Leaking Aquarium - Can I Ask For Refund Re: Not Fit For Purpose?

sydroo

Hi

Please could I ask your advice regarding the Sale of Goods Act, specifically the part about goods being not fit for purpose?

My mum bought a 60 litre aquarium just over two and a half years ago from an aquatic centre located within a garden centre. It cost £80 on offer, I think it should've been over £100.

Today, she walked into to the living room to find water pouring from it, after (very quickly!) taking out half the water you could see that the back panel of glass was coming away the side panel which it what had caused the leak. The tank is now being held together with gaffer tape.

She rang up the shop straight away and spoke to the manager who said that as it was out of manufacturer guarantee there was nothing he could do. However, he would call the manufacturer on Monday to see if he could "persuade them to give her a discount off a new one or something". They no longer stock this make/model and sold the last one in October 2013.

He also offered to give her a discount of a new (different make) aquarium, which they sell for £120 but would sell it to her for £90.

My point of view is that this isn't right and a fish tank that retailed at £100 should last for longer than just under three years and certainly shouldn't be falling apart at the seams. It has never been moved since it was placed on its base (which was bought at the same time as the tank) and has only ever been cleaned with a sponge using plain tank water (no chemicals whatsoever).

Am I right in thinking that this would come under the remit of the not fit for purpose part of the Sale of Goods act? Should he give my mum a refund? Also if he continues to say it's nothing to do with them should I contact Trading Standards?

Apologies for the long post, any advice would be most gratefully received.

Thanks for your help.

shaun_from_Africa

Firstly, forget the price that the aquarium normally sold at. The only price that's relevant is the one that was actually paid. (£80).


Then you've got to ask yourself how long an £80 aquarium is expected to last. Personally, I don't think that 2 1/2 years is too bad.
As to the not fit for purpose part.
As it's lasted a fair time, I would say that when sold it was FFP and you have to claim for it not being durable.
If you want to dispute this with the shop, you will have to prove that the fault was due to a manufacturing defect and not because of something that your mum has done in the time since purchase.
If this can be proven (and it is something that probably won't be easy to prove), the retailer then has to offer a remedy.
This remedy can be a repair (unlikely to happen), a replacement, (again, unlikely to happen) or a refund.


Any refund offered can have a sum deducted to account for the time that the aquarium was usable so if for example it is thought that it should reasonably be expected for it to have lasted 4 years and it only lasted 2 1/2 years, they might offer a proportional refund of 30% (about £24) as it lasted 30 months of an expected life of 48 months.

marliepanda

Currently its nothing to do with them unless you get a report from an independent stating that this aquarium failed due to an inherent fault which has always been present in the last 2.5 year and has only recently caused the issues.

Trading standards won't be interested. And honestly £80 is not expensive for an aquarium. In fact its dirt cheap...

wealdroam

Your mother is entitled to seek a remedy from the seller for up to six years from the purchase date.

The seller is entitled to ask your mother to prove that the thing is leaking because it is inherently faulty.

Have a read of MSE's Consumer Rights guide.

Keep_pedalling

These tanks are simply 5 sheets of glass glued together. I once made one of some spare glass and silicone sealer, so one option is to repair it yourself, if you have something else to hold the fish in while you fix it. The current value of a second hand cheap fish tank is probably about £10-20, so being offered £30 off a replacement does not seem unfair.

What size was it?

sydroo

Thanks for all your advice, it's good to read it from other people's perspective.

I know it wasn't expensive for a fish tank but I really wouldn't have thought she'd have to replace it after less than three years which is why I thought I'd ask your opinions as I was just very annoyed by it.

Keep pedalling:
The size is 60cm length x 30cm wide x 46cm high

Keep_pedalling

So that would be something like a 64 litre tank. Any idea of the model the supplier was offering as a replacement?

sydroo

I think it was a Juwel Rekord 600 that the shop was offering the discount on. The manufacturer of the original, leaking one is a Marina Style 60.

Keep_pedalling

They sell for around £96 from on line suppliers so £90 from a high street supplier seems reasonable, although the spec does say in must sit on a suitable stand or the warrantee will be invalidated.