Car battery died ,seller isn't interested

neilc75

I bought a car battery via eBay in December 2018 for a Christmas trip , all was good , bought with a 4 year warranty . Car had trouble starting 2 days ago so I removed the battery and it was swollen on both sides , looked this up it states battery is dangerous , duck and cover , don't even sneeze near it . I emailed the company ( remember 4 yr warranty ) thinking that they would refund or send a replacement. The company asked me to try and charge it back up !. I said that all advice states that this is very dangerous ( this is all documented) they said that they wouldn't give a replacement without me sending it back to be tested . I spoke to several couriers who said it is illegal to send a battery with a known fault in the post as it could explode and spray acid on a member of their staff . I spoke to the company again who stated they needed it back , I don't know what you they want to check , the company is 200 miles away , why would I send a battery back if it wasn't faulty , they are not happy to collect . eBay and PayPal state that as 180 days have passed then they cannot help ( I have spoken to them on the phone ) . So now I am £55 down and I need another battery . Any advice ? I have emailed the company again demanding a refund as they have sent me a faulty battery , asked me to do something that would endanger me and family and then asked me to do something illegal .

JGB1955

You bought a battery from e-bay? ........ Go to your local tyre and battery centre.

Joe_Horner

There's a better than evens chance that they didn't sell you a faulty battery and that your car has damaged it by over-charging.

Which is why they (rightly) would want to inspect it before replacing or refunding. The fact that you chose to buy by mail order rather than locally really isn't their problem.

Jackmydad

Joe_Horner wrote: »

There's a better than evens chance that they didn't sell you a faulty battery and that your car has damaged it by over-charging.

Which is why they (rightly) would want to inspect it before replacing or refunding. The fact that you chose to buy by mail order rather than locally really isn't their problem.

Pretty well what I thought. Or it's been seriously shorted or overloaded.
Either way the company will want to see it before replacement.
If I was the OP, I'd check the charging voltage when a new battery's in.
Whatever the law says, returns are one of the snags with buying stuff online.

Aylesbury_Duck

neilc75 wrote: »

I bought a car battery via eBay in December 2018 for a Christmas trip , all was good , bought with a 4 year warranty . Car had trouble starting 2 days ago so I removed the battery and it was swollen on both sides , looked this up it states battery is dangerous , duck and cover , don't even sneeze near it . I emailed the company ( remember 4 yr warranty ) thinking that they would refund or send a replacement. The company asked me to try and charge it back up !. I said that all advice states that this is very dangerous ( this is all documented) they said that they wouldn't give a replacement without me sending it back to be tested . I spoke to several couriers who said it is illegal to send a battery with a known fault in the post as it could explode and spray acid on a member of their staff . I spoke to the company again who stated they needed it back , I don't know what you they want to check , the company is 200 miles away , why would I send a battery back if it wasn't faulty , they are not happy to collect . eBay and PayPal state that as 180 days have passed then they cannot help ( I have spoken to them on the phone ) . So now I am £55 down and I need another battery . Any advice ? I have emailed the company again demanding a refund as they have sent me a faulty battery , asked me to do something that would endanger me and family and then asked me to do something illegal .

1. You can't prove they sent you a faulty battery. After this long the onus is on you to prove it was inherently faulty and given that it's worked perfectly well for seven months, the balance of probabilities is that it has been damaged in your possession.
2. Whilst their advice was flawed, you can cut the drama. No one was hurt and you were sensible enough to know it was a bad idea to charge it or post it.
3. As pointed out above, it was your choice to order by post. It's reasonable that you are responsible for legally and safely returning it to them if you want it inspected and action taken.

neilc75

The problem is this, the battery is faulty, I cannot legally send it back because couriers will not touch a damaged battery , a company that sells batteries didn't seem to know this , or they did and they know that this leaves it buyers in an impossible position , there is nothing wrong with the car , I've had the alternator and charging system checked. Buying online is not an excuse for bad customer service or unlawful actions , also 7 months into a 4 year warranty is nothing , why should I walk away ? They haven't manufactured the battery , they have been given a bad battery by the supplier , surely they can send it back to them . That's not my problem , if I bought a battery from Halfords and theyd bought it from Bosch and it was 7 months into the 4 year guarantee they would give me a new one and send the old one back to Bosch ,

cajef

neilc75 wrote: »

That's not my problem , if I bought a battery from Halfords and theyd bought it from Bosch and it was 7 months into the 4 year guarantee they would give me a new one and send the old one back to Bosch ,

But it is your problem, if you had bought it from your local Halfords you could return it to them yourself, however you chose to buy it online no doubt thinking you were getting a bargain compared to Halfords prices, they are not just going to take your word that it is faulty and want it back to examine it, how you get it back to them is not their problem.

loskie

a battery with a 4 yr guarantee is the same as one from the same brand with a 1yr guarantee. Just a different label so you are really only paying for insurance.

Worth it? Only you can decide.

shaun_from_Africa

Who is the battery manufactured by?
If it's one of the big, well known companies such as Bosch, Varta or Yuasa, you might get more joy contacting them directly rather than trying to get a warranty replacement from the retailer.

If there is a possibility of a faulty battery rather than it being damaged by overcharging or being shorted out, they may well want to investigate and could have procedures in place for collecting the faulty unit.

debtdebt

neilc75 wrote: »

The problem is this, the battery is faulty, I cannot legally send it back because couriers will not touch a damaged battery , a company that sells batteries didn't seem to know this , or they did and they know that this leaves it buyers in an impossible position , there is nothing wrong with the car , I've had the alternator and charging system checked. Buying online is not an excuse for bad customer service or unlawful actions , also 7 months into a 4 year warranty is nothing , why should I walk away ? They haven't manufactured the battery , they have been given a bad battery by the supplier , surely they can send it back to them . That's not my problem , if I bought a battery from Halfords and theyd bought it from Bosch and it was 7 months into the 4 year guarantee they would give me a new one and send the old one back to Bosch ,

The problem is this, you bought a battery from Ebay because you were being tight and wanted to save money.

I would only buy a battery from somewhere close enough for me to return it to if it went faulty. It's not the seller's fault you can't find a convenient way to return the battery. It's not their fault you're 200 miles away.

No matter where you buy a battery from , if it was faulty, it's down to you to get it back to the seller for testing / replacement. If you bought a battery from your local Halfords, Costco, local motor factor or an Ebay seller 200 miles away, YOU HAVE TO GET IT BACK TO THEM!!!! YOU DO. Not them!!! YOU!!!! Thats why most normal people buy a battery from round the corner.

This isn't their problem, it's your problem. You have to get the battery back to the seller!!!

maninthestreet

what make is the battery??