Maplins gone into adminstration and I need to return something

GreatBritain

Hello, last year I bought some headphones from Maplin. They came with a 12 year warranty. They have now developed a fault and I want to take them back but discovered Maplin has gone into administration.

I have read that because of this, the law is different and they can refuse to refund or replace things. under their 12 month warranty they are supposed to repair or replace, and failing that, refund in the event of an item developing a fault.

So am i legally entitled to have the 12 month warranty honoured, or can they just say 'sorry we're in administration'.

If so, how do I get these headphones replaced or refunded? They're not cheap. And how long would I have to wait to be refunded?

is it possible for me to purchase the same headphones somewhere else, and then get a refund on the broken ones that I purchased from maplin?

I don't understand how this works really, it's just that I heard that the administrators will sometimes give refunds, or if a new company buys Maplin, I can get a refund then, but obviously until then I will need new headphones to use, and that's why I wondered if I could buy new ones and then get a refund on the old ones later.

But my 12 month warranty will be over in a few months, and I don't know how quickly I can get this sorted.

shaun_from_Africa

GreatBritain wrote: »

is it possible for me to purchase the same headphones somewhere else, and then get a refund on the broken ones that I purchased from maplin?

I wouldn't even consider trying that as it would be illegal (fraud).

Have you contacted the manufacturer to ask them about the 12 month warranty?

How much were the headphones and how did you pay for them?

fwor

Generally you have either of two courses of action open to you:

Either you can exercise your statutory consumer rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 against the company that sold the item to you,

or you can avail yourself of the manufacturer's warranty by contacting the manufacturer directly. In the latter case you may need to explain that you cannot return the item to them via the seller as they are in administration - it's also likely that the manufacturer will want to see evidence of the date when you bought the item.

As SfA implies above, you may also be able to seek redress against a credit card company, depending on how they were bought.

GreatBritain

shaun,

No I don't mean getting a refund on the broken ones from the new shop. Let me explain what I meant.

Let's say I buy the same headphones from tesco. Then I go back to maplin and say I'd like a refund instead of a replacement because I had no option but to a buy a new one because I need headphones to use.

I payed over £50 for them.

GreatBritain

Under the consumer rights act 2015 I can get a refund for up to 6 years I believe. However the catch is after 6 months, I have to prove that the issue is not my fault, and there is no way of doing that.

theonlywayisup

GreatBritain wrote: »

Under the consumer rights act 2015 I can get a refund for up to 6 years I believe. However the catch is after 6 months, I have to prove that the issue is not my fault, and there is no way of doing that.

Warranty and consumer rights are two different things.

Consumer rights are with the supplier/retailer. Your warranty will be with the manufacturer. Which is best to chase? Consumer rights do not give you a refund right up to 6 years.

mije1983

GreatBritain wrote: »

Under the consumer rights act 2015 I can get a refund for up to 6 years I believe.

Yes and no. 'Up to' are the keys words. For example, a £5 kettle would probably not be expected to last anywhere near 6 years if it was used regularly every day. However a £500 microwave probably would. The retailer also has the option to repair or replace.

You can ask for a refund, but they are allowed to say no in favour of repair or replace. Finally, even if they do agree to refund you, you may not get 100% of the money you paid back. They are allowed to deduct an amount for the use you have had. For a simplified example, say you paid £60 for something and it's expected life was indeed 6 years. If it failed after 3 years then you may only get £30 back as you have already had 3 years (£30) use out of it.

GreatBritain wrote: »

However the catch is after 6 months, I have to prove that the issue is not my fault, and there is no way of doing that.

You get a specialist to confirm that the failure is down to an inherent fault. You will have to pay for this, but then if it finds in your favour the retailer also has to refund this cost.


The above are all moot points though as your consumer rights are with Maplin who are in administration. You will probably be best off going direct to the manufacturer.

fwor

GreatBritain wrote: »

Let's say I buy the same headphones from tesco. Then I go back to maplin and say I'd like a refund instead of a replacement because I had no option but to a buy a new one because I need headphones to use.

Sorry, but no - you can't force the seller's decision on whether to refund or replace by buying another of the same item elsewhere - your statutory rights do not permit you to do that.

DCFC79

GreatBritain wrote: »

shaun,

No I don't mean getting a refund on the broken ones from the new shop. Let me explain what I meant.

Let's say I buy the same headphones from tesco. Then I go back to maplin and say I'd like a refund instead of a replacement because I had no option but to a buy a new one because I need headphones to use.

I payed over £50 for them.

Thats immoral.

How much did you pay ?

As mentioned the manufacturer is your most likely option.

eddddy

You bought a pair of headphones with a manufacturer's warranty from Maplins.

Therefore you have a contract with Maplins. (You have no contract with the manufacturer).

If the headphones are faulty, and/or the manufacturer refuses to honour the warranty - you would normally have a claim against Maplins for breach of contract. (But you would have no claim against the manufacturer - because you have no contract with the manufacturer.)

But Maplins have gone into administration so there is probably no point in making a claim against Maplins, and you cannot claim against their administrators.


But if you are lucky... the manufacturers might honour the terms of the warranty anyway.

(If the headphones cost over £100 and you paid by credit card, the credit card company might have joint liability for breach of contract - but it doesn't sound like that's the case here.)

GreatBritain

Sorry for the misunderstanding everybody, it's just that different websites are saying different things. One website said that if the company goes into administration, and they are bought by another company, i can claim the money needed for a repair/replacement etc that I had to do elsewhere while the company was in administration.

So let's say I go to maplins and they dont refund me because they are in adminstration, i was asking if i could buy the headphones somewhere else, and then when they come out of administration, i could ask them to reimburse me for the money paid. But we don't even know if they'll be bought by another company.

As for the manufacturer warranty, is the manufacturer not legally supposed to honour the contract even if they promise to? I always thought they did.