Who is ultimately responsible for quality of manufacture?

BionicKnee

Hi,

I am having trouble with a warranty issue with a major manufacturer, the item is a tablet which is inside the manufacturers warranty. The USB port which is (and has only ever been) used for charging the device has broken. I contacted the manufacturer who agreed to check the device, when the device was returned they stated that if they deemed the failure to be non-warranty there would be charges.

I quickly received contact from them stating that the USB port was damaged and was therefore not covered by warranty and would be a paid for repair. I dispute this as the port has been used only for the intended purpose using the supplied charger and believe this is a case of poor materials in manufacture, falling under the fit for purpose section of the sale of goods act.

They insist that as this device has been checked by their 'independent' (in their employ) engineer who has deemed it damage they will not honour the warranty and I have to pay for the repair.

The charges are:

Dispose of device £0
Return unrepaired £64
Repair £144

The device only cost £120 to buy.

As the internal part of the port has failed, we have all seen these tiny new USB ports on mobile phones, etc, I believe this is their responsibility to repair or replace. In another world I may consider paying for the repair but I believe the charges are unreasonable. In this case do I have any other avenues to explore with this company?

Cheers for any help in advance

cono1717

If you purchased it from a retailer you should of gone back to the retailer - within the first 6 months they have to prove that this is not a manufacturing defect - after that the onus is on you to prove it is.

Ask to see a copy of the report and look to get one of your own.

BionicKnee

Thanks for the quick reply.

I was sort of aware of this, but as it was after six months I was led to believe I had to go to the manufacturer, who initially were perfectly happy to inspect the device. I wonder now if that was just a hook to land me with ridiculous charges.

Even if I get it returned unrepaired and look for someone else to repair it, it will cost me more than a new one. I wonder what the position is about unreasonable charges? They stated there would be possibly be costs, but I think these are way beyond what would be considered reasonable

JJ_Egan

It is easy to damage a USB port pins in particular .Not fit for purpose possibly but an engineer has said its been damaged .

Unreasonable charges usually the manufacturer has a stand charge rate for X repair work and they can charge what they like as its not under warranty .

As said manufactures warrant is not the SOGA against the retailer .
Personally i would ask a few local repair shops can they replace the port .

agrinnall

JJ_Egan wrote: »

It is easy to damage a USB port pins in particular .Not fit for purpose possibly but an engineer has said its been damaged .

Unreasonable charges usually the manufacturer has a stand charge rate for X repair work and they can charge what they like as its not under warranty .

As said manufactures warrant is not the SOGA against the retailer .
Personally i would ask a few local repair shops can they replace the port .

I guess the issue now is whether it's worth paying the £64 for it to be returned unrepaired. Personally I'm not sure how that charge can be justified given that they will dispose of it for free, suggesting that the charge is simply for postage.

unholyangel

What do the terms of the warranty state with regards to returning devices that are not covered by the warranty?

If it doesn't say what will be payable for things not covered by the warranty, then there should be nothing stopping you from arranging our own courier.

swingaloo

But the £64 is not for postage, its the price of someone's time checking it out. The reason they say they will dispose of it free of charge is because if you dont have it back they will keep it and use parts required for other repairs.

unholyangel

swingaloo wrote: »

But the £64 is not for postage, its the price of someone's time checking it out. The reason they say they will dispose of it free of charge is because if you dont have it back they will keep it and use parts required for other repairs.

Which is why I said to check warranty documentation as usually they cover it in there.

But they can't just add in charges with no prior knowledge (never mind agreement) of the customer.