Intermittent fault - how to get replacement item

sarahazure

I would love some help with this. I bought a computer tablet before Christmas and some days it will switch on, other(most) days it won't. Today I finally took it back to store to ask for an exchange (to exactly the same model). Unfortunately for me after a week of not being able to get it to work at all, this morning I had got it to work before I took it to the store. I explained that my problem was that the fault was intermittent and they rang their help desk. The help desk verified that all the settings were correct (i.e. I had not changed anything that would prevent it switching on). However as it was working at that point in time they would not replace it. Their solution was that the next time it stopped working I would have to ring back their help desk to go through the same procedure and then bring it back to the store. It seems that now I am left with a tablet that I am in no doubt is totally unreliable and really in many ways is worse than having a machine that does not work at all.

Can anyone suggest how I can go about resolving this? I did already spend a frustrating hour in this very large retail store trying to get a solution but ran into a complete roadblock. The staff simply kept repeating that they would not replace it unless their technical department gave them a code and as the machine was currently working they would not issue one - even with a second call).

I can't find anything when I google about what to do when the fault is intermittent so some help would be much appreciated.

AJXX

Intermittent faults can be very difficult to diagnose, especially "in store" where they tend to have less time to spend actually thoroughly testing the unit etc....

Perhaps you can call their customer services and see if you can send it off to them for inspection (assuming they have some sort of repair facility)?

Could you also perhaps record a video of it not working and use this as evidence to support your claim that it's intermittent - that way they can see it's not working.

Your other option would be a complaint to their head office, quoting the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I think what they're asking (bring it back while it's showing signs of the fault) is a little unreasonable - especially as the item is less than 6 months old. THEY should be the ones inspecting the item properly and attempting to replicate the fault, not you.

The issue at hand is as it's over 30 days you have no automatic right to a full refund. They can repair, replace or refund at their discretion.

agrinnall

What tablet is it, and what store did you buy it from?