Full repayment for 2.5 year old tv from argos

devon-gnome

I have just been repaid in full by Argos for a Hitachi TV that I bought from them 2.5 years ago.
This is how I did it;
First, I contacted the Hitachi Europe Service Manager, Paul Day, re the fault (kept switching itself on and off). He said;
"I have passed your letter to the customer services of Argos head office to ask them to assist you in this matter. As Argos are the sole importer, reseller and holder of warranty of the product they also offer all the after sales service and spare parts support for the television and are therefore best placed to achieve a speedy solution for you.....If you have not heard from Argos by Wednesday 29th August, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will progress this again for you."
I rang Argos Customer Service (freephone from 'saynoto0870') to ask about repayment for the TV under the European 6 year rule and was told "Yes, that's right. You need to get a TV repairer's independent report and send this together with the original receipt. We will repay you for the cost of the report."
I duly sent the report (cost £54), together with the original receipt (I keep receipts for years!), and waited. When the 29th August came and went, I contacted Paul Day again to say that Argos had not yet responded and he replied to say that he would ask Argos to contact me.
A couple of days later, I received a phone call from Robert Parsons of the 'Director's Office' of Argos who asked for the original cost of the TV and the Inspection Report and he said that he would put a cheque in the post for the full amount that day. (My paperwork had been held up in Customer Services.)
He kept his word and the money's now in my bank.
I guess the advice here is find someone influential to put the squeeze on the big sellers.
I hope this helps someone.

SuperHan

As an FYI - you didn't get anything under the EU rule. The EU rule does not apply to the UK. The Sale of Goods Act does.

devon-gnome

SuperHan wrote: »

As an FYI - you didn't get anything under the EU rule. The EU rule does not apply to the UK. The Sale of Goods Act does.

My apologies - I thought it was EU rule.....

"Under UK law, buyers in England and Wales can get a partial refund or full repair up to six years after the purchase was made (five years from discovery in Scotland). The refund should take into account how much use the customer has already had of a product. Ultimately, a county court would decide this."

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html#ixzz26d7SWSZ6

tomwakefield

Pretty good that they've kept their obligations with regards to acknowledge what is (presumably, as confirmed by the report) an inherent fault. And that they refunded the cost of the report no questions asked.

Surprised they didn't reduce the amount of the refund by any value you'd got out of the TV which, in 2.5 years, would have been significant.

dreamypuma

devon-gnome wrote: »

My apologies - I thought it was EU rule.....

"Under UK law, buyers in England and Wales can get a partial refund or full repair up to six years after the purchase was made (five years from discovery in Scotland). The refund should take into account how much use the customer has already had of a product. Ultimately, a county court would decide this."

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html#ixzz26d7SWSZ6

Good old daily mail... Don't get me started on this secret law. :eek:

somethingcorporate

If you read the FAQ you would realise what you are talking is a load of old cobblers. The Sales of Goods Act far outstrips the EU legislation which is not binding in this country.

Also, you got a remedy above and beyond what you were entitled to as per your rights so was a goodwill offer and has nothing to do with any secret EU rule or loophole or whatever else you think it is called.

It is not massively more helpful than saying you complained and they fixed your problem (which certainly is good advice).

Edit: the only way you would get anywhere quoting the EU directive at anyone is if neither of you have any clue about it, which appears to be the case where anyone has got anywhere with this. It is often better to pay off clueless folk than to actually deal with them in accordance with the laws.

arcon5

devon-gnome wrote: »

My apologies - I thought it was EU rule.....

"Under UK law, buyers in England and Wales can get a partial refund or full repair up to six years after the purchase was made (five years from discovery in Scotland). The refund should take into account how much use the customer has already had of a product. Ultimately, a county court would decide this."

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html#ixzz26d7SWSZ6

Yes, as part of the Sales of Goods Act. There is no EU Law overriding this as our law offers better protection.

Note it also says "MAY". It doesn't mean a product has to last 6 years or you are entitled to anything, just that you MAY be depending on the goods and price. As an example, a £5 torch would probably be expected to last a year or so - after this time if it breaks you don't have any rights.

devon-gnome

somethingcorporate wrote: »

If you read the FAQ you would realise what you are talking is a load of old cobblers. The Sales of Goods Act far outstrips the EU legislation which is not binding in this country.

Also, you got a remedy above and beyond what you were entitled to as per your rights so was a goodwill offer and has nothing to do with any secret EU rule or loophole or whatever else you think it is called.

It is not massively more helpful than saying you complained and they fixed your problem (which certainly is good advice).

Edit: the only way you would get anywhere quoting the EU directive at anyone is if neither of you have any clue about it, which appears to be the case where anyone has got anywhere with this. It is often better to pay off clueless folk than to actually deal with them in accordance with the laws.

Fair enough - I complained and ARGOS fixed my problem.

Takeaway_Addict

devon-gnome wrote: »

Fair enough - I complained and ARGOS fixed my problem.

Well done on your result but its a freak result rather than the norm!

And I would have laughed if you told me about the 'European 6 year rule'...

somethingcorporate

devon-gnome wrote: »

Fair enough - I complained and ARGOS fixed my problem.

Yep, which is absolutely the best advice anyone can give on consumer rights.

Being persistent (but nice) will often get you the desired results. Resorting to actually enforcing your rights via formal means (LBAs / court action) should be a last resort and only with rubbish retailers, any good ones will fix your problem with few questions asked.

There is a poster than often comes and ramps his website on CEO emails thinking it is brilliant advice for consumer rights, and whilst formally it is not good advice at all (as is very selfish from an individuals point of view and nothing to do with CRs) it can be an incredibly effective way of getting the right result for an individual.

Well done again on your result and thanks for posting.

bod1467

somethingcorporate wrote: »

There is a poster than often comes and ramps his website on CEO emails

Are you talking about the website registered to an address in Falmouth? I know I have mentioned it once or twice (when someone has specifically asked for a CEO address) but I don't recall anyone spamming the forum with it.