Comet & a faulty Camcorder

rca779

Reading some of the posts on this forum regarding the Sale of Goods act has made me wonder whether I have a claim against Comet for a faulty camcorder.

The Camcorder is less than 2 years old and now doesn't work because a warning light comes on saying please load a cassette, this despite it having a cassette loaded.

The camcorder is now outside it's 1 year manufacturer’s guarantee, but do I have a case against Comet under the SOGA to get the camcorder repaired/replaced/refunded?

Any advice would be really welcome because I'm not particularly clued up about making this type of complaint.

Wig

The light stays on but does it work in all other respects normally?

If "yes" then I think the case is a bit frivolous
If "no" i.e. it doesn't record then you do have protection under SOGA. They as the retailer have to repair it or replace it or partially refund you whichever **THEY** choose is the most appropriate.

They will no doubt initially fob you off,
"it's not our problem"
"It's the manufacturers problem"
"you didn't take out our parts and labour warranty"
etc etc etc ignore all of their excuses, they are responsible not you and not the manufacturer.

You might have to write letters, you might have to threaten small claims court action, you might have to initate small claims court action. But you do have the right to repair etc.

Goods have to be of satisfactory quality, and that means they have to last as long as you would reasonably expect them to, yours has failed after 2 years, that's not reasonable.

However, if it otherwise functions and it is just the light....
a) I think that's frivolous
b) I think you will be wasting your time trying to get them to fix it, you might win, you might not, but ultimately it's a waste of time.


IANAL

rca779

Thanks for the reply Wig.

The warning light coming on has rendered the camcorder completely useless. I can't record or playback a tape.

Is there a quick link to the SOGA so that I can understand my rights in a bit more detail?

Wig

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

rca779

Well I went into Comet today and guess [EMAIL="what....bl@@dy"]what....bl@@dy[/EMAIL] useless they were too.

the first woman I spoke to simply said tough! It's past it's one year warantee and it will cost me £90 to get an engineer to look at it. I then mentioned the SOGA and again she just said tough. So I asked if there was someone else I could talk to.

The deputy manager then turned up. He was a really nice guy, but again would do nothing. He gave me 3 options - 1. Take comet to the small claims court where he thought I might do OK. 2 - Pay £45 to get someone to take a look at it. 3 - a good deal/discount on a replacement camcorder.

Not happy with his response I asked whether it would be worthwhile me contacting the Comet customer services department and he suggested I would be wasting my time.

So it would appear that my only option is the small claims court.

I will try the Comet customer services department first, but don;t hold out much hope!

Wig

Exactly what I expected to happen, except I didn't expect the manager to be so honest with you.

I'm afraid it's letter writing time for you. For small claims to be filed you will have had to have given Comet sufficient time to rectify your complaint, that means a series of letters, preferably recorded delivery (keep all reciepts to claim back as "costs" later). And I don't know the exact time they require but it's either a month or three months and it will tell you somewhere in the help advice sections on the website.

You can do the whole process online now
[SIZE=-1]www.moneyclaim.gov.uk[/SIZE]
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/

There is at point at which you will have laid out your case in moneyclaim, but not yet paid your fee, you will be able to send them a link (I believe) showing them your case is laid out and ready for
process, and if they (comet) do not reply with a satisfactory solution within 7 days you will process the claim and pay the (non refundable) £35 (or whatever) court fee, after which time the court fee will be added onto your claim costs. So you are giving them the second to last chance to settle up in full.


I say second to last chance, because they may try to settle with you after this time but they will try to avoid repaying you the court fees, you tell them that you will only accept a full settlement that includes the court fee, otherwise your case will be heard by the court.

Your local trading standards might help you prepare a case.

Brooke_Daver

rca779 wrote: »

So it would appear that my only option is the small claims court.

Be prepared to lose.

rca779

Really?

Why do you say that?
Am I missing something, do you not think I have a good case?
Obviously if you think that there is a hole in my case, I would appreciate knowing about it now rather than finding out in the SCC?

stugib

rca779 wrote: »

Really?

Why do you say that?
Am I missing something, do you not think I have a good case?

Brooke Daver/Dave Brooker/dangeroussports/aka numerous other AEs doesn't think anyone ever has a case against any company. I doubt he even read the post.

Wig

In the unlikely event you do lose, you will only lose £35 (court fee) I think it is worth £35 just to attempt to bluff them into agreeing to fix it before the court date. You said yourself the repair report (not even a repair) would cost £45.

This is what Comet rely on, they expect the vast majority of people not to bother with SCC that's why they point blank refuse to do anything, until they know you're serious.

Your camcorder hasn't even lasted 2 years. I'm sure you can successfully argue that having bought it for £xxx you reasonably expected it to last 24 months without failing.


Go for it.

Wig

Ahh Dave Brooker, I seem to recall him saying he runs some sort of business, no doubt he doesn't like the general public being informed of their rights, and finding out the simple process of suiing retail companies in the SCC.