SOGA and Ebay Buy It Now question

mrs_sparrow

I bought a brand new Regatta coat from a business seller on eBay using Buy It Now and paid with Paypal.

After 3 weeks of minimal wear the coat is faulty (zip and pocket) and the seller is not responding to my emails.

Before going through Paypal I contacted Regatta as their website says all of their outerwear has a 1 year guarantee, they replied and asked for all the purchase information and have now told me that items bought on auction sites do not qualify for the guarantee. As they also sell on eBay I assume this means their items are also not guaranteed.

I was wondering if this is correct. I thought that that if the retailer does not respond then the manufacturer has to deal with the problem? And I also thought that the SOGA covers items bought with Buy It Now but not Auction items. Is this correct?

Thanks for any help.

mattyprice4004

Nope, it's nothing to do with the manufacturer.
It's only the retailer that has to do something.

Where did you get the impression the manufacturer has to do something?

mrs_sparrow

What happens if a shop closes? Isn't the guarantee with the manufacturer?

The guarantee is with Regatta, you register your purchase with them and they give you a 1 year guarantee.

However, they say that anything bought on a auction site has no guarantee.

So I am trying to find out whether this is correct.

mo786uk

Your legal rights under the SOGA will be with the shop

The manufacturers guarantee is something additional but they can put lots of conditions on when it will apply - so yes they could limit it.

OlliesDad

Unfortunately the manufacturer has no legal obligations to you, only the seller does. The warranty is in addition to any legal rights you have and therefore they can apply any terms they wish to it.

SOGA is seperate to the warranty and is applicable to all sales (auction and buy it now) however that is against the seller.

mattyprice4004

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

What happens if a shop closes? Isn't the guarantee with the manufacturer?

The guarantee is with Regatta, you register your purchase with them and they give you a 1 year guarantee.

However, they say that anything bought on a auction site has no guarantee.

So I am trying to find out whether this is correct.

Nope, if a shop closes you're stuffed.

Regatta can choose to offer something in addition if they want, but it's on their terms. If they say no, then it's a no.

As per my first post, the manufacturer has to do nothing.

shaun_from_Africa

What happens if a shop closes? Isn't the guarantee with the manufacturer?

A manufacturers warranty is something that they may offer which is in addition to your statutory rights, and as such, they are entitled to have terms and conditions regarding that warranty. (terms such as limiting the warranty to items purchased from authorised resellers and not from auction sites).

Unless you purchase directly from the manufacturer, you don't have a contract with them, hence they have no legal obligations towards you except for what is stated in their warranty (if applicable).

And I also thought that the SOGA covers items bought with Buy It Now but not Auction items. Is this correct?

If purchased from a business seller, the SOGA applies in full irrespective of whether the item was purchased in an auction or as a BIN.
It is the Distance selling regulations that has differences between BIN/auction sales.

arcon5

Actually, SOGA doesn't necessarily apply to auction sales - although I think I read somewhere on OFT a while ago ebay isn't considered an auction in its true sense.

mo786uk

SOGA does apply to traditional auctions but there is an 'exemption' where the goods are 2nd hand. If that is the case then the buyer is automatically deemed not to be a consumer and their SOGA can be restricted. This is because auctions are traditionally more of a business to business thing.

So if you buy a used car at an auction then your rights can be restricted to that of a business.

This rule doesn't apply to eBay because its not an auction you can visit in person and bid on.

ThumbRemote

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

I bought a brand new Regatta coat from a business seller on eBay using Buy It Now and paid with Paypal.

After 3 weeks of minimal wear the coat is faulty (zip and pocket) and the seller is not responding to my emails.

Before going through Paypal I contacted Regatta as their website says all of their outerwear has a 1 year guarantee, they replied and asked for all the purchase information and have now told me that items bought on auction sites do not qualify for the guarantee. As they also sell on eBay I assume this means their items are also not guaranteed.

I was wondering if this is correct. I thought that that if the retailer does not respond then the manufacturer has to deal with the problem? And I also thought that the SOGA covers items bought with Buy It Now but not Auction items. Is this correct?

Thanks for any help.

If the ebay listing for the item states that it has a 1 year guarantee it's been mis-sold to you.

In any event, if the seller is not responding, I'd open a claim on PayPal.