Who sorts this?

Singerthesetter

Hi. Hoping someone can help. I bought 10 led lamps for my Lounge/Dining room at the beginning of November 2018. The manufacturers USP was that the average life of each lamp is 15,000 hrs. One of the lamps recently went faulty so today I took it back to Toolstation to hopefully get an under guarantee replacement. The manager of the branch said, as it was bought more than 12 months ago ie outside their guarantee period, there is nothing they can do.
I've worked out that even if I'd had the lamp switched on for 4 hours every day(which is extremely unlikely) I would only have used it for just over 1600 hrs, which is nowhere near the manufacturers claims. So my question is do I need to pursue this with the manufacturer myself or are the vendors ie Toolstation legally obliged to pursue it on my behalf.
First post for years so hope this complies etc etc
Many thanks in advance

powerful_Rogue

Singerthesetter wrote: »

Hi. Hoping someone can help. I bought 10 led lamps for my Lounge/Dining room at the beginning of November 2018. The manufacturers USP was that the average life of each lamp is 15,000 hrs. One of the lamps recently went faulty so today I took it back to Toolstation to hopefully get an under guarantee replacement. The manager of the branch said, as it was bought more than 12 months ago ie outside their guarantee period, there is nothing they can do.
I've worked out that even if I'd had the lamp switched on for 4 hours every day(which is extremely unlikely) I would only have used it for just over 1600 hrs, which is nowhere near the manufacturers claims. So my question is do I need to pursue this with the manufacturer myself or are the vendors ie Toolstation legally obliged to pursue it on my behalf.
First post for years so hope this complies etc etc
Many thanks in advance

What do you mean by 'under guarantee replacement'?

Toolstation (the retailer) can ask you to get an independant report to prove whether the light was inherently faulty or not. If the item is inherently faulty they should refund the cost of the report and either repair/exchange or refund. The choice is theres and if they refund they can reduce the amount for the use you have had.

Regarding the manufacturer, did it come with a guarantee? If so, contact them. Even if it didn't it's still worth getting in touch with them. They might offer goodwill, however remember you have no rights with them,

Also worth nothing the word in bold "average life of each lamp is 15,000 hrs"

Meaning some may last 25000hrs, some 5000 etc

Carrot007

Average life is not a guarantee.


It is an estimated life span and something only 50% should achieve.


You have 1 year with the retailer. And even then depending on how much it cost does not mean it should last that long. If there was no manufacturer warrenty (which you would usually have to register for) then no one has any reason to do anything.

Singerthesetter

Hi. Thanks for your thoughts.
My way of thinking goes a bit like this. Using Martins SAD FART rights all goods bought must be:-

Satisfactory quality
As
Described
Fit for purpose
And last a
Reasonable amount of
Time
Now if the manufacturer claims each lamp has an AVERAGE life of 15,000 hrs then that refers to continual use. which equates to roughly 1.7 years 24 hour use.
My lamp at the very most has been used for 4 hours a day and has lasted just 13 months which equates to just 10.8% of the average, which I think is way below even the most ambitious estimate of the lowest values in the "average" calculations.
So the "Reasonable amount of time" part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in my mind has been broken, but the vendor is not prepared to do anything about it.
Question is where do I go from here?

ThumbRemote

Singerthesetter wrote: »

Now if the manufacturer claims each lamp has an AVERAGE life of 15,000 hrs then that refers to continual use. which equates to roughly 1.7 years 24 hour use.

You don't seem to understand how averages work.

You do not give an average for 'each lamp', you give an average for the lamps in general. So one may last 2,000 hours, another last 28,000 hours, which gives an average of 15,000 hours.

In any case, their average is just a made up number because there's no way they leave a load turned on for years at a time to measure this, prior to going on sale to the general public.

Singerthesetter

Ha ha yes I can't imagine them sitting around for years testing their stock before they put them on sale:):)

forgotmyname

Average for leaving the light on 24/7 or constantly cycling between hot and cold states?

Large variation in the lifetime of the parts used in a light unit.


Where to go, slag the brand off on the internet and purchase a different brand.

unforeseen

The lifespan is a calculation.
Better known as MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures). This is calculated based on known degradation rates of various components within the product and their failure rates.

As has been pointed out its an average. Some will fail after an hour, some may well outlast you. A good example is the Centennial Light in Livermore California. It has been working for 117 years

JJ_Egan

See post two re claiming .
One the manufacturer may help .
Two your CR against the vendor plus an independent report you pay for . Not sure how an inspection is going to come to a conclusion .
Personal choice write to the maker saying how disappointed you are .

photome

What was the cost of one lamp

YBR

I have heard that MTBF figures are based on tests in the lab on "smoothed" electric supplies, without switching lights off and on. i.e. ideal conditions.
As our supplies at home are not ideal, and switching on and off shortens the remaining life of low energy bulbs, the Average hours quoted is unrealistic in the home.
Yes it feels like a con.