Recently purchased item faulty

misterpt

Hi,

I bought an item (new) about two weeks ago. It recently developed a fault so I took it back to the shop today. I wanted them to give me a replacement item but they said all they would do is send it back to the manufacturer and they would investigate it to see if it is indeed a fault or whether the product has been mistreated. If it's a fault then they would fix it.

The product hasn't been mistreated, and is still in perfect brand new condition on the outside - no knocks, bumps scratches. But there is a fault on the inside.

The product is an eye piece for a telescope that costs about £200 pounds. The fault is that there is some sort of debris on the inside of the unit, on the lens.

Maybe I was expecting too much, asking for a replacement on the spot. But I know it hasn't been mistreated, and therefore must be a manufacturing fault. However, I wanted to check, was I being unreasonable asking for a replacement?

Thx & Regards,

Paul.

BykerSands

In that case you've got nothing to worry about just let them check it.

unholyangel

Not unreasonable no.

For purchases made after 1st october, you would still be within the time limit (30 days) to insist on a refund.

However if you'd just be repurchasing it again, you may as well let them repair. If they fail at repairing it, you'd still be able to insist on a refund (but not if the repair is successful).

misterpt

One reason I was keen for a replacement (or money back so I could purchase elsewhere) is that I'm going away shortly, and wanted my purchase for that.

The guy that served me initially said that I must have done something to it, because it wouldn't have left the factory faulty So they'll let me know if I have to pay for the repair or not. I'm an engineer and I'm aware of product failure rates and the so called bathtub curve - products do leave the factory working and fail without being mistreated. But maybe not for this company!

On the Which consumer rights website it says "Act fast to return faulty goods", and that under the consumer rights act, you've got 30 days to reject goods and get a full refund.

I also read somewhere that the shop a product is bought from should determine whether an item has been mistreated or not, and shouldn't be sending the product back to the manufacturer. I don't know whether this is true?

I'm interested to know whether this company acted legally WRT to current UK law.

I'm also interested in what issues the consumer rights act introduced this year was meant to solve, particularly with regards to the 30 day rule.

Regards,

Paul.

wealdroam

misterpt wrote: »

One reason I was keen for a replacement (or money back so I could purchase elsewhere) is that I'm going away shortly, and wanted my purchase for that.

The guy that served me initially said that I must have done something to it, because it wouldn't have left the factory faulty So they'll let me know if I have to pay for the repair or not. I'm an engineer and I'm aware of product failure rates and the so called bathtub curve - products do leave the factory working and fail without being mistreated. But maybe not for this company!

On the Which consumer rights website it says "Act fast to return faulty goods", and that under the consumer rights act, you've got 30 days to reject goods and get a full refund.

I also read somewhere that the shop a product is bought from should determine whether an item has been mistreated or not, and shouldn't be sending the product back to the manufacturer. I don't know whether this is true?

I'm interested to know whether this company acted legally WRT to current UK law.

I'm also interested in what issues the consumer rights act introduced this year was meant to solve, particularly with regards to the 30 day rule.

Regards,

Paul.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 did indeed introduce the '30 days to reject' rule.
This rule applies if the goods do not conform to contract.

Within the first six months from sale, any fault can be assumed to have been present at the time of sale and it is for the seller to prove otherwise.

The seller is entitled to confirm that the goods are inherently faulty, and if he doesn't have the expertise to do that then he can consult others - e.g. the manufacturer.

Please can you tell us where you read that the seller cannot consult the manufacturer in these situations.

To address your last sentence:
Before the '30 day rule' was introduced, the Sale of Goods Act stated that the buyer had 'a reasonable opportunity' to inspect the goods to ensure they conformed to contract.
The Consumer Rights Act has in effect replaced 'reasonable opportunity' with '30 days'.

misterpt

Thanks for all the responses.

WRT to the shop seller not sending the item back to the manufacturer, I came across that at a website which I can't find now. I only found that information on one website, hence the question.

I have however just phoned CAB. They were very good. They answered my questions in just a few minutes, and did so very clearly.

The information they gave me was exactly as wealdroam described above. Thanks wealdroam!

I'm rather disappointed that I'll be without my purchase for a while, oh well!

Thanks and regards,

Paul.