"Benefit of Use" am I not entitled to a replacement ?

netrix

Hi, hopefully a quickie .....
I purchased an SSD drive from SCAN computers via their eBay outlet.
It was purchased in September 2012 but opened and used in February 2013. And it's faulty (typical !)

I returned it to SCAN via their RMA process and heard nothing for almost a month.

I called to chase up. They no longer stock the SSD drive and told me that I had two options@
To receive a refund but not for the full amount as I have had "benefit of Use" for 6 months, so they are offering 50% of the purchase price, or I can upgrade to a more expensive model. If I choose to upgrade they will, as a gesture of goodwill, discount the new SSD drive by the original purchase price.

Are they pulling a fast one ? I know I kept the drive for 6 months before use but it was faulty out of the box.

Any advice gratefully received.

Regards

Netrix

MamaMoo_2

netrix wrote: »

Hi, hopefully a quickie .....
I purchased an SSD drive from SCAN computers via their eBay outlet.
It was purchased in September 2012 but opened and used in February 2013. And it's faulty (typical !)

I returned it to SCAN via their RMA process and heard nothing for almost a month.

I called to chase up. They no longer stock the SSD drive and told me that I had two options@
To receive a refund but not for the full amount as I have had "benefit of Use" for 6 months, so they are offering 50% of the purchase price, or I can upgrade to a more expensive model. If I choose to upgrade they will, as a gesture of goodwill, discount the new SSD drive by the original purchase price.

Are they pulling a fast one ? I know I kept the drive for 6 months before use but it was faulty out of the box.

Any advice gratefully received.

Regards

Netrix

They are fully entitled to reduce any refund to take into account usage that you've had/time you've had the product for. I would argue, however, a 50% refund for 6 months usage is ridiculous.

bod1467

"Benefit of use" is an acceptable position for a supplier to take when offering a refund, as far as SOGA (Sale of Goods Act) is concerned. However it is unusual for a supplier to invoke this for goods less than 1 year old, and certainly unusual for goods less than 6 months old! (At the time of reporting the fault).

I would say 50% reduction in refund is outrageous! Especially as before 6 months it is for them to prove the fault was caused by the user. (Up to 6 months from purchase any faults are assumed to be inherent and the supplier must prove otherwise). IMHO their offer is entirely unreasonable.

Up to 6 months I would expect a FULL refund. Up to 1 year I would still expect a full refund, but wouldn't be surprised if they offered 80% as an opening gambit.

paddyrg

50% sounds unreasonable - unless it is 'reasonable' for an SSD to only last a year. I'd say 4-5 years is more reasonable myself.

In fact I would press that if it failed within 6 months then it was inherently faulty, so SoGA means refund, repair, replace. They can't repair, they can't replace, so refund looks like the only option. They *may* discount for use you've had, but 6 months isn't 50% of the item's life/value. Offering as 'goodwill' to give the full value of the original purchase against an upgrade isn't a great deal - I'd press for a bit more.

unholyangel

If acceptance hasnt occurred, you can demand a full refund. Acceptance can be implied once a reasonable length of time has passed without you rejecting the goods. What is a reasonable time depends on the circumstances. Most items will undoubtedly be accepted within 30 days. There are exceptions though, such as perhaps buying a lawnmower in winter or winter sports equipment during summer or a cooker to be installed with the arrival of a new kitchen.

So unless there are circumstances which may extend this period of acceptance, you can request one remedy over another (repair, replace or refund - which can be partial to take into account usage) but the retailer can refuse if it is disproportionately costly compared to another remedy.

So while its normal for big companies to offer a full refund in the first year...they can make a deduction. But like the posters above, I think 50% reduction for 6 months is ridiculous. The reduction doesnt have to be linear (for example if its expected to last 3 years and cost £200, it wouldnt necessarily be reduced by just £33 (the £200 divided by 6 - how many periods of 6 months is in 3 years), but 50% is still way too high for the time frame involved.

pinkshoes

A 50% reduction suggests that their products only have a 1 year shelf life! I'd be wanting a 90% reduction!

As they can't offer a replacement, then they should offer you an upgrade where you pay the additional amount, which they are doing.

netrix

pinkshoes wrote: »

A 50% reduction suggests that their products only have a 1 year shelf life! I'd be wanting a 90% reduction!

As they can't offer a replacement, then they should offer you an upgrade where you pay the additional amount, which they are doing.

I cannot find any upgrade on their website that isn't well over £100 more

visidigi

pinkshoes wrote: »

A 50% reduction suggests that their products only have a 1 year shelf life! I'd be wanting a 90% reduction!

As they can't offer a replacement, then they should offer you an upgrade where you pay the additional amount, which they are doing.

90% reduction would be well harsh :rotfl:

netrix wrote: »

I cannot find any upgrade on their website that isn't well over £100 more

Have you asked them to do a manufacturer swap? Have you reached out to the manufacturer to assist? Scan may not stock the item but the manufacturer might have replacement stock.

As for not using it for 6 months, you would have to somehow prove that it was DOA - I take Scan have confirmed its dead? Did they say its DOA with no sign of ever being used? Was it used before it died in anyway?

SSD's should last at least 3 years, if you have to take a reduction I would push for a max of 25% reduction.

All the others are £100 more? How big is the drive? SSD's have dropped in price over the last 12 months, so how much did you pay?

Thomas_Hardy

pinkshoes wrote: »

A 50% reduction suggests that their products only have a 1 year shelf life! I'd be wanting a 90% reduction!

Not if they use the reducing balance method of depreciation

(I agree it seems very harsh, but not as harsh as indicated by some of the calculations on here!)

netrix

Scan confirmed that is faulty, it wasn't DOA as such but failed the same day that it was installed in the netbook.
It is only a 120GB drive and cost £40. It is manufactured by OCZ and is notoriously unreliable; over on Hot UK Deals there is a thread of 90 replies with lots of complaints about this drive.

I haven't contacted the manufacturer yet but I have asked Scan to provide information as to the percentage they deem that the 5 months to failure represents in respect to the expected life of the drive. I've also asked for their refund offer in writing (email)

Netrix

visidigi

£40, yeah you get what you pay for, I would expect £30 back for that.