Life of a Watch Battery?

arsenalboy

Bought a new watch from a High Street jeweler and in its 6th month the battery packed up.

I went back and they said it wasnt covered under warranty. I stated the SOGA and said it wasnt fit for purpose as the battery was either defective or the watch was old stock i.e., a full price new watch should not need its battery replacing after 6 months.

They said it was fit for purpose and just needed a new battery!

Obviously not losing sleep over this but just wondered if they are right or I am right?

bris

It's a consumeable so they are right. The battery is as old as the watch, how old the watch is is anyones guess as it may have sat on a shelf for 2 years before you bought it.

[Deleted User]

Whatever the true age of the battery, it definitely wasn't 6 months.

Manxman_in_exile

As a matter of interest, is it spelled out anywhere that batteries (or other "consumeables") don't have to last for a reasonable amount of time?

If I bought a battery which might be expected to last between, say 2 - 5 years, but it expired after 3 months, would that be OK?  Or is that fundamentally different from buying a "new" watch with a battery in it?

Serious question.

(If I'd been the jewellers I'd have been happy to give the OP a replacement battery... )

user1977

New batteries invariably come with some sort of advertised expectation about their lifespan. I can't remember batteries included with an appliance ever coming with any sort of promise about how long they'll last.

peter_the_piper

I bought some batteries for my watch and replaced the duff one. This failed after about 3 months whereas the on that i used to replace it has lasted over a year so far.  I think people have too great an expectation of the life of batteries.

Manxman_in_exile

Is "any sort of [advertised] promise" as to the expected lifespan required?

Might there not be a reasonable expectation that the battery in a new watch would last longer than a few months?

(As I say, I don't know the answer.)

lincroft1710

arsenalboy said:

 I stated the SOGA 

For the most part SOGA was superseded by the Consumer Rights Act in 2015

Manxman_in_exile

I would have tried s9(3)(e) Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

But as discussed, I don't know how long a watch battery should last before it - or the watch - can be said to be of unsatisfactory quality.

As I said earlier, I'd be disappointed if the jeweller didn't just offer a new battery... 

lemondrops69

At our local jewellers you can see them changing the batteries, I've never done it but there is a sign that says 'Watch batteries fitted here' Doesn't sound very exciting  

Ergates

Manxman_in_exile said:

As a matter of interest, is it spelled out anywhere that batteries (or other "consumeables") don't have to last for a reasonable amount of time?

If I bought a battery which might be expected to last between, say 2 - 5 years, but it expired after 3 months, would that be OK?  Or is that fundamentally different from buying a "new" watch with a battery in it?

Serious question.

(If I'd been the jewellers I'd have been happy to give the OP a replacement battery... )

Realistically, it wouldn't be possible to say how long a battery should last because that would depend on how much power was being drawn.   Even with watches there will probably be a fair degree of variance based on how many bells and gizmos the watch has.