Tesco mobile & sales of goods act/supply of goods & services

ashnojutsu

My brother has purchased a pay monthly contract phone from tesco in store. It has developed a fault making the handset non-usable and the handset was taken back to the store within 14 days of purchase. He wanted to get a refund and cancel the contract.

Tesco refuse to do this, and instead will only offer to exchange the handset. This is legal, or can he demand a refund?

sdduk

ashnojutsu wrote: »

My brother has purchased a pay monthly contract phone from tesco in store. It has developed a fault making the handset non-usable and the handset was taken back to the store within 14 days of purchase. He wanted to get a refund and cancel the contract.

Tesco refuse to do this, and instead will only offer to exchange the handset. This is legal, or can he demand a refund?

Tesco are right they don't have to give a refund but they do have to repair the phone or swap if there is a fault

Some stores do not give you 7-14 days return that only happens online.

robbies_gal

why does he not want a replacment

ashnojutsu

Surely the goods are not fit for purpose - the handset cannot make calls, therefore it is not fit for purpose. Also, the service contract cannot be fulfilled due to the handset being faulty so tesco are in breach of contract?

ashnojutsu

gabbyevs wrote: »

why does he not want a replacment

The handset suffers from known issues, and he has seen equivalent or better deals elsewhere.

chanz4

so really he has seen a better deal, no fault on the phone.

grumbler

ashnojutsu wrote: »

The handset suffers from known issues,

If the issues are known, what was the point in buying it?

and he has seen equivalent or better deals elsewhere.

Unfortunately, this reason is not good enough for demanding a refund.

The law is very clear: repair or replacement.
7 days cooling off is for distant selling only.

"Not fit for purpose"? I wish it was that simple to claim.

easy

ashnojutsu wrote: »

The handset suffers from known issues, and he has seen equivalent or better deals elsewhere.

So he has changed his mind ??

I'm afraid that is tough. He signed up for this deal, so he is bound by it. Tesco are offering a remedy to his faulty handset, they will exchange the handset, so they are abiding by the terms of the contract. Your brother is simply expected to abide by it too.

Sorry, it isn't what you wanted to hear, but it is how contracts work.

Buzby

He is suffering from 'buyer remorse' and a termination for those grounds will not succeed. Further, the phone was an inducement to sign up to a contract, and as the contract is for the SIM, cancellation because the phone stops working had no relevance.

Under SOGA, if the fault is genuine, then they have to repair or replace at their option but his liability for the contract remains regardless.

Techhead_2

ashnojutsu wrote: »

Surely the goods are not fit for purpose - the handset cannot make calls, therefore it is not fit for purpose. Also, the service contract cannot be fulfilled due to the handset being faulty so tesco are in breach of contract?

You are confusing "faulty" with "not fit for purpose" they mean quite different things.

They have not stopped supplying the service, it's just that the handset is faulty. There is nothing stopping you from using the SIM in another handset to access the service. You would need to check your contract to see if they are in breach. I doubt it, but even if they were you would need to prove you mitigated your loss. So get that spare phone out and concentrate on the important thing - getting the phone repaired or replaced.

Herongull

If he had bought a PAYG or sim only phone he could probably return it and get a refund.

With SOGA you have a "reasonable" time to reject faulty goods and claim a refund. How long a reasonable time is not defined in the act, but it will depend on the context, but one rule of thumb (based on case law) is that as long as you are within a month you can probably reject the goods. Within 14 days, there is a quite a high probability that he could reject a faulty phone.

HOWEVER, he has got a contract phone not a PAYG phone. Usually with these sorts of contracts, you are deemed to be paying for the service and the phone is "free". Obviously in reality, much of the monthly charge is paying for the phone, but that is not how the contract sees it.

Since the phone is deemed to be "free", AFAIK he can't claim a refund under SOGA.