Clarification help please

docgrahampaer

Morning all

i brought a Fitbit sense (smart watch) on 8/6/2021 on my AMEX card for £181. Since owning it it has failed twice, once on 17/07/2021 when the watch could not synchronise. This was resolved in 3 days eventually by a hard reset. 

All been fine until 23/10/2021 when the watch just went off (so owned for 4.5 months). 

Emailed Fitbit who tried all sorts of scenarios but could not get it sorted and agreed it was under the 2 year guarantee and sent me details to send watch back for a replacement. 

Problem is now that I don’t think the watch is actually FFP as I’ve had small problems  (which I’ve fixed after researching on the net) and when the watch just failed I’ve lost all faith in Fitbit watches. 

So I asked for a refund instead of a replacement and was told “ We respect your decision about getting a refund. However, we can only refund devices that were purchased directly from our web store and within 45 days. ”

So not sure where I stand now? Under the SOG act I thought if a product was under 6 months old and failed so dramatically it wasn’t FFP as can’t track etc. So I’m getting a bit confused on my rights now and really worried if the only option is replacement then I just know that watch will probably fail and then be over 6 months old and my rights have reduced. 

If someone on here can help please with what I should and can do I will really appreciate. 

PS. I haven’t been in touch with Amex yet FYI 

Bradden

Where did you buy it from? If it wasn't direct from Fitbit you might be better off going back to the retialer - although it may be more complicated if fitbit have repaired once already.

docgrahampaer

Bradden said:

Where did you buy it from? If it wasn't direct from Fitbit you might be better off going back to the retialer - although it may be more complicated if fitbit have repaired once already.

It was purchased via Fitbit website Bradden

Alderbank

Fitbit's location for European countries is in the Republic of Ireland.

Fitbit's T&Cs state:

You agree that any dispute between us arising out of or relating to your order via the Fitbit Store (collectively, “Disputes”) will be governed by the arbitration procedure outlined below.

Governing law: Except as otherwise required by applicable law, the Terms and the resolution of any Disputes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

 Which? magazine, in its Consumer Rights page headed 'How to return an item bought from an EU country', says:

If you get into a dispute with a retailer based in the EU, Trading Standards won’t be able to help you and you’ll have to go to that country to file your claim against them in the courts.
When you shop online, read the terms and conditions to see what governing law applies, as you won't be protected in the same way as if you bought from a UK retailer. 

This doesn't mean that you have no consumer rights, far from it, but they will be different from buying from a UK retailer, and posters here may not have the knowledge to help you.

There was a similar thread recently about consumer rights purchasing from a company in Denmark under Danish law.