New watch battery stopped working - less than four months old

richardd_w

Hello,
I bought a Sekonda watch on 6th March 2023. Yesterday (26th June) it stopped working. I contacted Sekonda and they informed me:

"I would be more than happy to have this watch returned for a battery change, however, this is not covered by guarantee, please see the following link (guarantee page on the Sekonda website - it will not let me post the link in the forum). Therefore, the cost to replace this battery would be £18.50, including VAT, postage and packaging. If there is a movement issue with the watch, your guarantee will cover this issue and we will either rectify the issue or replace the watch for you, free of charge."

On the Sekonda guarantee page it states that batteries are not included in their 2-year guarantee for watches. Is this correct, according to the Consumer Rights Act 2015? Can they exclude the battery in this way? I have had the watch for less than four months and I would like to know my rights.

I would be grateful for any help.

Thanks,
Richard

Alderbank

Any guarantee is quite separate from your Consumer Rights. Their guarantee excludes batteries, straps and bracelets. That is fine, they can include or exclude whatever they like. They don't even have to give a guarantee at all if they don't want to.

Your consumer rights are with the retailer. They can't be taken away.
I assume the retailer is Time Products (UK) Limited, 27 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EL who trade as Sekonda.

Your consumer rights say the goods you buy must be of satisfactory quality; fit for any particular purpose made known to the seller; and as described. In guarantees manufacturers often say that batteries are disposable and not included. However for purposes of CRA 2015 you could argue that a battery which is dead on arrival is not of satisfactory quality and is not fit for the assumed purpose of powering the watch to tell the correct time.

Some items have a disclaimer such as 'the batteries fitted are for demonstration purposes only and may need immediate replacement'. This is because they might be some years old and have been through hot and cold environments on their way to us from South Asia.
In the description of your watch (that is, the description before you bought it which influenced your decision to buy) is there a disclaimer like that? If not I believe under consumer rights you should expect a reasonable life for the battery

richardd_w

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, the retailer is Time Products (UK) trading as Sekonda.

The only mention of the battery in the watch description is: "Batteries: ‎1 Unknown batteries required. (included)" and I can't see any kind of disclaimer as you described.

So I would say that the battery failing after less than four months ownership is not reasonable nor of satisfactory quality. Would you agree that under CRA 2015, Sekonda should therefore replace the battery for free?

Alderbank

Sekonda watches are made in Hong Kong.

 "Batteries: ‎1 Unknown batteries required. (included)" sounds a bit Chinglish but could mean something like 'There is a battery included but we don't know whether or when a new one is required.'

Not worth going to court over. A local jeweller will fit a new battery while you wait for less than the cost of going to small claims.

baser999

For what it’d cost, get a battery fitted in the local high street. I know there’s a point of principle insofar as the watch is only a few months old but for the cost and saving a lot of hassle . . . .

richardd_w

Thanks - I appreciate all the input! 

TELLIT01

If the second battery fails after a similar time, it may then indicate a problem with the watch mechanism.  At that point it may be worth taking the problem up with Sekonda again.

DullGreyGuy

Alderbank said:

"Batteries: ‎1 Unknown batteries required. (included)" sounds a bit Chinglish but could mean something like 'There is a battery included but we don't know whether or when a new one is required.'

Really dont think that is the intended interpretation... seems, to me at least, it is supposed to say "1 AG1 battery required" or "1 AG3 battery required" but whoever loaded it to the site didnt include which battery it takes and hence the "unknown". It is clear however that it is supposed to include whatever battery is required and assuming that its not a secondhand watch then the battery should have reasonable life remaining.

In reality many watches sit in stock rooms for months or years going through the battery whilst its waiting to be bought. 

user1977

I would consider it fairly reasonable for them to fit the battery at the factory, and the customer takes the risk that it's months old by the time they get it.

Belenus

Can you open the back of the watch and replace the battery yourself?

I buy watch batteries on eBay for between £1 and £1.60 each and fit them myself.

Here is a possibly useful link to the large range of batteries and how to replace them.

TELLIT01

Local shop will replace the battery for less than a tenner if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself.