LG OLED screen failure

SteveWilliams1234

Our new LG OLED Curved TV of 7 month's old has suffered an early life failure in that it it came on with as a dark screen with 3 intensely bright vertical white lines emanating from the top of the television descending to a point source below. Within moments the lines disappeared and the screen bubbled, melted and cracked at the point source and the television switched itself off. The television now continues to switch itself off after a few seconds with no picture appearing only several white pixel areas at the burn site for the brief moments it is on.

The trouble is that LG have said to me via their helpline that they believe it is customer damage as their TVs dont fail like this and yet nothing has ever hit the television screen or otherwise. It is my opinion that the inherent strength of the polycarbonate screen would indicate considerable force would need to be applied to cause the damage that we can see therefore we can confidently say that this is not the case here as we are not in the habit of throwing such things around in this household.

The retailer is asking LG for their opinion (which will be 'customer damage'). I have insisted that it is of no real consequence to us that they have opened an investigation with the manufacturer and pointed out that they can do this at any time even after they have replaced the television or refunded the cost of it under the SOGA 1979 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as goods not fit for purpose. No response to that assertion as yet.

My question is 'what do i do next'? Solicitor's letter?

RumRat

Can we guess the retailer to be Currys/PCWorld...?
Without an investigation and proof LG's opinion is just that, an opinion, which counts for little.

jshm2

You're confused. You have a 12 month warranty off the bat. You should be simply boxing that bad boy LG up and taking it back to the store with your receipt in hand for a swap.

It doesn't really matter what the damage is (within reason) as you're covered under warranty. It's only after warranty that SOGA and solicitors letters need even be mentioned.

Customer service on the phone tend to be buck passers as they're not being paid to take on hassle - just to do enough to earn their minimum wage. A !!!!ed customer at the service desk in store is another matter.

Most managers would rather resolve the issue amicably. As long as you don't start shouting and asking for money back or refunds - they'll usually exchange no fuss.

[Deleted User]

jshm2 wrote: »

You should be simply boxing that bad boy LG up and taking it back to the store with your receipt in hand for a swap.

No.
If the store offers a repair, then the OP must accept this. He can't insist on a "swap". He isn't automatically due a replacement TV. In addition, if the TV is deemed "damaged" then the OP will have to show it was not, probably by means of an independent inspection. If it was user damage the shop doesn't even have to offer a repair.

jshm2 wrote: »

It doesn't really matter what the damage is (within reason) as you're covered under warranty.

No warranty will cover user damage.
Warranties cover faults, not damage.
Any warranty is also offered in addition to statutory rights, not instead of.

SOGA does not apply to a purchase made just seven months ago. The CRA (2015) does.

RumRat

A pointless point.....As no one is offering anything at the moment.
Hopefully the OP paid on his credit card, just in case the problem isn't easily resolved in store.
Ignore anything said via a telephone conversation, it's worthless.
Unfortunate that it's just outside the six month period, but, I would take it back to the store and argue the point with the manager.
Worse case scenario, get an independent engineers report, then go back to the store for a refund. Assuming that the report agrees it wasn't user damage.

neilmcl

OP, you should create/get this moved to the Consumer Rights forumm, you'll likely get better advice over there.

[Deleted User]

RumRat wrote: »

A pointless point.....As no one is offering anything at the moment.

My "pointless point" was in response to another user suggesting that the OP should drag the TV back to the store and demand a replacement under "warranty".

The store obviously have to deal with the complaint, but they have a range of options available to them assuming (as you say) that user damage is not the cause of the problem. They can repair, replace or refund at their own discretion.

I agree LG's Helpline is not the final word on what is wrong with the set, though it's certain they'll know the symptoms of any faults which have occurred with their product. In the end, only a proper physical inspection of the set will determine what's wrong with it. Such an inspection will doubtless be arranged by the retailer who certainly can't rely on a Helpline Operator's diagnosis.

No one here can diagnose the problem either. We can't see the set, nor do we know what it's physical condition is.

I do not recommend the OP remove the TV set from it's current location. Let the retailer arrange for the inspection to take place at his home or to be uplifted professionally to a workshop. No point risking further "damage" taking it back to the shop.

The OP cannot demand a repair, refund or replacement until he first allows the set to be examined and the fault determined. If it isn't "customer damage", the OP has nothing to be worried about. He should avoid quoting SOGA, though, as it does not apply to his purchase made in 2016.

This should more properly have been posted in the Consumer Rights forum;
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173

RumRat

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

My "pointless point" was in response to another user suggesting that the OP should drag the TV back to the store and demand a replacement under "warranty".

The store obviously have to deal with the complaint, but they have a range of options available to them assuming (as you say) that user damage is not the cause of the problem. They can repair, replace or refund at their own discretion.

I agree LG's Helpline is not the final word on what is wrong with the set, though it's certain they'll know the symptoms of any faults which have occurred with their product. In the end, only a proper physical inspection of the set will determine what's wrong with it. Such an inspection will doubtless be arranged by the retailer who certainly can't rely on a Helpline Operator's diagnosis.

No one here can diagnose the problem either. We can't see the set, nor do we know what it's physical condition is.

I do not recommend the OP remove the TV set from it's current location. Let the retailer arrange for the inspection to take place at his home or to be uplifted professionally to a workshop. No point risking further "damage" taking it back to the shop.

The OP cannot demand a repair, refund or replacement until he first allows the set to be examined and the fault determined. If it isn't "customer damage", the OP has nothing to be worried about. He should avoid quoting SOGA, though, as it does not apply to his purchase made in 2016.

This should more properly have been posted in the Consumer Rights forum;
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173

Apologies.....It was the way I read your post....(a constant problem on forums eh?:))
Your last post makes complete sense, getting the retailer to arrange anything is the difficult bit and may need more than diplomacy....;)

[Deleted User]

RumRat wrote: »

Your last post makes complete sense, getting the retailer to arrange anything is the difficult bit and may need more than diplomacy....;)

Most retailers do have agreements with local agents to inspect large electrical items like TVs, fridges etc. However, even if they don't, the retailer should still encourage the OP to arrange and pay for an independent inspection.

The risk is that even an independent might find against the OP which would leave the OP out-of-pocket and still with a broken TV.

If the independent report supports the OP, of course, the retailer would then have to pay for the report as well as repair, replace or refund the TV.