Extending a plug lead can void a warranty...really?

baldy22

Don't know which way to turn now so am asking for the Forum's advice. I bought a 22" Digihome TV/DVD combo from Comet on 25/2/12. within 10 days the DVD had stopped working. I called Comet help centre who said this was a known problem with this model (although they now deny saying this!) and to take it back to the store.
On returning it however Comet advised they were not liable for replacement or refund as I had extended the plug - I had indeed done this as the plug provided was not on a long enough lead to reach the socket in the wall. despite arguing the point they were adamant that the whole guarantee was voided as soon as I changed the plug in this manner, and despite the fact that it has no bearing on the DVD player.
Their haed office backed this view up, and when i spoke with HSBC, as teh Credit card supplier, they confirmed this to be true as well. I now have a very nice TV/DVD combo where only the TV works! Trading standards said i should write to the head office but they have already made their stance clear - any tips or suggestions people on here can offer?
many thanks
Dave Smith

vax2002

You have adapted the unit, this may effect the Guarantee but not your consumer rights.
WRITE a letter NOTICE BEFORE ACTION stating a letter outlining what the fault is believed to be state in your letter that you will commission an engineers report upon the device and take the store to the small claims court for the initial cost of the unit, the engineers report and costs of attending court, Give them 14 days to respond.

deanos

How did you make the lead longer, did you take the tv apart and add a new lead ?

Or did you join on a new piece of cable ?

Can you take pics, might make it a bit clearer

vyle

Any unautorised modification of the device will, indeed, invalidate your warranty. Their stance is perfectly legal in that sense.

However, as the tv is less than six months old, it is up to comet to prove that the fault was not inherant at he time of purchase.

If you are successful, I don't know how the modification will affect the final settlement.

And in future, don't buy rebadged own brand TVs with built in DVD, because they're so prone to failure it isn't even funny.

arcon5

tell them your claiming as part of your rights under Sales of Goods Act and NOT the terms of the warranty. Invite them to prove the fault is caused by wear and tear or misuse, go on to tell them if they cannot then you expect a remedy.

Do it in writing, keep a record of it and see what they say. You need to exhaust their complaints procedure before going down the court route which is both timely and will cost you money until the time comes they either settle of you win.

s_b

i think the biggest warning here is dont use comet
i stopped many years ago
its just a glorified tin hut with a customer attitude of dont care
a family member bought a cooker off them paid in full and went to collect it the next week as he had just moved into a new house
comet had neither ordered this cooker in or advised him of such they also offered no alternative or means of how to resolve the situation
he demanded his money back and after a lot of oh we cant do that some snotty little glasses on a string woman came down to open up the till to give him his £499.99 back and she more or less demanded the penny back from the notes she gave him
we have never been back

no wonder the company sold recently for a £1
personally i think the new owners paid too much

vax2002

s_b wrote: »

i think the biggest warning here is dont use comet
i stopped many years ago
its just a glorified tin hut with a customer attitude of dont care
a family member bought a cooker off them paid in full and went to collect it the next week as he had just moved into a new house
comet had neither ordered this cooker in or advised him of such they also offered no alternative or means of how to resolve the situation
he demanded his money back and after a lot of oh we cant do that some snotty little glasses on a string woman came down to open up the till to give him his £499.99 back and she more or less demanded the penny back from the notes she gave him
we have never been back

no wonder the company sold recently for a £1
personally i think the new owners paid too much

Last time I went I could not even get a member of staff to open the till in the shop , eventually the customers including myself just put the stuff down and walked out, to shop elsewhere.
Then they had the audacity to send the security guard after people to check they had not taken any items.
A two word answer brought a swift conclusion.

powerful_Rogue

Im another one that will never ever step foot inside a Comet store. Had a very bad experience with one of their Haier washing machines and their customer service was appalling, got to be the worst in the industry.

paddyrg

If the unit is intact as sold (ie you used a proper extension cable) how would they ever know? If you cut off the plug and did your own splicing, I can see them rejecting you offhand. They have no way of knowing if you wired the extension properly, if there was arcing in your connection, if you observed the correct polarity, etc. Moulded (or at least pre-attached) plugs have been mandatory for a couple of decades

BlueAngelCV

paddyrg wrote: »

If the unit is intact as sold (ie you used a proper extension cable) how would they ever know? If you cut off the plug and did your own splicing, I can see them rejecting you offhand. They have no way of knowing if you wired the extension properly, if there was arcing in your connection, if you observed the correct polarity, etc. Moulded (or at least pre-attached) plugs have been mandatory for a couple of decades

But at this stage it is for Comet to prove that the OP did do any of the above and that that is what caused the problem, not for the OP to prove that it isn't.

ThumbRemote

vyle wrote: »

Any unautorised modification of the device will, indeed, invalidate your warranty. Their stance is perfectly legal in that sense.

To clarify your point, an unauthorised modification of the device MAY invalidate the warranty. It surely depends on the terms of that warranty, and what might be considered reasonable.