Broken Tablet

Reliwonga

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone would be able to give me any advice on how best to deal with this problem.

My partner bought me a 10.1 inch Momo 20 tablet from GTR Electronics in November which she wrapped up for me for Christmas. I opened it up on Christmas morning and all seemed to be ok till I tried the camera. When trying to start the camera it just popped up a message saying "unfortunately gallery has stopped" and then it quit. I tried a few times and a couple of apps but nothing would work. After some googling I thought there was no harm in just resetting it to see if that would do any good. After a quick lesson in Chinese i had it back how it was when i received it, so tried the camera again. This time it loaded the camera app but just had a black screen. I tried to switch it to the front camera but that just gave me the gallery has stopped message. I then left it for a while before trying it again. This time to my surprise the screen was showing me a picture of my ugly mug. The front camera was working, so i tried to switch it to the rear cam, but it just closed again with the same error message.
The day after i was using it and thought id benchmark it to see how it compares, when checking the specs, the system is also showing that it only has 1GB of RAM when the packaging and system we were supposed to have received should be 2GB. The touch screen is rather erratic as well randomly zooming in etc, although there does look like there's a screen protector on it. It just looks as if I've been sent a return.

I emailed GTR Electronics on Christmas day regarding the problem and also a couple of days later regarding the RAM problem. There website advised they were shut until the 6th of Jan so expected a reply soon after this. On the 8th of Jan I emailed again as we had had no reply. Later that evening Gary contacted me advising that he hadn't received any emails and could I resend the problems I had experienced. I sent over the emails again and waited. I left it 24hrs but still didn't get a reply so emailed again. This time he responded advising that I could fix the camera with a factory reset or if I was unsatisfied I could return it and he would advise a refund value based on the condition of the tablet!! After a couple more emails I sent the tablet back on Thursday after being advised by him. This was delivered to him on the Friday which I have a signed POD for. I emailed him following this up to which he has replied saying I can return it if I am unsatisfied knowing full well he signed for it yesterday.

Today he has replied saying the he has been able to get the camera working by factory resetting it but hasn't acknowledged the problem regarding the RAM.

He has offered by give us back £120 when it originally cost £136 plus we have also incurred the cost of returning the faulty tablet.

We have been in touch with trading standards who advised that the sale of goods act 1979 states that if a products is a)Not as described or b) of satisfactory quality we are entitled to a repair/ replacement or a full refund.

I'm just not sure how to reply to his latest email as as far as I can see we are entitled to a full refund but it doesn't look like he is prepared to acknowledge this. I do have photo's etc showing the missing RAM and also a short video of the problems I've experienced with the camera.

Any ideas? I understand I could use small claims online but it's a lot of work for £16.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers
Stuart

unholyangel

Are they a UK company? How did they (partner) pay?

Reliwonga

Hi,

Yeah its gtrelectronics. co. uk She payed by paypal but it was at the back end of november so it's too late to start a dispute on there.

visidigi

Quote his own Terms and Conditions at him...

Returns
Your item must be in its original condition to be returned, unless there is a manufacturer defect. Your statuary rights allow you the right to cancel within seven days of your contract with us, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). Should you decide to cancel your order for whatever reason, GTR Electronics will return your payment in full. Please include in your package a signed letter stating the reason for your return and the original order number.
Returns Address:
GTR Electronics
79 Harlawhill Gardens
Prestonpans
East Lothian
EH32 9JH

http://www.gtrelectronics.co.uk/terms.html#returns

Reliwonga

I did think about that but thought he would just say it was outside the 7 days.

unholyangel

Reliwonga wrote: »

I did think about that but thought he would just say it was outside the 7 days.

Could technically help you though if its viewed that the term is ambiguous/has more than one interpretation. Since in consumer contacts where that happens, the interpretation most beneficial to the consumer will prevail. He doesnt state orders cancelled within those 7 days will receive a full refund so it is possibly open to interpretation.

Personally I'd send him an LBA stating that you are rejecting the goods under SoGA (or rather, get your partner to write it since the contract is between them and the retailer) for a full refund and if one is not provided within 14 days (including delivery costs incurred by yourself - include a copy of the postage receipt for their records), you will file against them in small claims court at which point they may not be able to settle without incurring additional costs such as filing and hearing fees.

Keep it simple, to the point, remember to title it "letter before action" and remember to give a deadline to respond (i said 14 days as its usually accepted as reasonable, you may wish to change it but personally I wouldnt give a deadline of less than 14 days).

unholyangel

One more thing, were you informed of your rights under DSRs via a durable medium?

I know the website states you have 7 days, but websites arent durable. If you werent informed of your rights in a durable medium, you may have up to 3 months and 7 working days in which to notify them of your intent to cancel (goods dont need to be returned within this time).

visidigi

The way I read his terms, its a completely separate sentence that states the refund policy itself, it doesn't link the point of DSR and refund the way its been written...could be interpreted a number of ways...

frugal_mike

visidigi wrote: »

The way I read his terms, its a completely separate sentence that states the refund policy itself, it doesn't link the point of DSR and refund the way its been written...could be interpreted a number of ways...

I'm not so sure. The first sentence says when you are allowed to cancel, and the second says what happens when you do cancel. It certainly isn't as watertight as it should be though.

And there's also the fact that the first sentence is more restrictive than the DSR's so isn't compliant and is unenforceable. It should read 7 working days, not 7 days.

visidigi

frugal_mike wrote: »

I'm not so sure. The first sentence says when you are allowed to cancel, and the second says what happens when you do cancel. It certainly isn't as watertight as it should be though.

And there's also the fact that the first sentence is more restrictive than the DSR's so isn't compliant and is unenforceable. It should read 7 working days, not 7 days.

You say that but...

Returns
Your item must be in its original condition to be returned, unless there is a manufacturer defect.

Ok fair enough, although DSR's allow inspection...

Your statuary rights allow you the right to cancel within seven days of your contract with us, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer).

Ok, like you say should be working days but still we're okay.

Should you decide to cancel your order for whatever reason, GTR Electronics will return your payment in full.

The way I read that, its separate from the first two sentences. And It specifically states for whatever reason. Nothing, about DSR reasons or rights, just that I can return for whatever reason...

Please include in your package a signed letter stating the reason for your return and the original order number.
Returns Address:
GTR Electronics
79 Harlawhill Gardens
Prestonpans
East Lothian
EH32 9JH

Send you a letter, tell you I don't like it, surely that's enough of a reason according to what's written. After all, the way I read it, he's providing something in excess of my statutory rights...

frugal_mike

visidigi wrote: »

The way I read that, its separate from the first two sentences. And It specifically states for whatever reason. Nothing, about DSR reasons or rights, just that I can return for whatever reason...

Well I agree it's open to interpretation, and I may have been a little forgiving in my interpretation. I've never looked at small claims court judgements before so I don't know which way a judge would be likely to decide there.