eBuyer / Parcel Force

arfabrane

This is a heads up as to events that have recently happened - you can draw your own conclusions.

February this year I picked up a "bargain" 50" TV from eBuyer on one of their daily deals - a Blue Diamond BD50PDLF (don't bother Googling Blue Diamond - they don't even appear to have a website!)

Unfortunately, it decided to go very wrong a couple of weeks ago with multicoloured lines down the left hand side of the screen and a white triangle in the bottom left corner (make a note of this - it will come in to play later). It also had a couple of arcs, and a line across the bottom - you can actually see the fault photo However, the TV itself was in pristine condition - it had always been on a solid unit, and hadn't got the slightest hint of a scratch on it. I did take the liberty of taking a photograph showing the fault and the condition of the TV before contacting eBuyer so I could show them the fault should they need it.

I contacted eBuyer for an RMA - they informed me I would have to send the TV back, but since they don't stock that TV any more, all they could so was offer a refund. Fair enough. As I have been a customer of theirs for 15 years and have spent many thousands of pounds with them, this seemed like a perfectly reasonable offer. I explained that I no longer had the original box (honestly - who has enough storage room to keep hold of an empty box for a 50" TV?) but I was advised to package it up as best as I could, and they would send round Parcel Force to collect it.

I duly removed and dismantled the stand, bagged up all the manuals, cables, remote control etc. I covered the screen in bubble wrap, then encased the whole thing in an old quilt, ensuring there were 2 layers of quilt to protect the screen, and the accessories and stand were to the back side of the TV. I kept the quilt in position by loosely tying round with garden twine, then fashioned a cardboard shell for the whole thing by taping together a series of smaller boxes I had managed to acquire. Everything was well padded, well taped, and well marked as per instructions from eBuyer with "This Way Up" for example.

Parcel Force duly collected the package, and it was off. Yesterday, however, I had an email back from eBuyer claiming that the TV had physical damage that was not covered by the warranty. Bemused, I phoned them up and asked what they meant.

They claimed that the TV had a broken screen (it was immaculate on leaving my house) so there was nothing they could do. Also, since it was over 6 months old, it wasn't covered under their warranty anyway, and I would have to contact the manufacturer, and they were sending the TV back. As I protested that there was nothing more I could have done to protect the TV in transit (other than drive it there myself), if there was damage done, surely a claim could be made against PF - after all, I had a photo to prove the screen was intact (but faulty) before shipment. However, they had no interest in helping with lodging a complaint and claiming compensation from PF, and furthermore, could not provide me with details of how to contact Blue Diamond (which seems odd for a company that was selling their products a few months earlier.)

Today the TV arrived back - oddly, despite the protestations that I had not sufficiently packaged the TV to protect it in transit, eBuyer had returned it using similar packaging (the same bubblewrap sheet, the same quilt etc - they just put the whole thing in a bigger box and added plastic straps to ease handling). On inspecting the TV, it was plainly obvious that it had been dropped, and dropped hard - by an amazing coincidence, on the bottom right hand corner (where the white triangle had been) - see - it was hard enough to shatter the screen severely, and distort the casing around the screen as well as cause a stress line in the plastic. It's possible that this was done at any time from leaving my house, be it Parcel Force or by eBuyer themselves, but it effectively meant that any claim under warranty was instantly nullified (you will also notice that the screen disruption is very different to when it left my house).

So, what's the moral of this story? Well, there are a few things of note:-

1) eBuyer warranties only last 6 months - after that there is "nothing (they) can do" and you would have to contact the manufacturer.

2) Bargain no-name goods can be totally disposable if you have no contact details for the manufacturer anyway (this is now irrelevant in my case, as even if I could get a replacement screen, the damage to the casing and chassis means it's just heading for the tip.)

3) Do not send fragile items like TV's through Parcel Force, especially if it for a warranty claim - it is too easy for your item to be damaged by "someone, somewhere, somehow" completely nullifying any warranty you had. Wherever possible, take it to the returns centre yourself, and get someone to sign to confirm that it has been received in good condition. Otherwise, pay for a quality courier.

4) Don't expect much help from eBuyer if things go wrong (after 15 years of shopping with them, I will never shop with them again - Amazon are generally cheaper anyway, and have an excellent returns service when things do go awry).

5) If possible, keep original boxes and packaging, even if it means putting them in the loft, garage etc - it will completely nullify any claims about not being packaged sufficiently.

So ends my tale of woe, of a TV that lasted 9 months before being condemned to the tip, of a supplier that seems unwilling to help in any way, and of how bargains may well end up being expensive lessons. You can draw your own conclusions from the facts and the photographic evidence.

marcarm

arfabrane wrote: »

So, what's the moral of this story? Well, there are a few things of note:-

1) eBuyer warranties only last 6 months - after that there is "nothing (they) can do" and you would have to contact the manufacturer. Incorrect, no matter what they tell you your contract is with Ebuyer, you have no contract with the manufacturer. Sometimes it can be easier to go direct to the manufacturer yourself but they have no obligation to deal with you. Them misleading you about your consumer rights can be considered a criminal offence.

2) Bargain no-name goods can be totally disposable if you have no contact details for the manufacturer anyway (this is now irrelevant in my case, as even if I could get a replacement screen, the damage to the casing and chassis means it's just heading for the tip.)

3) Do not send fragile items like TV's through Parcel Force, especially if it for a warranty claim - it is too easy for your item to be damaged by "someone, somewhere, somehow" completely nullifying any warranty you had. Wherever possible, take it to the returns centre yourself, and get someone to sign to confirm that it has been received in good condition. Otherwise, pay for a quality courier. You say that they sent PF round to collect it, so your job is done as soon as PF collect the TV, as they are acting as agents of Ebuyer. Anything that happens after PF collect is not your responsibility. This is different had you contracted the courier but as you didn't you have fulfilled your side of everything. They should refund you and put in a claim with PF themselves, you cannot claim against PF as you have no contract with them. If it was insufficiently packaged you would expect the driver to refuse to take it.

4) Don't expect much help from eBuyer if things go wrong (after 15 years of shopping with them, I will never shop with them again - Amazon are generally cheaper anyway, and have an excellent returns service when things do go awry). Never used them myself but have seen lots of threads on here about the bad service they have got from them.

5) If possible, keep original boxes and packaging, even if it means putting them in the loft, garage etc - it will completely nullify any claims about not being packaged sufficiently.

So ends my tale of woe, of a TV that lasted 9 months before being condemned to the tip, of a supplier that seems unwilling to help in any way, and of how bargains may well end up being expensive lessons. You can draw your own conclusions from the facts and the photographic evidence.

Not sure how long ago this happened or whether the TV is still in your possession, but I would be going back to Ebuyer saying your contract is with them, and their agents have damaged your property. Do it in writing and not by phone as a letter is harder to ignore.

Fosterdog

I hate to tell you but as someone who has worked with computers (including LCD panels in monitors and laptops) for 15 years, the first picture you have posted of the original fault is a cracked screen, the bottom corner that is white with the arch is the crack inside the display panel.

The rest of the damage was then inevitable during transport no matter how well packaged because once there is a crack any minute movement or but if pressure will make the crack spread. I've seen this countless times over the years.

Your best bet would be a contents insurance claim if you have accidental damage because at some point even without scratching the external screen pressure has been put on the bottom corner causing the initial crack.

arfabrane

Thanks Fosterdog - I was not aware that there was an "internal" crack (though when I first contacted eBuyer, I did make them aware that the affected side was the one closest to the radiator, so whether heat fluctuations could have caused internal damage through poor quality materials or workmanship is open to debate.)

It is something I have already chosen just to mark down to bitter experience - to be honest, I am less annoyed that the TV has gone wrong than I am by Ebuyer's apparent disinterest (their dismissal of the warranty, their inability or unwillingness to provide contact details of a manufacturer they have sold goods from, their claim it was badly packaged when clearly it was well protected, their inconsistency in warranty compensation if things had gone through) which has all added up to cost them what was once a loyal and regular customer

SnowTiger

arfabrane wrote: »

This is a heads up as to events that have recently happened - you can draw your own conclusions.

February this year I picked up a "bargain" 50" TV from eBuyer on one of their daily deals - a Blue Diamond BD50PDLF (don't bother Googling Blue Diamond - they don't even appear to have a website!)

Not that it really matters...

Blue Diamond appears to be a brand distributed by an Irish company called Osmosis, which went in to receivership in Aril 2014.

Blue Diamond did have a website at http://bluediamond.ie/, which belongs to a Drama Acadamy now. Wayback Machine has a copy of the original website: https://web.archive.org/web/20100419062722/http://www.bluediamond.ie/.

arfabrane

Wow, that is interesting - so eBuyer were selling brand new goods in 2016 that were distributed by a company that went bump in 2014? No wonder they were reluctant to give me contact details, as if the distributor had gone bust, there was no way they could have possibly honoured any warranty anyway.

Of course, it is doubtful that they would want their customers to know information like that, so if the TV was then smashed and buckled beyond any possible repair "in transit", it would help in covering up this rather unscrupulous selling activity. Not that I am insinuating anything in that last statement, I'm sure it is entirely coincidental it was dropped on precisely the corner that the fault appeared, and with such force that a replacement screen could never be an option.

Caveat emptor, I guess...

pappa_golf

warranty? https://web.archive.org/web/20111030160319/http://www.bluediamond.ie/pdfs/BlueDiamond_Warranty.pdf

ThumbRemote

Fosterdog wrote: »

I hate to tell you but as someone who has worked with computers (including LCD panels in monitors and laptops) for 15 years, the first picture you have posted of the original fault is a cracked screen, the bottom corner that is white with the arch is the crack inside the display panel.

The rest of the damage was then inevitable during transport no matter how well packaged because once there is a crack any minute movement or but if pressure will make the crack spread. I've seen this countless times over the years.

Your best bet would be a contents insurance claim if you have accidental damage because at some point even without scratching the external screen pressure has been put on the bottom corner causing the initial crack.

I agree that the screen was cracked internally, but your last paragraph implies the crack was caused by the OP (or someone in their house). This is not necessarily the case - it could just be badly made, heat expansion or a weakness in the original screen.

arfabrane

Heat expansion would make sense, as it was the corner closest to the radiator, but surely that would also need a weakness in the original screen, that would have been warrantied? Still, it's a moot point, I guess.

Certainly a claim on household insurance is not viable - not only would it be fraudulent, my excess would cover the original purchase price (with how cheap and disposable things are these days, it's really only worth having accidental damage cover to protect things like carpets, otherwise the excess and loss of no claims means it's not really worth having, unless you have really fancy tech!)