Faulty TV from Littlewoods (which was previousley returned by someone else)

CaptainKidd

Hi, I am after some advice on behalf of my mum, she bought a TV from Littlewoods catalogue in Feb 2012 so a year and 4 months ago, costing £400, in the past week or so it has developed a fault where the sound fades and needs turned off and on again for the sound to last around 15 mins or so.

On phoning Littlewoods who she spends around £5000 a year with (friends and family buying stuff) they told her its not their problem and she needs to phone the supplier herself as its over the year. Unfortunately the warranty wasn't registered.

The one thing I think is in her favour is when looking through the box the TV came in there was a Littlewoods returns note where someone had returned the TV just a few weeks before she got it with an explanation scribbled on it describing the same fault which has just appeared in the last week.

Can anyone tell me where would be the best option to go from here, is it to keep pursuing it with Littlewoods from whom it was bought or go down the route of the supplier.

Thanks for any replies.

Agricolae

Your mum's contract is with Littlewoods (presumably) and not the maker of the TV, so her "beef", so to speak, is with them.

The relevant legislation to quote would be the Sale of Goods Act 1979, which basically states that, among other things, goods sold should be of a "satisfactory quality". One of the aspects of satisfactory quality is "durability", and I would say a TV (provided it isn't some cheap tat) should last longer than 16 months without developing a serious fault.

Your mum may need to provide evidence that the fault was a defect present at the time of sale, or a result of a part which was inherently faulty and was going to fail prematurely. The initial returns note is perhaps evidence of this (I'm assuming she didn't know it was a returned/refurbed item).

Worst case scenario your mum needs to get some TV repair guy out to look at it and give his professional opinion on what the fault is and what's caused it, then she forwards that to Littlewoods as evidence of the TV's defectiveness.

That's the basic path to follow. Other posters will no doubt flesh out exactly how to go about doing it.

CaptainKidd

Thanks Agricolae, no she didn't know the TV had been previously sold, she bought it thinking she was buying a brand new TV, its only when she was looking through the box at the paper work did she finds the returns note with the exact same fault scribbled on it.

I will let her know in the morning to quote the sales of goods act so she can phone again armed with some info.

The sad thing is she has been with them for around 20 years and this is the first real problem she has had with them and they turn out to be of no real help or interest to the point she's thinking of closing her account out of principle.

Thanks again

Valli

If she has been a loyal customer it might be wise to remind them of this; it just might prompt them to be a little more helpful.

Also, keep an eye on your (this) thread; Littlewoods do have a rep who posts on here from time-to-time; so maybe you'll be offered a resolution/some support when he/she turns up.

It's a shame she didn't query that returns note when the TV was first delivered.

At this point i would just be looking to Littlewoods for a possible solution; but it may be that, as Agricolae has suggested, an engineer's (TV engineer) report is needed to establish whether the fault was inherent. The return/delivery note does add weight to that suggestion, IMO. Does it have the details of another (different) customer on it? - Details your mother could not possibly know and which have no relevance to her?

CaptainKidd

Thanks Vallia, she didn't find the returns note until this week when she was looking through the box at the warranty stuff etc, Yes the note has the original customers account number and name and date he bought it which was only a couple of weeks before my mum got it, so hopefully this will add to her defence and make things easier in getting a repair/replacement.

She's not the type to argue things but I am going to try and put all the info I have together for her in a simple format for her to relay to Littlewoods when she calls them again.

Thanks again for the replies so far.

Littlewoods

Hi CaptainKidd,

We are sorry to hear that your Mums Television has become faulty.

If you could get her to email her details to Help@Littlewoods.co.uk we will be happy to help further.

Many Thanks

Layla
Littlewoods Company Representative

CaptainKidd

Just an update, My mum has sent an email to littlewoods at the address above, so I will keep posted on how I get on.

Thanks for the replies so far,

Valli

Told you the Rep would be along;)

let's hope that they appreciate their loyal customers;)

CaptainKidd

Just an update

After having to email Littlewoods again due to no reply to the first email they are sticking to the same story which is an engineers report is required and there is nothing else they can do till this is done.

There was no mention of the returns note or the other buyers details and account details being in the box.

Unsure what my mum is going to do now, I think a letter of complaint will be the next step.

Thanks to those who replied above.

wealdroam

CaptainKidd wrote: »

Unsure what my mum is going to do now...

Well, why not get the engineer's report, as suggested in the first reply on this thread?

You (your mum) may well have to pay for that report, but if it confirms that the fault is inherent, then not only will Littlewoods be required to provide a remedy, but they will also have to cover the cost of getting that report.

Of course, the opposite is true.
If the report does not find in your favour, then you are out of pocket even further.

CaptainKidd

wealdroam wrote: »

Well, why not get the engineer's report, as suggested in the first reply on this thread?

You (your mum) may well have to pay for that report, but if it confirms that the fault is inherent, then not only will Littlewoods be required to provide a remedy, but they will also have to cover the cost of getting that report.

Of course, the opposite is true.
If the report does not find in your favour, then you are out of pocket even further.

Thanks for the reply,

The reason she didn't get a report as the first post suggested maybe an option is because she wasn't finished with Littlewoods first in trying to get them to resolve it and also the first post also suggested that the returns note may be evidence enough that the fault was inherent, so was hoping littlewoods would see it this way also.

The part where you quote me on "unsure what my mum is going to do now" is referring to whether or not to take it further with Littlewoods in getting them to try and sort it without any cost to herself or just go for the engineers report.

I know she will get the cost of the report back but I think its a matter of principle due to the amount she spends with them and how long she's been with them and this is the first real problem she has ever had I think she was expecting them to sort it out.