Am |I entitled to a full refund?

Nicci13

Hi all.

I bought a coffee machine from the manufacturers stall at the Good Food Show, NEC, last November. I have used it on average once a day until September of this year when it began leaking internally. The company collected the machine without any problems as it is still under warranty. They were unable to repair it. I was told they were not able to offer a refund but I could have a replacement machine. However, my original machine is now no longer produced so I was offered an alternative. I was told I could upgrade but it would cost me £30. I looked on the website, the machine looked ok so I chose a colour and accepted the replacement. However, when it arrived it looks cheap and plasticky and nowhere near as stylish as my original. I would never have chosen this machine if I had been able to see it in the flesh, so to speak. I rang the company to explain that I am not happy as I don't feel that the replacement is equal to my original machine but was told that it is impossible to give me a monetary refund as it has been too long but that I could upgrade. Am I within my rights to demand a full refund? Please help.

shaun_from_Africa

If you are claiming under themanufacturers warranty, then whatever the small print in that states is what you are entitled to.

If however, you are claiming by using your rights under the sale of goods act, then the retailer (manufacturer in this case) has the option as to the remedy provided. They can choose repair, replacement or refund and if they offer a refund then they can make a deduction to cover the 11 months use you have had from the appliance.
So basically, you can refuse the replacement if it is a lesser model but if you do so and insist on a refund, this may be a fair bit less thanyou originally paid.

One thing to bear in mind is that if you do wish to go down the soga route, the company can ask you to prove that the fault was due to a manufacturing defect.

frugal_mike

The Sale of Goods Act states that the retailer must offer a repair, replacement or refund if the original product is inherently faulty. I will assume that the original coffee maker was indeed inherently faulty (and not for example accidentally damaged) because the retailer seems to have accepted that fact.

The consumer can state which of those 3 options mentioned above they prefer, but they can't force the retailer into an option that is more expensive than another. In your case they offered a replacement, but weren't able to give you your original model so asked you to pay the difference for the next model up.

At that point you could have refused their offer as they can't force you to part with more money, so they would have had to repair or refund. By accepting their offer you may have limited your options. I guess it will depend just how poor the model they gave you is.

Do note though that you were never entitled to a full refund. If they had refunded they could have deducted money to account for the usage you had from the item.

Mulder00

You might be better off selling the replacement machine on eBay as you don't get a full refund after using the machine for 10 months...

Hintza

Mulder00 wrote: »

You might be better off selling the replacement machine on eBay as you don't get a full refund after using the machine for 10 months...

This might be the way to go especially if it is unused.

If you have used it then I don't think you would have any claim anyway.