Broken phone contract free gift tv

bobbins666

Hi guys.Heres a tricky one for you but i bet your up to the challenge.
About 15 months ago i took out my mobile phone contract with carphone warehouse and took advantage of one of their free gifts, which we know isn't free but it spreads the cost, just like the old Great Universal catalogue-oh those heady carefree days! Anyway the gift was a Toshiba flat screen tv.All was well until the other day when all the colour seemed to drain from the screen,i suspect screen failure.The big question is who would i contact to try and get this dealt with,Carphone or Toshiba.Of course i'm expecting to have to use our old friend "The sale of goods act 1979" because 15 months before a breakdown just isn't good enough,i cant have the good lady watching Emmerdale without full colour.Anyway any advice would be greatly appreciated.

DevCoder

After 6 months, you have to prove it was inherently faulty to get the refund/repair/replace options.

You can try contacting Toshiba s at least they might be able to suggest what is wrong.

bobbins666

Thanks,i suspected Toshiba would be the best option rather than Carphone.

pinkshoes

I think I'd go down the Toshiba route, even though the contract is technically with carphone warehouse.

custardy

bobbins666 wrote: »

Hi guys.Heres a tricky one for you but i bet your up to the challenge.
About 15 months ago i took out my mobile phone contract with carphone warehouse and took advantage of one of their free gifts, which we know isn't free but it spreads the cost, just like the old Great Universal catalogue-oh those heady carefree days! Anyway the gift was a Toshiba flat screen tv.All was well until the other day when all the colour seemed to drain from the screen,i suspect screen failure.The big question is who would i contact to try and get this dealt with,Carphone or Toshiba.Of course i'm expecting to have to use our old friend "The sale of goods act 1979" because 15 months before a breakdown just isn't good enough,i cant have the good lady watching Emmerdale without full colour.Anyway any advice would be greatly appreciated.

well its all subjective
usually its a case of looking at price vs expected lifetime
of course you didnt pay for the TV,so it gets muddy

bobbins666

I know, it's not a straight forward one,i didn't technically pay for it,but i sort of did with an inflated monthly contract.I appreciate the advice and think i'll ring Toshiba with a softly softly approach and see if it gets me anywhere.Personally i would expect any new tv to last longer than 15 months.I wouldn't mind if it was the main tv,but this ones in the bedroom and is probably used a few hours a week.
Thanks again guys.

bris

It's still a fundamental part of the contract, a judge would look at it and decide if you would have still taken the contract without the tv, the answer is 99 times out of 100 the TV is the deciding factor, so full soga right apply to the value of the TV.

The problem you have is the fact it's now 15 months old, you will now need to jump through a few hoops to get them to take it seriously. Expert reports etc are going to be needed, expect Toshiba to deny you any rights, then you need to take it up with Carphone Warehouse,and good luck with that one.

Buzby

SOGA does not apply - no money changed hands. Neither did you pay an inflated price - what proof did you have? Neither is it a fundamental part of the contract - it isn't a consideration.

The TV was an inducement, nothing more. The cost came out of the commission paid for the connection, not your monthly tariff.

pmduk

Actually, when I last looked at these deals they were more expensive than a regular contract and prices varied according to the "gift" you choose. So not only are they an integral part of any contract but they are goods that you are paying through the nose for.

wealdroam

MSE's Consumer Rights article tells us...

Do I have rights if a freebie was faulty? This is a tricky area in consumer rights. Technically when something's free there's no contract with the supplier, so you're not entitled to get a faulty item fixed.
Yet if it was a free gift as part of a purchase, eg, if you sign up for a mobile contact and get a laptop with it – that's different. Here, you've exactly the same Sad Fart rights as if you'd paid for it. Most sellers are aware of this, but, if they try to fob you off, stand your ground.

I would be pursuing this with Carphone Warehouse.

bobbins666

Lots of good advice there,sounds like a bit of a minefield though.Have got to talk to carphone tomorrow regarding another matter, so will ask them about it first and see if i get anywhere before i tackle Toshiba.Got to be honest i don't have high hopes.Thanks for your replies.