlier than that it failed.

If an item (NOT THIS ITEM!) was meant to last 5 years, but died after 4, you've lost out on 20% of it's life. So the retailer would be well within their rights to give you a partial refund of 20%, even if this is nowhere near enough to buy a new item. They could also make a reasonable deduction for depreciation - i.e. if you bought a 32" LCD for £1,000 when they came out, and they are now £300, then you don't need as much.

unholyangel

Jakg wrote: »

They aren't saying you could - they are refunding the use you didn't get on the product, based on it's average lifespan, and how much earlier than that it failed.

If an item (NOT THIS ITEM!) was meant to last 5 years, but died after 4, you've lost out on 20% of it's life. So the retailer would be well within their rights to give you a partial refund of 20%, even if this is nowhere near enough to buy a new item. They could also make a reasonable deduction for depreciation - i.e. if you bought a 32" LCD for £1,000 when they came out, and they are now £300, then you don't need as much.

And I still think the offer is low :P Although usually with electronics, its not just as straight as "you had use for 80% of its lifespan so we'll refund 20%". Usually it depreciates much faster in the first 2 years than it does in subsequent years.

Nor do I think 2 years is a reasonable time for a £200 19" tv to last, personally I'd expect at least 4 years, possibly 4-5. As others have said, if it were a 32" tv it would be a different story but its not so.....

vyle

Thing is, seeing as quite a few places offer longer than a single year's warranty, if you expect purchases to last longer, why not buy from places that offer them? Panasonic has their own shops and do decent small TVs for around £200 (well about £230 but youre getting one of the best you can buy) and offer 3 or 5 year warranties in the price (can't remember how long, but longer than 2). Sony offers a 3 year warranty on all sets bought from the sony centre.

John lewis obviously offers five years on all sets from there, and you can get sub £200 sets from there, or the better quality stuff.

Richer sounds charges 10% to add a 5 year warranty, but they do some real bargains so could get something decent on a budget.

Why buy crap from a place that only offers a single year, THEN try and fight it, when you can buy something better with a longer warranty and not have that issue should it fail before you expect it to?

I know it's your "right" to fight it, but it's a bit of a hassle. Just don't give your money to shops that don't provide you with that extra security.

Purple-flower

Thank you for all the replies, I still think that only 2 years is far too short for a TV to last! I'm going to see what can be done

ThumbRemote

Jakg wrote: »

If an item (NOT THIS ITEM!) was meant to last 5 years, but died after 4, you've lost out on 20% of it's life. So the retailer would be well within their rights to give you a partial refund of 20%, even if this is nowhere near enough to buy a new item. They could also make a reasonable deduction for depreciation - i.e. if you bought a 32" LCD for £1,000 when they came out, and they are now £300, then you don't need as much.

More incorrect information on this thread I'm afraid.

Under the sale of goods act the retailer is required to repair, replace or refund a faulty item. The act specifically states "any reimbursement to the buyer may be reduced to take account of the use he has had of the goods since they were delivered to him". There is no consideration of the current purchase price of the item.

Personally, I'd be pushing for at least 50% back on a two year old TV.

fred7777

elvis86 wrote: »

I'm quite surprised by the responses you have got so far.

Is there really no argument to be made that it's reasonable to assume that the anticipated lifespan of a TV would be more than 2 years?

I'm surprised as well.

This issue isn't with the TV being at fault or having to prove that fault is "inherent". The retailer appears to have accepted this and instead are arguing that the TV has no intrinsic value.

People have posted about this issue before and not had much success. The sale of goods act allows retailers to refund whilst making deductions for use and intrinsic value etc and some retailers appear to be using this as a get out clause by effectively claiming the purchaser has had all the use they can expect and the item is now worthless so the refund will be very little.

The question is, how to argue about intrinsic value? I have suggested before that the current market value of equivalent second hand units could be used as supporting evidence and others have pointed out that the intrinsic value isn't necessarily the market value (although I have found references which support this argument in US law but not UK). But nobody has ever proved (as far as I know) that in this sort of situation the intrinsic value is what the retailer claim.

wealdroam

roddydogs wrote: »

Exactly how can the most skilled "Engineer" state categorically the a Fault was "Inherent"?

No need to.

All 'the most skilled engineer' has to do is state that in his opinion the fault is inherent.

If this went to court, this sort of case is dealt with 'on the balance of probabilities'.

Purple-flower

How do I go about finding an independent repairer? The ones I've phoned just do repairs, they don't produce reports?

ThumbRemote

You'll probably have to pay for the report. Have you told them you're willing to pay?

Equaliser123

If Tesco accept the item is faulty, no need for a report.

Really not sure what Tesco's argument on the basis of "intrinsic value" relates to.

Oh, and I think 2 years for any item such as a TV is too short.