Sale of goods act: 'repair within reasonable time'

The_Merlyn

Hi all,

Does anybody know what constitutes the 'Repair within resonable time' section within the SOGA 1979 although I'm having to use the EU equivalent directive 1999/44/EC as I went to Germany to collect my goods from the manufacturers factory.

I'm embroiled in an ongoing saga with Canyon cycles over the length of time I've been without a repair to a faulty part which they have admitted fault to!!

The long and short of the story is that I am/was a health nut, up until i picked up an ongoing shoulder injury, ruling ne out of football, running, all gym work and even my love of Enduro mtbing. I was advised by my physio that I could still do light xc cycling as that wouldnt activate my shoulders as much. I did my research and found a bicycle that would suffice as an xc bike but at the flick of a switch would become an enduro monster, when i was fit again? I went ahead and made the purchased of a not inexpensive bike (circa £3500) on Sept 21st, got back to UK 24th Sept, after a short ride to the end of my road and back to check gears, brakes etc were all doing what they should, a rear suspension part started to fail, (Green XC marker in the 'window' to show if you are in XC or Enduro/DH mode was only 10% visible even when fully in xc mode).

At this point I made the company's uk office aware and at first I was told that this is normal!! Tried another short ride a day or so after and the part failed completely and was left with Enduro/DH settings which are no good when doing long distance or hill climbs. Back on the phone I went, spoke with a mechanic who ran through a fix process which didn't work and so he advised that he had put a new part on order and it would arrive in around two weeks.

Two weeks passed and no word from the company, so I got back on the phone... ever since then every two - three weeks I have to phone them as the part hasn't arrived and I've had a different excuse every time.

Fast forward 21st of December, I spoke to a member of the team for an update after the last pushbacks being for 1st/2nd week December to the week before Christmas... They were still expecting the part but low & behold, it wasn't in yet! I then asked him to follow up on the written formal complaint I sent which was signed for on 14th December. He & nobody else in the office had any idea!!

Next day I had a call from the UK wwrranty mgr saying that they would repair/refund as a gesture of good will... However that is the bare minimum they have to do by law. I requested a discount on the goods because as far as i am aware in accordance with the SOGA/EU directive it is something that I am entitled to!?

I'm on a cycling forum discussing this topic and currently I know of a further 30-35 others in the same situation, just from this one forum! So Canyon cycles are aware of this major fault but are treating everyone awfully.

I feel I've been given the runaround as I've had promise that the part would be with me/them every 2-3weeks since making them aware in September.

Any advice would be greatfully received.

BykerSands

Sale of goods act is for goods bought in the UK.

The_Merlyn

Which is why I used the EU directive 1999/44/EC which is the equivalent for when purchasing within the EU.

System

What does the German law created from the EU directive state?

As keeps being said on these forums the EU 'law' is not a law but a directive to states to implement its content into the domestic law of that state.

The_Merlyn

Here's the excerpt from the EU directive:

If a defect appears during the first six months following purchase the consumer will not have to prove the product was defective at the moment of delivery. The onus will be on the seller to prove the product was without defect. A consumer will have up to two months following the discovery of the fault to inform the seller. If a defect becomes apparent within the two, or one year, period depending on the type of goods, then the consumer has the right to choose a remedy using the following hierarchy. They can

·!!!!!!!Demand repair or replacement within a reasonable time and!without any significant inconvenience.!(Free of charge repair refers to the necessary costs to bring the goods “back to conformity”)

·!!!!!!!If this is impossible, unproportionate or cannot be done within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience then the consumer can demand a price reduction or can rescind the contract (though not if the defect is minor)

All these rights are free of charge to the consumer.

I believe that all members of the EU have amended their consumer laws, so that we all have equal rights no matter where we shop?!

societys_child

You can't quote SOGA at them, think you need the equivalent German act (whatever that may be)

I had a call from the UK wwrranty mgr saying that they would repair/refund as a gesture of good will... However that is the bare minimum they have to do by law.

Why don't you want to accept their offer?

The_Merlyn

I didn't quote SOGA... I've added in to the conversation for those that might not be aware of the EU directive.... maybe I haven't made it clear in 1st sentence of my initial post?!

System

It is pointless quoting the EU directive at anybody. It has no force of law (in itself) at all. You need to quote the relevant national law that enshrines it..

unholyangel

The_Merlyn wrote: »

I didn't quote SOGA... I've added in to the conversation for those that might not be aware of the EU directive.... maybe I haven't made it clear in 1st sentence of my initial post?!

A directive is not binding on citizens of the member state. It is merely a set of instructions to the member states government - where an overall goal is set and its basically up to the individual countries how they achieve that goal.

If you read the subsequent documents about how it was implemented, you'll see that different provisions were adopted differently by some member states.

dj1471

The_Merlyn wrote: »

I didn't quote SOGA... I've added in to the conversation for those that might not be aware of the EU directive.... maybe I haven't made it clear in 1st sentence of my initial post?!

Are you actually reading the responses? The EU directive is irrelevant, your rights come from the German implementation of that directive which may differ.

Usually what constitutes reasonable is not defined in law, it would be for a court to determine in each particular case. But maybe the Germans do define it, which is why you need to refer to that legislation.

What outcome do you actually want? If they can't get the part they can't give you a repair, they've offered a refund which you've declined for some reason.

Instead of getting wrapped up in legislation, look at what the T&Cs say:

If the remedy (supplementary performance) pursuant to Section 7 fails or cannot reasonably be expected from the Customer or we refuse to so remedy the defect, the Customer shall be entitled to terminate the sales contract, reduce the purchase price or claim damages or frustrated expenses, in each case in accordance with applicable law

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/legal/terms-conditions/

Those are pretty much the same rights you'd get in law. So... Take the refund, wait for the replacement part, or go to a third party for repair/replacement and claim the cost back from Canyon.

neilmcl

OP, so they're offering to repair/refund, if you don't think they can repair within a reasonable period then take the alternative remedy of a refund. The only other option is to take legal action but that'll have to be done via German legislation, no doubt in a German court and I doubt you'd win given they've offered an alternative remedy.