Amazon, is how it trades legal?

SPlatten

I purchased a chainsaw from Amazon on June 15th 2020.  I am an Amazon Prime customer, the chainsaw cost £138.05, I didn't realise when I was purchasing it that the actual seller was a company based in Germany.  Unfortunately the chainsaw developed a fault a couple of days after it was 6 months old and I've really only used it a couple of times as I purchased it for the odd job in the garden.  The guide that holds the chain split.  I contacted Amazon and was told the warranty is with the seller which wasn't Amazon.  If I purchase something from a shop the warranty is with the shop not the company that supplied the shop.  Is Amazon allowed to do this, they are claiming that they only give a 90 day warranty.  The seller in Germany is not responding at all, so I am now £138.05 out of pocket and don't even have the chainsaw.

The whole thing sounds fishy and I won't be using Amazon again.

davidmcn

Why another thread? Are you wanting more advice?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6233401/amazon-changes-the-consumer-rules/p1

SPlatten

Sorry, I forgot I posted that already...will take a look now.

Aylesbury_Duck

Is this the chainsaw you've "only used a couple of times" but on which you've already been through several chains and guides?

SPlatten

Yes, the first time I used it I went through several chains (3).

mattyprice4004

Amazon isn't the shop - the seller is the shop, they just use the Amazon platform. The same as when you buy through eBay you're not buying from eBay themselves.
Amazon aren't liable here. 

justworriedabit

mattyprice4004 said:

Amazon isn't the shop - the seller is the shop, they just use the Amazon platform. The same as when you buy through eBay you're not buying from eBay themselves.
Amazon aren't liable here. 

That is true but as Amazon charges the sellers surely they must have some kind of responsibility?

cymruchris

I thought I'd seen this thread somewhere before. 

Manxman_in_exile

Stop confusing warranties with your consumer rights.  (I thought this was covered multiple times on your other thread that you forgot about?).

A "warranty" is something above and beyond your "consumer rights".  The way a warranty works and the T&Cs of that warranty are entirely down to the party giving the warranty - usually the manufacturer but can also be the retailer.  As such, the terms of a warranty or the way it operates can only be "legal" because it usually gives you rights in addition to your consumer rights - otherwise the warranty isn't worth anything.

"Consumer rights" are, these days, given to you by statute and are enforceable by the consumer against the retailer, never against the manufacturer (unless the product is bought direct from the manufacturer).

So your consumer rights are enforceable by you against whoever sold you the chainsaw.  If the retailer was based in the UK then you have UK consumer rights.  If the retailer was based in Germany, your consumer rights are probably based on German consumer law.

If you went to Amazon (or whoever sold you the chainsaw) and said you wanted it replaced or repaired under warranty, they would correctly refer you to the German manufacturer.  How you get on with that manufacturer under the warranty has nothing to do with the seller and nothing to do with your consumer rights.

If you go to the person who sold you the chainsaw - which might be Amazon but could be someone else - and ask to enforce the warranty, there is nothing illegal in referring you to the manufacturer - or whoever gave the warranty in question

neilmcl

SPlatten said:

I purchased a chainsaw from Amazon on June 15th 2020.  I am an Amazon Prime customer, the chainsaw cost £138.05, I didn't realise when I was purchasing it that the actual seller was a company based in Germany.  Unfortunately the chainsaw developed a fault a couple of days after it was 6 months old and I've really only used it a couple of times as I purchased it for the odd job in the garden.  The guide that holds the chain split.  I contacted Amazon and was told the warranty is with the seller which wasn't Amazon.  If I purchase something from a shop the warranty is with the shop not the company that supplied the shop.  Is Amazon allowed to do this, they are claiming that they only give a 90 day warranty.  The seller in Germany is not responding at all, so I am now £138.05 out of pocket and don't even have the chainsaw.

The whole thing sounds fishy and I won't be using Amazon again.

You're wrong. Generally warranties are nearly always with the manufacturer, you're consumer rights are with the seller.

SPlatten

I sent it back to the manufacturer first and they sent me an invoice for £86.  I've looked into this before, this clarifies the situation:
http://tradingstandardsblog.co.uk/who-is-liable-for-faulty-goods-the-retailer-or-manufacturer