Consumer electronics item broken in 2.5 years - retailer refusing repair

marcosscriven

Hi

I purchased an AV receiver from Peter Tyson about 2.5 years ago for £217 via Amazon Marketplace. (In case you don't know, an AV receiver is a box you plug in various media devices like a set-top box, Apple TV, games console etc, and connects to your TV and a set of speakers, basically to allow you to choose which thing you want to watch, and to amplify the sound.)

Two weeks ago the sound cut out completely - you can hear some kind of relay inside the device clicking. It sometimes works again for a few minutes, and then stops again.

I contacted Amazon, who said the retailer relationship was directly with Peter Tyson. When I contacted Peter Tyson, they simply said there was a 1 year manufacturer warranty, and that I'd either have to pay for a repair, or purchase a new one.

I've repeatedly emailed them back saying I think 2.5 years isn't really a reasonable time for a central function of the device to break, and that therefore the components were not fit for purpose at the time of purchase. I highlighted the fact that the Sales of Goods Act allows a six year time limit to raise issues, that my relationship was with the retailer, and not the manufacturer, and that I'd like a free repair in a reasonable period. It's not like it's some small aspect of its function, or a normal wear-and-tear issue on the buttons etc - it's an internal component one doesn't touch, in a device that just sits there on a shelf on its own.

Every single response is just standard - they never ever even acknowledge what I've said about statutory rights - it's essentially just '1 year warranty, that's your lot mate'.

I've again emailed them, this time with the Small Claims pre-action guidelines, and again got the same standard response.

Now, I'm just fed up with this, and wondering what the next step is? Do I go ahead file an N1 claim form? Am I correct that 2.5 years isn't reasonable for a £217 device to break to an unusable extent?

powerful_Rogue

You need an independent report stating that the failure is due to an inherent fault. After 6 months, the onus is on you to prove the item is inherently faulty.

LilElvis

Please don't file to make a claim through the court system at this stage as you would certainly lose.

As stated by powerful rogue you need to get an independent report. If this state's that the item is inherently faulty then the supplier must provide a remedy and reimburse you for the cost of the report.

marcosscriven

Thanks - your response prompts two questions for me:

1) I presume a local repairer would be sufficient for a 'report'? That's to say, you don't ask them to repair it, just open it up and see what's wrong? Can I claim the cost of that back (if it turns out to be an inherent fault), and do I need to warn the retailer that I'm doing that?

2) Logically, as long as one hasn't dropped the device/dunked it in water or whatever, then it can only be an inherent fault right? I mean, what else is left? All I do is press buttons on the remote to choose which device to connect, and that's it. It's not like I could use it incorrectly in any way.

powerful_Rogue

marcosscriven wrote: »

Thanks - your response prompts two questions for me:

1) I presume a local repairer would be sufficient for a 'report'? That's to say, you don't ask them to repair it, just open it up and see what's wrong? Can I claim the cost of that back (if it turns out to be an inherent fault), and do I need to warn the retailer that I'm doing that?

2) Logically, as long as one hasn't dropped the device/dunked it in water or whatever, then it can only be an inherent fault right? I mean, what else is left? All I do is press buttons on the remote to choose which device to connect, and that's it. It's not like I could use it incorrectly in any way.

1) No need to warn the retailer. As LilElvis said, if the item is indeed inherently faulty, then you can claim back the cost of the report.

2)An inherent fault is a fault which was present when you purchased the item, but has only now just packed up. There could be many reasons why the device has broke, which aren't connected to it being inherently faulty.

LilElvis

Even with a report in your favour the seller does not have to undertake a repair. They have the right to choose the remedy - repair, replace or refund. If they choose to refund they can reduce the amount to take account of the time you have had the use of the item, so the amount might be a fraction of the original purchase price.

Stevie_Palimo

I think the Courts would view this as most items these days as items sold in mass quite cheaply and therefore an extra 1.5 years worth of use in addition to the standard years warranty will be good enough and you would in my view be fighting a losing battle.


However that being said the actual retailer here may not wish to go to court and could bow down at the eleventh hour and decide to give you a new item, I know if it was me being the seller I would say sorry not our problem as per my first part of this post.

marcosscriven

Thanks Stevie

I think you missed a word in your first sentence, but the meaning is clear - you don't think the court would rule in my favour?

The other way of looking at this, and correct me if I'm wrong, but if one's adult life is around 60 years, then buying 24 AV receivers over the course of that lifetime seems ridiculous to me. It's large, solid and heavy item, the core function of which has broken. It sits there completely untouched (controlled by remote).

The other thing is you mention these are sold quite cheaply, but this was far from a cheap model - it's a Pioneer one, and was £217 without any speakers.

marcosscriven

Thanks Jackie

Sorry, yep I'm not at all fussed if it's a repair/partial refund or whatever, only that I have a working AV receiver for a reasonable cost.

marcosscriven

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

An inherent fault is a fault which was present when you purchased the item, but has only now just packed up. There could be many reasons why the device has broke, which aren't connected to it being inherently faulty.

Sorry to bang on, but genuinely wondering what an example would be, if the fault is neither inherent nor due to user neglect?

powerful_Rogue

marcosscriven wrote: »

Sorry to bang on, but genuinely wondering what an example would be, if the fault is neither inherent nor due to user neglect?

Off the top of my head, a couple of can think of are dust and overheating due to positioning.