Being left disadvantaged after refund for faulty item

surfer91919

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

You've had 3-4 months' free hire of a wetsuit and you think you've been disadvantaged? Dear oh dear.

Advice? Consider yourself fortunate that they didn't moderate the refund considerably to reflect your use of the item for all that time. You have no grounds for complaint.

Yes, " all that time".... two months out of a 12 month warranty and less than 10 sessions on a suit which should last several years. I was fully entitled under the manufacturers warranty to repair or replacement. Fact. Go and check the Xcel wetsuits website if you don't believe me,

surfer91919

Fosterdog wrote: »

What do you mean by leaks? It's a wet suit they are supposed to let in water, it's dry suits that keep the water out, unless you mean the actual stitching came apart in which case continued use would almost certainly have caused more damage.

Also as you have learned here your warranty and your consumer rights are different, if you had gone through the manufacturer yourself you may have had your desired result but you opted to pursue the retailer instead and they are not going to give you an option that leaves them out of pocket.

What I mean by leaks are pinholes in the seams letting in water rapidly as soon as you enter the water. I know what a wetsuit and a dry suit is and how they work as I have been surfing for 20 years and using these particular suits for 15 years. A wetsuit should have good seals to prevent flushing (there were no worries here) and should let water in through the neoprene at a slow rate so your body can warm up the water. Water should not jet in on the seams. I've had over 10 xcel infini suits over 15 years and such pinhole leaks would start occurring after around 18 months or regular use. I've NEVER had a brand new suit leak on the seams on the first use.
Such leaks are caused by defects in the glue line and not usually visible to the naked eye. Believe me- I've tried repairing them on old suits and short of peeling all the tape off and replacing, you can't fix them.

Please explain how I'm to claim directly from the manufactuer when their website states that I must make my claim via the retailer?

Carrot007

surfer91919 wrote: »

was fully entitled under the manufacturers warranty to repair or replacement.

And yet you went to the retailer who has nothing to do with the manufacturers warranty?

surfer91919

DCFC79 wrote: »

You've been refunded the amount you originally paid so your in the same position before you bought it.


You used it a number of times, you have to accept you should have returned it sooner.

I'm not, because in the current season the same suit is £125 more expensive. If I had known I was going to be refunded and it would be that easy I would have returned it immediately and possibly found another sale suit from another vendor (I got the last one in my size from the retailer). Unfortunately there was only mention of repair or replace and not refund so I thought- no rush.

Truth is the retailer has entirely bypassed MY 12month warranty on seams and neoprene and with it my right to repair or replace the suit (Xcel have obviously not dealt with this at all or been made aware as the refund landed the day after the wetsuit arrived with the retailer).

surfer91919

Carrot007 wrote: »

And yet you went to the retailer who has nothing to do with the manufacturers warranty?

Yes, because the manufacturers website states you must make your warranty claim through the retailer. Should I have disregarded their advice?

A_Lert

surfer91919 wrote: »

I was fully entitled under the manufacturers warranty to repair or replacement.

You never claimed under the manufacturer's warranty. You returned it to the retailer. They've met their legal obligation.


When you return a faulty product to a retailer, if it's more than 30 days after purchase they have the option to make a repair or replacement, but if the retailer wants to go straight to giving a refund they have the right to do so.



What the manufacturer says they will do is moot - you never gave them the chance!


With hindsight, if you had known the law, and the cost of a replacement suit, you would have been better off pursuing a warranty claim. But too late now.

surfer91919

ToxicWomble wrote: »

Must be school holidays somewhere

Helpful post, cheers

surfer91919

A_Lert wrote: »

You never claimed under the manufacturer's warranty. You returned it to the retailer. They've met their legal obligation.


When you return a faulty product to a retailer, if it's more than 30 days after purchase they have the option to make a repair or replacement, but if the retailer wants to go straight to giving a refund they have the right to do so.



What the manufacturer says they will do is moot - you never gave them the chance!


With hindsight, if you had known the law, and the cost of a replacement suit, you would have been better off pursuing a warranty claim. But too late now.

Correct, because the manufactures website told me to.

"Warranty claims are for a product being sent to Xcel for repair. For returns of Xcel online purchases not purchased from xcelwetsuits.eu, please contact the retailer from where you purchased the product."

Please check XCEL.EU for further warranty terms if you don't believe me.

Please explain why and how I should have disregarded this official advice?

I would say as the buyer I have a right to access MY manufacturers warranty and the retailer has bypassed this without consulting me.

Carrot007

surfer91919 wrote: »

Yes, because the manufacturers website states you must make your warranty claim through the retailer. Should I have disregarded their advice?

OK, then I assume you told the retailer (at the start) you were not making a claim on your statutory rights and just using the manufacturers warranty which they needed to participate in? (otherwise I expect they choose the option most beneficial to them).

Carrot007

surfer91919 wrote: »

I would say as the buyer I have a right to access MY manufacturers warranty and the retailer has bypassed this without consulting me.

Again, did you tell them what you were doing, if not how did you expect them to know?