International Consumer Rights Question.

Fenris

Hi all,

Does anyone know what my rights would be in the following circumstance:

I pre-ordered a Voltron action figure from a store in Hong Kong on 14th November 2012. The release date was scheduled for late December 2012, but was repeatedly pushed back. It eventually shipped in June 2013.

When it arrived with me it had several problems which I won't go into here. The manufacturer was aware of these problems and stated that replacement parts would be made available. I contacted the company I purchased from and the owner agreed to get the replacement parts for me. As I'd bought from him several times before I thought I was in safe hands.

It's coming up for a year since he said he'd send the parts out and I still don't have them. I've been e-mailing him on a monthly basis and he'll either reply saying he's sent them (but doesn't provide tracking details) or he simply doesn't respond.

I paid $250 + shipping for this figure and I paid via PayPal. However, PayPal only have that 45 day complaints policy and as the release date fell in June last year there's no way I could have claimed. So basically I have a broken figure I can do nothing with, a company that won't honour their promise of replacement parts and I've effectively lost almost £300!

Is there anything I can do? Or am I up the proverbial river?

Thanks for reading,
Fen.

marliepanda

Your rights are based on the Hong Kong laws.

however this is a difficult one as technically your contract with the seller is done, he sent you the figure. You cannot claim the money back as none of the problems SINCE are actually his fault.

It isnt his fault its got a manufacturing fault. Can you not contact the manufacturor to get replacement parts?

ThumbRemote

Under UK law it would be the sellers responsibility to sort it out. However you'll be governed by Hong Kong law, so who knows whose problem it is. Also you probably have no means of taking any legal recourse against the seller, even if you did know the legalities.

ThumbRemote

marliepanda wrote: »

Your rights are based on the Hong Kong laws.

however this is a difficult one as technically your contract with the seller is done, he sent you the figure. You cannot claim the money back as none of the problems SINCE are actually his fault.

It isnt his fault its got a manufacturing fault. Can you not contact the manufacturor to get replacement parts?

Are you talking about UK laws (in which case your explanation is incorrect) or Hong Kong laws?

marliepanda

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Are you talking about UK laws (in which case your explanation is incorrect) or Hong Kong laws?

Surely the manufacturer has a responsibility if their product is defective, and they know that?

What if the retailer had since shut down? I would have thought by sending what was ordered they have done their job. Why should they have to chase up on manufacturers failings?

Cycrow

marliepanda wrote: »

Surely the manufacturer has a responsibility if their product is defective, and they know that?

What if the retailer had since shut down? I would have thought by sending what was ordered they have done their job. Why should they have to chase up on manufacturers failings?

Thats not how things works.
when you buy somethng, you have no contract with the manufacturer
but with the retailer who sold it you, they are the ones who got your money.

any rights against the manufacturer would depend on what or if they offer a warranty.

marliepanda

I knew that for general faulty things but I would have thought as the OP has contacted the manufacturer it would be easier to cut out the middle man (especially as he doesnt seem cooperative!)

My mistake though.

ThumbRemote

As Cycrow says, although in fact I don't think the warranty isn't a 'right' as such - if the manufacturer refuses to honour it, any legal action is still against the retailer.


That said, in cases where the retailer is being a pain it may certainly be easier to talk directly to the manufacturer. (Though I suspect the reason OP bought from Hong Kong in the first place is that the product wasn't available here, so the manufacturer may not distribute here)

Fenris

Heh heh, looks like a poked the Wasp's nest! Nice to see a friendly debate.

For the record, I've not personally contacted the manufacturer, but they put out a statement saying they were aware of the problem and would send replacement parts to resellers if/when the reseller contacted them for replacements.

Some people tried to contact the manufacturer directly and were told they could only get replacement parts directly from them if they had bought from them directly. Otherwise requests had to go via the reseller.

After I posted I searched Google for Hong Kong consumer rights and found their version of (what used to be) Consumer Direct. As it happens their laws are pretty much the same as ours; the contract is between the seller and the buyer. That site also has a complaints form, so I've filled that out and will see what happens.

And ThumbRemote is correct; it's an Asia only figure and will never be released outside Asia.