Non UK website not complying with UK Law

RetiredDellBoy

I bought a Kodi box from Gearbest.com. I believe they are a Chinese registered company but selling worldwide.

The unit failed after 4 months i have asked for a refund or a replacement which they have offered £20 eventually or to buy a new unit for £35.

I advised that the unit should be covered for at least 2 years under the below laws. Is there anything I can do to get a replacement.

1. Sale of goods act 1979
2. The Consumer Rights Act 2015
3. The European Directive 1999/44/EC

lincroft1710

If it's a Chinese based website, then Chinese consumer laws apply

glentoran99

I doubt you'll get any help from consumer rights buying illegal products

vuvuzela

Strictly speaking, it's a legal product to purchase and own. It can however be used for copyright infringement if you so desire.

Stevie_Palimo

glentoran99 wrote: »

I doubt you'll get any help from consumer rights buying illegal products

I was wondering why it had not been pulled that the OP was seeking justice for using a item that basically gains free TV whereby a percentage still pay the correct way to watch the programmes.

I do not think people view this as a crime and while it may not seem serious enough and you think that the major TV networks won't lose out if you factor in the amount of these that fly around they will have a knock on effect whereby we will pay an increase in the TV services and or just get offered less due to the drop in income they gain.

lincroft1710

You are not covered for 2 years. After 6 months the onus is on you to prove the product is inherently faulty, usually by means of an independent report. If proven the supplier of the goods should reimburse you the cost of the report but can choose to refund, repair or replace, and any refund can take account of the usage of the goods.

1979 SOGA was replaced by 2015 CRA

Undervalued

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

I was wondering why it had not been pulled that the OP was seeking justice for using a item that basically gains free TV whereby a percentage still pay the correct way to watch the programmes.

I do not think people view this as a crime and while it may not seem serious enough and you think that the major TV networks won't lose out if you factor in the amount of these that fly around they will have a knock on effect whereby we will pay an increase in the TV services and or just get offered less due to the drop in income they gain.

Two separate issues. What the OP was intending to use it for has no bearing on the item breaking down.

I largely agree with your second paragraph but this is an ever growing problem of copyright in a world of cheap technology.

A couple of points of balance though, the producers only actually suffer a loss if the person would otherwise have bought it. Yes, it is wrong that somebody has had the benefit of watching / reading or whatever without paying but it is nonsense to suggest that every illicit download represents a lost sale.

Even in the earliest days of PCs, long before the internet, every computer "geek" I knew seemed to have a copy of just about every commercial program. Had that not been technically possible (better copy protection, dongles etc) there is no way they would have bought five different word processing programs (Word, WordStar, Word Perfect etc), they would have made do with one. So, one company had lost out, not all five.

So it is I suspect with Kodi boxes etc. Yes they do damage to the distributors but not anything like as much as they would like you to think.

Of course we have never taped a record, photocopied a map, shared a book with a friend etc in years gone by?

Forwandert

They are 100% a Chinese website and don't hide that fact they are from China. I buy quite a lot of things from there, they are cheap with somethings but you have to decide if the price outweighs most of the consumer rights you are used too not being worth anything. Apart from the few items they despatch from their EU or US warehouses everything is listed on the product pages as being in the warehouse in China.

There's no point quoting UK regs and acts at a Chinese company trading from China as stated above Chinese regs/acts apply to the transaction.

unholyangel

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

I was wondering why it had not been pulled that the OP was seeking justice for using a item that basically gains free TV whereby a percentage still pay the correct way to watch the programmes.

So whats your position on laptops/desktops, tablets, smart phones etc which can all be used to gain free tv the way kodi can?

Not a tv person myself but streaming isn't illegal - no matter the source.

tykesi

lincroft1710 wrote: »

You are not covered for 2 years. After 6 months the onus is on you to prove the product is inherently faulty, usually by means of an independent report. If proven the supplier of the goods should reimburse you the cost of the report but can choose to refund, repair or replace, and any refund can take account of the usage of the goods.

1979 SOGA was replaced by 2015 CRA

All moot points as this failed after four months but as the seller is in China none of the laws apply whether current or not.

DCFC79

RetiredDellBoy wrote: »

I bought a Kodi box from Gearbest.com. I believe they are a Chinese registered company but selling worldwide.

The unit failed after 4 months i have asked for a refund or a replacement which they have offered £20 eventually or to buy a new unit for £35.

I advised that the unit should be covered for at least 2 years under the below laws. Is there anything I can do to get a replacement.

1. Sale of goods act 1979
2. The Consumer Rights Act 2015
3. The European Directive 1999/44/EC

I wish you luck but none of them acts will have any bearing on Gearbest.

This is the thing with Gearbest and the otherz, if the item goes faulty your not covered if you had bought the item in the uk from say Game or Argos.

Its why I will only spend small amounts and not hundreds on a smart phone.