Warranty. Consumer rights versus terms and conditions

pidgecat

We brought a hard top for our car and the company delivered it to us on a pallet. However the item was faulty so we asked for a repair. The company have said that it cannot be repaired and needs to be replaced. For that we must travel 4 hours across the country so they can swop it over at their own premises. Apparently it’s in their terms and conditions that all warranty work must be carried out at their premises. Therefore they won’t send us out a new one and collect the old, nor will they refund us our traveling expenses. 

However I found the consumer act 2015 which says: 

“the consumer requires the trader to repair or replace the goods, the trader must

(b)bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so” 

Does this mean that they have to refund our traveling costs regardless of their terms and conditions? Or do their terms and conditions supersede the act? (References would be very helpful please) 

Thanks for reading. 

eskbanker

pidgecat said:

Warranty. Consumer rights versus terms and conditions

[...]

Does this mean that they have to refund our traveling costs regardless of their terms and conditions? Or do their terms and conditions supersede the act?

Traders can't override statutory consumer rights with Ts & Cs, so it's likely to be in your interests to exercise those legal rights and insist on your right to repair or replacement (or refund under short term right to reject), rather than getting bogged down in warranty-related discussion, i.e. it's not a warranty issue as that's something separate.

tightauldgit

pidgecat said:

We brought a hard top for our car and the company delivered it to us on a pallet. However the item was faulty so we asked for a repair. The company have said that it cannot be repaired and needs to be replaced. For that we must travel 4 hours across the country so they can swop it over at their own premises. Apparently it’s in their terms and conditions that all warranty work must be carried out at their premises. Therefore they won’t send us out a new one and collect the old, nor will they refund us our traveling expenses. 

However I found the consumer act 2015 which says: 

“the consumer requires the trader to repair or replace the goods, the trader must

(b)bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so” 

Does this mean that they have to refund our traveling costs regardless of their terms and conditions? Or do their terms and conditions supersede the act? (References would be very helpful please) 

Thanks for reading. 

Yeah I'd go back and say you're not claiming under the warranty but exercising your consumer rights. If they sent you the original on a pallet, and saying that the thing can't be repaired but needs to be replaced then it seems odd that they can't just send you out a new one. 

Was it bought online remotely? You could just reject the thing if it's within the timeframes allowed? 

Manxman_in_exile

What's the fault?