Free Tablet for signing up to TV Company -Rights

steve1500

We received a free tablet 4 months ago for signing up for a TV / Broadband etc deal.


The tablet has now developed a fault, won't charge Since we didn't actually buy it, do we still have rights, can we still go back & ask for a replacement / get it fixed


Thanks

McKneff

Why not ring them and ask

Greta_Sharbo

You still have rights but it's a but less straightforward so yeah, ring them and see what they say.
If it's got a warranty may be easier to use that rather than your statutory rights.

Fosterdog

The most common reasons for tablets and phones not charging are damaged cables or damaged ports so check them first, try a different charger in the tablet and try the tablet charger in another device.

unholyangel

Technically you did buy it - it may have been at no additional cost but you basically agreed to pay x per year/month in exchange for 1/12 months services + the tablet.

Your rights are the same as if you had paid extra for it.

agrinnall

unholyangel wrote: »

Technically you did buy it - it may have been at no additional cost but you basically agreed to pay x per year/month in exchange for 1/12 months services + the tablet.

Your rights are the same as if you had paid extra for it.

You may be right, but because there was no cost the company could simply say they'll give the OP a full refund of £0 and they would have fulfilled their CRA obligations.

unholyangel

agrinnall wrote: »

You may be right, but because there was no cost the company could simply say they'll give the OP a full refund of £0 and they would have fulfilled their CRA obligations.

I'm trying to fathom how you think that could possibly tie in with how law works.

In a nutshell: you promised x in exchange for y. They cannot then breach that contract and say you still have to give us x but we're only going to give you z - that would have the effect of making the contract binding on the consumer but not the retailer, allowing them to breach the contract with impunity and it would also make the consumer bear the risk of the suppliers breach.

You would be entitled to damages - which primarily would be assessed on the basis of putting you into the position you would have been in (as near as money can achieve it) had the breach not happened (which would be with a working tablet).

I surely don't have to explain why a party in breach cannot make the innocent party suffer a detriment/loss due to their breach while they profit from it.


ETA: the only time a retailer could escape their liability in the way you describe is where the product is truly free and no consideration was given by the consumer. Free might be a nice buzzword in advertising but legally, something isn't free if you had to give anything in exchange to get it.

worried_jim

Is the connection inside the charging socket slightly bent? It I’ll be where the plug has been pushed in upside down, you may be able to straighten it with the end of a sharp knife but once damaged it will be on its way out.

steve1500

I tried phoning them, just passed from pillar to post.

Charger itself is fine. Luckily they have a shop where I live so will pop in

agrinnall

unholyangel wrote: »

I'm trying to fathom how you think that could possibly tie in with how law works.

It seems obvious to me that that the retailer has no CRA obligation for an item provided entirely free of charge to the purchaser - the cost of the service provided was the same whether the tablet was included or not. I'm not saying they won't do anything about it, but I can't see how the law requires them to. The only thing they might not be entitled to do is take the tablet back from the OP, but at the moment the OP has the service and a tablet, which is what they purchased in the first place.

photome

steve1500 wrote: »

I tried phoning them, just passed from pillar to post.

Charger itself is fine. Luckily they have a shop where I live so will pop in

Have you checked the socket in the tablet to see if the tab is not bent, assuming it is micro usb