Has retailer got a right to inspection?

Mishomeister

I have bought a fridgefreezer from a well known online retailer over 3 weeks ago.
Unfortunately the profuct is faulty.


As I am within 30 days from the purchase under the Consumer Rights Act I am entitled to return it for a full refund.


The retailer however insists on an engineer's visit from the manufacturer to confirm tha the item is faulty.
The thing is that I am not happy about this at all.


I am already inconvenienced that I have firtstly had to take time off wotrk to receive the fridgefreezer, then spent almost an hour on the phone talking through the issue with the customer services rep, then I will need to take more time off wotk for them to pick it up.


I am not keen to take yet another day off work for the engineer to come and confirm the fault.


I have doen some research on Consumer Rights Act but could not see anywhere that the retailer can request such a thing although the retailer is trying to advice me otherwise.


Can you please advice if they can be insisting on engineers visit or should I complaint formally instead?

Ectophile

The retailer is certainly allowed to inspect the goods to make sure that they really are faulty. Otherwise, everybody could get a refund within 30 days on anything, just by saying it's faulty and refusing to let the retailer see it until after they have the money back.

Mishomeister

Well, if you take a faulty item to Argos they would not be inspecting anything and just take your word that it is faulty.
Can some one point it out to me where the Consumer Rights Acr mentiond any right by retailer to inspect the goods?

bris

Mishomeister wrote: »

Well, if you take a faulty item to Argos they would not be inspecting anything and just take your word that it is faulty.
Can some one point it out to me where the Consumer Rights Acr mentiond any right by retailer to inspect the goods?

No they don't, I have taken stuff back to Argos a few times and they always look at it and ask what the fault is.


The act states that in the first 30 days faulty goods can be rejected for a full refund. In the first six months the fault is deemed to be inherent at the time of purchase "Unless the retailer can prove otherwise" so there you go that's the info you need, to prove otherwise they need to inspect it don't they.

Mishomeister

bris wrote: »

No they don't, I have taken stuff back to Argos a few times and they always look at it and ask what the fault is.

As you say the look at it and take your word. They don't turn it on and test it. This is something tbe delivery guys could do on collection.

unholyangel

Mishomeister wrote: »

Well, if you take a faulty item to Argos they would not be inspecting anything and just take your word that it is faulty.
Can some one point it out to me where the Consumer Rights Acr mentiond any right by retailer to inspect the goods?

What exactly is the fault?

(7)From the time when the right is exercised—
(a)the trader has a duty to give the consumer a refund, subject to subsection (18), and
(b)the consumer has a duty to make the goods available for collection by the trader or (if there is an agreement for the consumer to return rejected goods) to return them as agreed.

<snip>

(15)A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund.

And the explanatory notes give us:

110.Subsection (7) provides that when the right to reject is exercised by the consumer, the trader has a duty to refund the consumer and from this time the consumer must make the goods available for collection by the trader, or if agreed, return the rejected goods to the trader.

118.Subsection (15) requires a trader to provide any refund due to the consumer without undue delay and at the latest within 14 days from when the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to it. For example, if a consumer rejects goods because of a technical fault which cannot be seen without testing or detailed examination, the 14-day period would start once the trader had carried out the appropriate tests and found the goods were indeed faulty. In contrast, if it was clear from looking at the goods that they breached the relevant requirement under the Act, there is unlikely to be any reason for the trader not to agree immediately that the consumer is entitled to a refund. In any case, there must be no undue delay, so the trader could not delay payment unnecessarily, for example in order to wait for time-consuming tests which are completely irrelevant.

You could try suggesting that they test it after they've collected it and (as a sweetener) you won't claim lost wages for the collection. However if they insist on sending an engineer to your house, then you will be making a claim for 2 days lost wages - 1 for testing and the other for collection.

Les79

:j

unholyangel wrote: »

What exactly is the fault?



And the explanatory notes give us:



You could try suggesting that they test it after they've collected it and (as a sweetener) you won't claim lost wages for the collection. However if they insist on sending an engineer to your house, then you will be making a claim for 2 days lost wages - 1 for testing and the other for collection.

That bit you've quoted...

It is the "right to reject" but does this apply to faulty goods?

I only ask because I can see both OP and bris' viewpoint... The CRA does suggest that you can reject items and get a full refund, but bris makes sense in suggesting that the retailer can be given the opportunity to inspect goods before an item is considered faulty (within the first 6 months).

My view is that the 30 days allows OP to reject non faulty goods for a full refund. Alternatively, if an agreed fault is confirmed then OP can demand a full refund as apposed to the usual 1x repair attempt from the company.

So what is it? Taking a generic view for a second, can a consumer effectively cry "faulty" within the first 30 days and get a full refund? What if I bought a TV, smashed it up and returned it a day later as "faulty"? Full refund for me? Because for all a neutral third party knows OP took a hammer to their new fridge freezer the other night...

boo_star

Mishomeister wrote: »

Well, if you take a faulty item to Argos they would not be inspecting anything and just take your word that it is faulty.
Can some one point it out to me where the Consumer Rights Acr mentiond any right by retailer to inspect the goods?

That’s a commercial decision made by Argos, presumably because it’s far more costly to have staff who are trained in the ins and out of all the products they sell who can determine if it’s fault or not given that many or most majority of products they sell will be returned to a store.

They’re not doing it because they’re not allowed to.

George_Michael

Les79 wrote: »

My view is that the 30 days allows OP to reject non faulty goods for a full refund. Alternatively, if an agreed fault is confirmed then OP can demand a full refund as apposed to the usual 1x repair attempt from the company.

So what is it? Taking a generic view for a second, can a consumer effectively cry "faulty" within the first 30 days and get a full refund? What if I bought a TV, smashed it up and returned it a day later as "faulty"? Full refund for me? Because for all a neutral third party knows OP took a hammer to their new fridge freezer the other night...

No.
What the law (the Consumer rights act) actually states is that if goods become faulty in the first 6 months from purchase, that fault is deemed to have been there at the time of sale and if the retailer disputes this, they have to prove otherwise.
However, this does not apply in the first 30 days if you are using your short term right of rejection.
In this instance it is for the consumer to prove that a fault exists and more importantly, prove that the fault was there at the time of purchase (although the fault may not have been apparent at this time).

I think that someone taking a TV back after it had been smashed up with a hammer would have a very hard time proving that the set was in that condition when purchased.

unholyangel

Les79 wrote: »

:j
That bit you've quoted...

It is the "right to reject" but does this apply to faulty goods?

I only ask because I can see both OP and bris' viewpoint... The CRA does suggest that you can reject items and get a full refund, but bris makes sense in suggesting that the retailer can be given the opportunity to inspect goods before an item is considered faulty (within the first 6 months).

My view is that the 30 days allows OP to reject non faulty goods for a full refund. Alternatively, if an agreed fault is confirmed then OP can demand a full refund as apposed to the usual 1x repair attempt from the company.

So what is it? Taking a generic view for a second, can a consumer effectively cry "faulty" within the first 30 days and get a full refund? What if I bought a TV, smashed it up and returned it a day later as "faulty"? Full refund for me? Because for all a neutral third party knows OP took a hammer to their new fridge freezer the other night...

Its for goods that don't conform to contract.

What remedies are available depend on how it fails to conform but the major ones are:

(3)If the goods do not conform to the contract because of a breach of any of the terms described in sections 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14, or if they do not conform to the contract under section 16, the consumer's rights (and the provisions about them and when they are available) are—
(a)the short-term right to reject (sections 20 and 22);
(b)the right to repair or replacement (section 23); and
(c)the right to a price reduction or the final right to reject (sections 20 and 24).

Sections 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 are:
9.Goods to be of satisfactory quality
10.Goods to be fit for particular purpose
11.Goods to be as described
13.Goods to match a sample
14.Goods to match a model seen or examined

However nothing in the act prohibits a consumer from utilising other remedies available to them instead of or in addition to remedies provided under the act (for example a claim for damages).

The right to reject is detailed generally (for both the short term right and the final right) in section 20 although the short term right to reject is subject to section 22 (the time limit for the short term right to reject) and the final right to reject is subject to section 24 (the right to a price reduction or final right to reject - which details that no deduction can be made from the refund in the first 6 months unless its a motor vehicle).

bris

Tazer wrote: »

I don't understand why you are against the inspection.
1. They need to make sure the fault was not caused by you.
2. They need to inspect it as they may be able to repair it.
3. 30 days refund does not apply to faulty goods only unwanted goods but T&C may apply for certain items

Your points
1. True
2. False, in the first 30 days whether it can be repaired or not you can reject it for a full refund.
3. False, the 30 days is specifically for goods that don't conform to contract.


You might be getting point 3 confused with the CCR's distance sales where the goods can be sent back with 14 days. But it's 14 not 30.