Loan for TV - TV Recalled; Where do I stand?

NoTB

Hi all,
In 2018 I bought an LG television from Curriys PC World for c£3k. Finance was over 36 months and all LG televisions have a standard manufacturers warranty of 5 years therefore no extended warranty was purchased at the time. 
Fast forward to August 2020 - the TV goes on fire and I phone up LG. They take the TV away and instead of giving me a replacement, decide the fire-damaged TV is now 'safe' as they had replaced the Power Supply Unit (PSU).
Start of October 2020, out of the blue, Currys PC World phone me and ask if they can do an independent inspection as a 'courtesy' for me to ensure the TV is actually safe (they said this is part of their customer service as I bought an expensive TV from them...). 
Currys have now told me that the PSU is no longer stocked by LG as that model of television has been discontinued (so what PSU did LG actually repair my TV with then?), and as a result, the TV will have to be written off and scrapped. 
Currys want to give me a voucher for a depreciated amount vs the price originally paid for the TV. 
I have asked what is happening with the finance on the TV then as there is still 9+ months finance left on the TV and nobody can give me a definitive answer. I had one adviser suggest the finance would have to be wiped as I couldn't be paying for a TV I didn't have or was fit for purpose. I had another adviser tell me that I would still be liable for the finance but wasn't able to tell me definitively.
Any advice on next steps etc please as I'm at a loss as to where to go from here.
Thx

macman

The finance is entirely separate, loss of the TV does not void the debt you owe. You can accept a voucher, or ask for a cash refund or an alternative TV.

NoTB

macman said:

The finance is entirely separate, loss of the TV does not void the debt you owe. You can accept a voucher, or ask for a cash refund or an alternative TV.

Thanks for your response. 
In the time of me posting this, I have had an email response from Citizens Advice Scotland who have told me that; 

'...under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, any goods purchased should be of satisfactory quality and free from defect. If the TV has been deemed unsafe and subsequently written off, you have two options - ask for a like-for-like replacement or, if unavailable, cancelation of the agreement'. 

They have stated to direct my query to the finance company (Creation). 
Do you feel this is correct?
Many thanks

bradders1983

I would make the payments to avoid any potential harm to your credit file and argue the toss independently of you keeping up that end of the bargain.

macman

If you are in Scotland, the regs may be different. But I suspect not, as the finance company are entirely separate from DSG.
If this was a car, then in the event of a total loss, you would still owe the finance on it, which would be settled by your insurers paying out on your policy. Your case seems little different.
What resolution do you want from this? Replacement, credit voucher, or cash? Either way, you will still have to pay off the finance. Are you expecting not to pay any more but still get a voucher?

NoTB

macman said:

What resolution do you want from this? Replacement, credit voucher, or cash? Either way, you will still have to pay off the finance. Are you expecting not to pay any more but still get a voucher?

Currently, there is c1.2k of finance left on the TV. From indicative calculations by Currys I will be getting, at the top end, a £1k voucher towards a new TV - with it obviously only being usable with them. If I wanted to buy a TV that equals the depreciated value of my current TV, I'd have to put in even more money, which to me, doesn't seem right?
 My issue is, how can I be expected to pay off more finance than the value of the item that I have been given, in voucher terms, as replacement? If I were to be offered the equivalent to the outstanding finance then it wouldn't be much of an issue, hence the question/s.
I'm not sure if this sounds wrong to me or if I'm missing something but hopefully that makes sense to you to give you some more colour as to my situation.

Thx again

Yahoo_Mail

NoTB said:

macman said:

What resolution do you want from this? Replacement, credit voucher, or cash? Either way, you will still have to pay off the finance. Are you expecting not to pay any more but still get a voucher?

Currently, there is c1.2k of finance left on the TV. From indicative calculations by Currys I will be getting, at the top end, a £1k voucher towards a new TV - with it obviously only being usable with them. If I wanted to buy a TV that equals the depreciated value of my current TV, I'd have to put in even more money, which to me, doesn't seem right?
 My issue is, how can I be expected to pay off more finance than the value of the item that I have been given, in voucher terms, as replacement? If I were to be offered the equivalent to the outstanding finance then it wouldn't be much of an issue, hence the question/s.
I'm not sure if this sounds wrong to me or if I'm missing something but hopefully that makes sense to you to give you some more colour as to my situation.

Thx again

So how far off (being reasonable) is the 1k figure?

Don't expect them to give you £3k as a voucher, but if you can't buy something roughly equivalent to what you had with the voucher they're offering, ask for more. I'd expect their first offer to be a low-ball offer, there's nothing to lose by them trying it on.

Obviously, you'd be getting a new TV to replace a used one, but I don't think the argument of "betterment" holds much weight here if they're forcing you to buy a TV through them and they don't sell second-hand TVs.

NoTB

Yahoo_Mail said:

So how far off (being reasonable) is the 1k figure?

Currys have said they are waiting on LG providing them with a write-off value, to which Currys will then give me a voucher for X-amount. They have been saying this for weeks, so doesn't appear to be happening any time soon.  

Yahoo_Mail said:

Don't expect them to give you £3k as a voucher, but if you can't buy something roughly equivalent to what you had with the voucher they're offering, ask for more. I'd expect their first offer to be a low-ball offer, there's nothing to lose by them trying it on.

Obviously, you'd be getting a new TV to replace a used one, but I don't think the argument of "betterment" holds much weight here if they're forcing you to buy a TV through them and they don't sell second-hand TVs.

Of course I wouldn't/couldn't expect to have a voucher for the original amount I paid for the TV however I also didn't expect to have to pay off finance on an item that wasn't fit for purpose and in turn, was, in turn, given a lesser-value product as its replacement.

Thx 

greensalad

I think the £1k sounds reasonable if it's in line with the depreciation of the TV, but what I don't think is reasonable is offering that to you only as a voucher. I would argue they should give you a sum in cash equal to the amount remaining on the finance agreement, allowing you to pay it off in full. 

Grumpy_chap

The OP purchased a TV for £3k and is now 2 years old but recalled because of a manufacturing defect / component fault.
The TV was purchased under a 3-year payment plan.
The TV comes with a 5-year warranty.
The OP should reasonably expect that TV to have a life-span of at least as long as the associated finance product and the warranty offered by the manufacturer.
The OP now has no TV and has been offered £1k towards a new TV from Curry's.  If £1k is the retail cost of an equivalent specification (i.e. 2-year old model at end-of-run) from Curry's, then that is probably reasonable.
If not, then Curry's or LG should provide the OP with a new TV equivalent to the original TV.  There is an acceptance by Curry's already that there needs to be a contribution of £1k towards the cost of a solution.  I am quite confident that the manufacturing cost of a TV that retails at £3k is no more than £1k.  It is quite possible for Curry's and LG between them to take the hit of £1k and for the OP to have a new TV nearest available equivalent to the original model.
The OP should continue to make the finance payments.
The warranty on the new TV should run until the 5 years on the original TV would expire.
That is how I see it.  My lay-persons view only, not a legal view.

MalMonroe

macman said:

If you are in Scotland, the regs may be different. But I suspect not, as the finance company are entirely separate from DSG.
If this was a car, then in the event of a total loss, you would still owe the finance on it, which would be settled by your insurers paying out on your policy. Your case seems little different.
What resolution do you want from this? Replacement, credit voucher, or cash? Either way, you will still have to pay off the finance. Are you expecting not to pay any more but still get a voucher?

It isn't the same as a car, though, is it?  And if a car did spontaneously combust, you would not be expected to carry on paying for it as it would be a fault of the car, not the person who's paying the finance on it!

It is not true that OP will have to pay the finance on it because it is faulty goods, not fit for purpose.