Overclockers - charging to test a product...

anitamarie

Hey guys,

We bought a Netgear wireless router at the beginning of July and on first installing it had no problems; the wireless seemed to work.

However, my fella, a web developer, then started to use it to send packets back and forth from his server and the wireless couldn't handle it rendering it useless for working from home. We asked to send it back for a refund to Overclockers and they said they wouldn't take it unless we had a reference number from Netgear to prove it was faulty and that furthermore because the item had dropped in price £50 since we purchased it we would get £50 less back.

So, we went to Netgear, got the necessary reference number from them and acknolwedging a fault now Overclockers say we have to pay to return the item via the post and that they will perform tests on it themselves and if they don't find fault they will charge us for their time testing the product, the product itself and redelivery of the product. My issue is, they won't find the problem, both because it suits them not to and because they're unlikely to test Subversion (developer software) while they're in the process - the basic wirless is ok.

I'm pondering whether their process is in anyway legal because it smells mighty iffy to me. Any thoughts welcome.

hollydays

If goods were found to be faulty,and you have proof of purchase,legally they could not give you less money back.Have you looked at their terms and Conditions about faulty goods and testing.Was this a phone conversation,i doubt they would put that in writing.If netgear says its faulty-then its faulty isnt it?

anitamarie

Straight from Overclockers.co.uk:

7. Your right of cancellation
7.1 You have the right to cancel the contract at any time up to the end of 7 working days after you receive the goods (see below).
7.2 To exercise your right of cancellation, you must give written notice to the Supplier by letter or via the Returns on Line section of our website, giving details of the goods ordered and (where appropriate) their delivery. Notification by phone is not sufficient.
7.3 If you exercise your right of cancellation after the goods have been delivered to you, you will be responsible for returning the goods to the Supplier at your own cost. The goods must be returned to the address shown below. You must take reasonable care to ensure the goods are not damaged in the meantime or in transit.
7.4 Once you have notified the Supplier that you are cancelling the contract, the Supplier will refund or re-credit you within 30 days for any sum that has been paid by you or debited from your credit card for the goods.

So it looks like they are trying to charge for return of items (it is over 7 days because we went on hols)

8. Warranty
8.1 All goods supplied by the Supplier are warranted free from defects for 12 months from the date of supply (unless otherwise stated). This warranty does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer.
8.2 This warranty does not apply to any defect in the goods arising from fair wear and tear, wilful damage, accident, negligence by you or any third party, use otherwise than as recommended by the Supplier, failure to follow the Supplier's instructions, or any alteration or repair carried out without the Supplier's approval.
8.3 If the goods supplied to you are damaged on delivery, you should notify the Supplier in writing via the e-mail address or fax number shown below within 7 days.
8.4 If the goods supplied to you develop a defect while under warranty or you have any other complaint about the goods, you should notify the Supplier in writing via the e-mail address or fax number shown below, as soon as possible, but in any event within 7 days of the date you discovered or ought to have discovered the damage, defect or complaint.

By my reading of this, if the manufacturer is acknowleding fault, we should be returning the goods and getting a refund, surely?

anitamarie

oh, and they emailed about their testing process.

superscaper

hollydays wrote: »

If goods were found to be faulty,and you have proof of purchase,legally they could not give you less money back.

That's not strictly true, it very much depends on how long you have the goods for and is another "reasonable time" clause in the sale of goods act. After this time you have not reported a fault you are deemed to have "accepted" the goods and are then after only entitled to repair, replacement or "reasonable compensation" which in this case Overclockers count to mean the current sale value of a new router. Reasonable time for accepting goods seems to be generally accepted to be seven days in actual court cases.

anitamarie

we're inside of 28 days, but outside of 7.

dangeroussports

It depends on the time too.

You may still be inside the 7.
Find out what time you placed the order and the exact time their server accepted the order.

You can judge the difference if you suspect them of lying by pinging their IP address.

Ping ping

Lavendyr

Hello

anitamarie wrote: »

furthermore because the item had dropped in price £50 since we purchased it we would get £50 less back.

Speaking to my OH who purchases computer parts quite regularly, he says that this is unfortunately acceptable, i.e. the shop is only required to offer reasonable compensation. So they can either offer a replacement or refund to the current market value.

anitamarie wrote: »

Overclockers say we have to pay to return the item via the post

Again, unfortunately this is normal for most online computer/hardware stores.

anitamarie wrote: »

and that they will perform tests on it themselves and if they don't find fault they will charge us for their time testing the product, the product itself and redelivery of the product. My issue is, they won't find the problem, both because it suits them not to and because they're unlikely to test Subversion (developer software) while they're in the process - the basic wirless is ok.

Is there any way you can tell them specifically to test Subversion? If you communicate to them that basic wireless works fine but it is Subversion which does not work, they should test that.

However, you may find yourself in a difficult situation here regarding the argument over what is classed as "faulty" and whether the product is actually fit for purpose or not. Not knowing the full situation, it does sound a little as though it will handle "normal" wireless router activities, but will not meet your specific requirements - in which case, the router could not really be described as faulty, and you may have a battle on your hands with OCUK there.

Their processes do sound legal to me, in all honesty - and not unlike most online hardware stores. Although I do know that OCUK do have a reputation for poor customer service, so I would not recommend shopping from there again (try Scan instead, we've purchased from them several times with no problems and they are very communicative).

Good luck :j

timelord_4

Overclocker are a complete joke.

I ordered a Gigabyte motherboard from them and returned it faulty on the same day I received it. Already annoyed at ordering next day delivery and waiting 2 weeks for it - I returned it in all the original packaging the same day and they received it on the next day, sent me an email and told me a new was on its way as it was confirmed faulty.

I received my original motherboard back and they charged me for it. But thats not all, I didnt get any of the other bits I sent off - not even the packaging, cables, backplate and driver cd etc. It took them 9 weeks, 5 complaint letters and 6 emails until I received these items. Gigabyte replaced this straight away and sent some extra goodies cos of the aggro.

The replies I recevied from Overclockers are complete class, they refused to cancel any part of the order, said distance selling regulations didnt apply to them and one email even asked "whats the big problem?" The final response email was that "once you have signed for the goods you have accepted them and therefore non returnable"

Joke outfit. I am sorry that you have also had to suffer these fools

dangeroussports

Ive never had any exposure to overclockers, from what i understand they supply nerd equipment to make things run faster on the computer.

Madjock

We have bought goods from Overclockers countless times and never had any problems.