John Lewis claim for TV, using Consumer Rights Act 2015 13 November 2022 at 5:50PM in Consumer rights 32 replies 1.9K views

mikrt

My Samsung TV is just over 5 years old, paid for in store for £879.00, and has developed a few white flames type thingies glowing from bottom of the screen. Of course my 5 year warrantee ran out last month.

My sister who bought the exact same model in a smaller size (mine is 55", hers, I think, is 48") a week before me, had exactly the same issue, but her fault appeared within the last few months of the warrantee and had a new panel fitted by A JL appointed engineer.

After some research I believe under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if a fault develops between 6 months and 6 years I can make a claim.

If they offer a repair I will gladly accept. But if they offer a partial refund or credit note (which I may accept), how much would be a reasonable amount to accept please, maybe 50%? Or is that too low or too high do you think?

I've just emailed them using a "Which" template, with photo's of the fault and a photo of the receipt. They say they'll get back within 24 hours, and Which say to take action after 14 days.

TIA

dreamypuma

I think 50% after 5 years of use, is hugely optimistic. I'd be grateful of 20%

You may need to carry out some leg work to get a result.

mikrt

20%. Ok thanks.

Prepared for leg work, I was going to throw it and get a new one ready for Christmas, so anything's better than nothing.

I'll feedback if & when I get a reply

diystarter7

This consumer rights act 2015. Has anyone ever made a claim and got the item repaired places after the initial one yr guarantee, please? IMO, if this consumer protection thing was worth the paper it was written on, millions like me and others would not be paying for extended warranties.

Alderbank

diystarter7 said:

This consumer rights act 2015. Has anyone ever made a claim and got the item repaired places after the initial one yr guarantee, please? IMO, if this consumer protection thing was worth the paper it was written on, millions like me and others would not be paying for extended warranties.

Your statutory rights under CRA2015 are separate from and different to whatever rights you have under a warranty. Your rights under a warranty are exactly what it says in the warranty. Your rights under CRA are laid down in law and cannot be taken away.
Sometimes a warranty will give you additional benefits above your statutory rights. Richer Sounds 6 year TV warranty, for instance, is very good. Some warranties don't give you any more than your statutory rights.

powerful_Rogue

mikrt said:

My Samsung TV is just over 5 years old, paid for in store for £879.00, and has developed a few white flames type thingies glowing from bottom of the screen. Of course my 5 year warrantee ran out last month.

My sister who bought the exact same model in a smaller size (mine is 55", hers, I think, is 48") a week before me, had exactly the same issue, but her fault appeared within the last few months of the warrantee and had a new panel fitted by A JL appointed engineer.

After some research I believe under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if a fault develops between 6 months and 6 years I can make a claim.

If they offer a repair I will gladly accept. But if they offer a partial refund or credit note (which I may accept), how much would be a reasonable amount to accept please, maybe 50%? Or is that too low or too high do you think?

I've just emailed them using a "Which" template, with photo's of the fault and a photo of the receipt. They say they'll get back within 24 hours, and Which say to take action after 14 days.

TIA

I reckon you'd struggle to get even a 10% refund. How much is a 5+ year old TV worth nowdays? Someone listing something like this on facebook marketplace just to get rid of it would probably get no more then £50. Bear in mind you can pick up a Samsung 55 inch, 4K UHD Smart TV for less then £350 brand new.

Have you taken the TV anywhere to get a report stating why it has failed? Without that don't even consider small claims court action.

I've just looked at the Which template letter.I think you've made a big mistake there as it's likely to get thier backs and lose you any chance of a goodwill gesture, which is entirely what you are looking for at present.

screech_78

You will definitely need an independent report confirming it’s an inherent fault. It will be the first thing John Lewis ask for before considering your claim. You won’t be able to take small claims action either without one. 

I don’t think you have any chance of a repair as the costs will be disproportionate to a partial refund. 

John Lewis calculate based on the 6 years you have to claim versus how many months you’ve owned the product. As your warranty ended last month, I’m assuming you purchased this in October 2017. By my calculations, you’d be offered around £147 as a partial refund. That’s assuming you get a report which confirms an inherent fault. 

MalMonroe

Hi, you are right when you say "After some research I believe under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if a fault develops between 6 months and 6 years I can make a claim."

The CRA 2015 overrides any guarantee or warranty a company gives you and you are well within your rights to ask JL to consider what you have to say, especially as your TV was originally what I consider to be very expensive. I recently bought a 42" TV from Richer Sounds - because it has a 6 year guarantee - and it was under £200. I'd expect a TV costing over £800 to last longer than five or six years. Especially Samsung.

But you're not asking for the moon and JL know all about the Customer Rights Act, so they should offer you something. 

Dolor

You will definitely need an independent report confirming it’s an inherent fault.

I avoid giving advice on anything legal, and I have absolutely no idea how JL will react to any claim.

That said, various authoritative sources offer advice of what is needed to make a successful out-of-warranty claim:

‘ If a fault develops after six months, it’s up to you to prove it was faulty at the time of purchase’

Sources suggest that an independent test report is needed as well as evidence that there is a history of early failures which indicate faulty design; faulty manufacture etc. One is then into  ‘a cost versus reward’ debate.

For what it is worth, many components for use in high risk environments (such as commercial aircraft) are built with a predicted failure rate to a factor of 10 to the minus 6. If a component fails on first use, it doesn’t mean that there is necessarily a design or manufacturing fault. All the sub components could be just within limits but, collectively, they result in any early failure.

DullGreyGuy

JL, for me at least, used a basic age in months divided by 72 to calculate the amount to be discounted for use. So if you say its over 5 years old you'd be looking at 15% or less as the refund if they accept its a fault and isnt just beyond its reasonable life. 

Obviously its up to you to decide how much time and effort you need to spend to attempt to get £135 or less back. As others have said, you are almost certainly going to have to commission your own report to confirm the cause of the problem at your own expense which will only be recoverable if it confirms its a fault and its not reasonable for the fault to have developed after 5 years. 

Gavin83

Personally in your shoes I wouldn't bother. It's £60-£70 for the report which is only recoverable if it states its an inherent fault. After 5 years while I wouldn't say it's impossible I'd imagine the likelihood of it being an inherent fault is low. Then even if you do prove this it's likely you'll be getting less than £150 back.