Argos Extended Warranty, is this common knowledge?

MrsNorthman

My husband purchased a new sat nav last year, he was also sold the 3 year extended warranty, which we were led to believe was for 3 years rather than actually a one time only thing, we thought that if you had to use it say after 18 months then you still had 18 months of the warranty left, when in actual fact once you have used the extended warranty, it ends, unless you purchase it again.

Everyone I have spoken to (friends and family) had no idea and also thought it was 3 years long regardless of whether you had to use it or not.

My question is, is this common knowledge? are they miss selling this by not explaining that its a one time only deal? I only found out yesterday because I had to return the sat nav, luckily enough I argued the fact we hadnt been told and they replaced it without using up the warranty.

bod1467

Were you (he) presented with the warranty T&Cs before purchasing it? Did you (he) read them?

It is not unusual for a warranty to end if the item being covered is replaced or refunded.

MrsNorthman

bod1467 wrote: »

Were you (he) presented with the warranty T&Cs before purchasing it? Did you (he) read them?

It is not unusual for a warranty to end if the item being covered is replaced or refunded.

No we weren't given the t&c's until after purchasing, although the woman on the till quickly went over them, which is when she gave the impression that 3 years cover is exactly that.

Slowhand

MrsNorthman wrote: »

No we weren't given the t&c's until after purchasing, although the woman on the till quickly went over them, which is when she gave the impression that 3 years cover is exactly that.

So when you read the supplied T&C's at your leisure what did they say?

MrsNorthman

Here we go, If you read my OP I was asking if it is common knowledge that 3 years cover isn't actually 3 years cover when purchasing an extended warranty, not what the t&c's say, that were supposedly explained to us before purchasing.

Regardless of whether I had read the t&c's that my husband got when he purchased the sat nav, would he then have been able to return to the store and say "you didn't tell me that I'm not actually covered for 3 years If I have a fault/accidentally damage the item, I want my money back", the t&c's were given after purchasing, he did ask if he could purchase the warranty at a later date with the intention of looking through the leaflet first but she said no that it must be purchased at the same time as the actual item and they only hand the leaflets out with the purchase, which is when my husband said he doesn't have time to read through it now and she said she would go through them quickly for him.

Slowhand

Yes, it's common knowledge. It also often happens with car insurance too. ie if they pay out for total loss the policy ends. The T&C's will tell you what you need to know...you just have to read them.

shaun_from_Africa

MrsNorthman wrote: »

Regardless of whether I had read the t&c's that my husband got when he purchased the sat nav, would he then have been able to return to the store and say "you didn't tell me that I'm not actually covered for 3 years If I have a fault/accidentally damage the item, I want my money back"

Yes, Argos allow you 45 days to cancel (providing that no claim has been made.)

1. You can cancel your plan at any time within 45 days of purchase, and you will receive a full refund, provided you have not used any services under the plan.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/StaticDisplay/includeName/replacementCovertandc.htm

stugib

MrsNorthman wrote: »

Here we go, If you read my OP I was asking if it is common knowledge that 3 years cover isn't actually 3 years cover when purchasing an extended warranty

Well, hard to define 'common knowledge' but I knew, because I've read the T&Cs. People who frequent a consumer rights forum are probably not a representative sample though!

MrsNorthman wrote: »

Regardless of whether I had read the t&c's that my husband got when he purchased the sat nav, would he then have been able to return to the store and say "you didn't tell me that I'm not actually covered for 3 years If I have a fault/accidentally damage the item, I want my money back", the t&c's were given after purchasing, he did ask if he could purchase the warranty at a later date with the intention of looking through the leaflet first but she said no that it must be purchased at the same time as the actual item and they only hand the leaflets out with the purchase, which is when my husband said he doesn't have time to read through it now and she said she would go through them quickly for him.

There's a 45 day cooling off period. It's in the T&Cs

AFAIK this is not a FSA/FCA regulated product, so things like key facts, demands and needs (i.e. explaining these things to you up front) are not obligatory. Up to you to read them and make a decision.

SuperHan

Again, difficult to judge common knowledge... I did not know per se, but I am not surprised this is the case, if that counts for anything.