Martin Lewis: Faulty tech? Don’t let ‘em fob you off with ‘sorry you’re out of warranty’

Grumpy_chap

dbsevern said:

I have a related question on this subject.  Where does a consumer stand if they have purchased a perfectly good piece of tech, but a subsequent software update by the manufacturer appears to have rendered it unfit for purpose?  I have a Garmin watch, purchased second hand from Ebay (so no recourse to original seller) which worked fine for a number of months.  It then stopped recording running activities - turning off randomly during the run, and I believe this was caused by a software update from the manufacturer.  

How do you know it was the software update that caused the problem with recording activities?  If it was the cause then it is quite likely that the next software update will correct the glitch.

I have a Garmin watch and, a couple of times, it has paused recording an activity part-way through.  It could be because I inadvertently touched the screen.  I actually think the most likely cause in my case is that the battery was low, so the watch reduced the amount of stuff it was doing (recording activity) to allow duration to extend.  I cannot prove that.

How old is the watch in question? 
I really only think these types of device have a life-span of 2 -3 years.  This watch was second-hand and then worked fine for "a number of months".  Is the device (and battery state of health) new enough to avoid this type of glitch event?
Again, comparing to my Garmin - when it was brand new, the type of glitch I experienced in the past few week was not something that would happen.  I bought my watch just before lock-down, so it is now approaching 3 years old.  This type of reducing performance matches my previous experience with previous devices.

born_again

Note @dbsevern
Has started a thread on their issue

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6425765/rights-in-relation-to-software-updates-affecting-product-performance#latest

Timmrconway

I am having the same problem with Samsung. I have a Laptop which is 2 years old and has developed thin lines across the monitor. Due to the way the call centers work it has taken months to finaly speak to someone in Samsung Retail Customer Services, who have stated that the Consumer Rights Act 2022 protect them and as the item is over 6 months the burden is upon me to prove it was faulty at the time I took ownership. 
 I have now sent a letter, which I downloaded from another site making it a little more offical, but will have to see what happens, but it seems they realy want to put on a fight and make it as difficult as possible.

Alderbank

Timmrconway said:

I am having the same problem with Samsung. I have a Laptop which is 2 years old and has developed thin lines across the monitor. Due to the way the call centers work it has taken months to finaly speak to someone in Samsung Retail Customer Services, who have stated that the Consumer Rights Act 2022 protect them and as the item is over 6 months the burden is upon me to prove it was faulty at the time I took ownership. 
 I have now sent a letter, which I downloaded from another site making it a little more offical, but will have to see what happens, but it seems they realy want to put on a fight and make it as difficult as possible.

You might be better posting this on an Irish consumer issues website.

As far as I know the Consumer Rights Bill 2022 is still at committee stage and not yet enacted by the Dáil Éireann

powerful_Rogue

Timmrconway said:

I am having the same problem with Samsung. I have a Laptop which is 2 years old and has developed thin lines across the monitor. Due to the way the call centers work it has taken months to finaly speak to someone in Samsung Retail Customer Services, who have stated that the Consumer Rights Act 2022 protect them and as the item is over 6 months the burden is upon me to prove it was faulty at the time I took ownership. 
 I have now sent a letter, which I downloaded from another site making it a little more offical, but will have to see what happens, but it seems they realy want to put on a fight and make it as difficult as possible.

Did you purchase the laptop direct from Samsung or another retailer?

Samsung are right here. Sadly this was a very poorly written article with a title to just get clicks.

As it's over 6 months old, the onus is on you to prove it had a fault when manufactured but has now only just come to light. This can be via a report from an independant repair shop which can be claimed back if it's in your favour. Bear in mind if the report is in your favour the options are repair, replace or refund. They can choose the most cost effective option. Any refund will take into the two years use you have had.

StrawManXO

The focus of the article is on the "reasonable" service life of the product. Unfortunately, however you name it, the Consumer Rights Act is not going to help in all cases. In my particular case, I had purchased an iPhone directly from the Apple store. One day - after about 2.5 years, the phone shut down and didn't load into the system, recovery or anything past the Apple logo cycling in a loop. I am quite tech savvy, working within the environment of electronics repairs - phones included. I know the fault is not caused by any external force, the phone has no damage beyond very minor cosmetic blemishes and no exposure to liquids or fumes that could cause damage. The mainboard, or rather the chip on the mainboard just failed. Finding an approved repair centre that would provide me with the report is quite a deed on its own. Relying on the report conclusively proving that indeed it was a manufacturing issue present within the 6 months from the purchase is another thing. So yeah - in theory we consumers are protected to some extent. However, proving the fault can be a time-consuming and uncertain process. I wish there was someone who would help consumers with this directly and efficiently... 

Alderbank

StrawManXO said:

The focus of the article is on the "reasonable" service life of the product. Unfortunately, however you name it, the Consumer Rights Act is not going to help in all cases. In my particular case, I had purchased an iPhone directly from the Apple store. One day - after about 2.5 years, the phone shut down and didn't load into the system, recovery or anything past the Apple logo cycling in a loop. I am quite tech savvy, working within the environment of electronics repairs - phones included. I know the fault is not caused by any external force, the phone has no damage beyond very minor cosmetic blemishes and no exposure to liquids or fumes that could cause damage. The mainboard, or rather the chip on the mainboard just failed. Finding an approved repair centre that would provide me with the report is quite a deed on its own. Relying on the report conclusively proving that indeed it was a manufacturing issue present within the 6 months from the purchase is another thing. So yeah - in theory we consumers are protected to some extent. However, proving the fault can be a time-consuming and uncertain process. 
However, proving the fault can be a time-consuming and uncertain process. I wish there was someone who would help consumers with this directly and efficiently... 

Welcome to the forum, especially with such an insightful post.

I wish there was someone who would help consumers with this directly and efficiently... 

Well in a way there is, sort of...

...it's the County Court judge.

The Consumer Rights Act, like other legislation, is a guide book, an expression of the wishes of the MPs who passed it into law. The judge's role is to examine the facts of the particular case before them and to interpret the law to give the verdict which Parliament intended.
By the standards of the legal profession (which might not be the same as the rest of us!) the small claims court is both direct and efficient.

I am sure others might will disagree