SAD FART - can customer request replacement rather than refund?

Williarmis

Hi all,

Minor question - I have a bath mixer tap that is now faulty, which I managed to purchase in a sale 2 yrs ago (£60).

I have been in touch with the company (all very friendly), and they have offered the refund of £60 no problem.

The issue is, the tap is now discontinued, so if I just took the refund, I would need to buy a new tap and pay for plumbing etc.

My query has two parts:

1) As the tap is discontinued, can I insist on a 'suitable substitute replacement' under the Consumer Rights Act rather than accepting a refund? (the seller says I can have £60 credit towards a new tap, but obviously this doesn't cover the cost of a full price tap, so I'd be facing additional personal cost for a faulty product).

2) If I need to replace the tap (again, because it is faulty, not my fault), there would clearly be some extra plumbing cost to install the new tap. Does the Consumer Rights Act cover any of these types of expense, or would I be left to swallow this cost?

Many thanks in advance!

screech_78

In short, no you can’t insist on a replacement. Especially when the tap you have is discontinued so it’s not possible to replace. 

On what basis have the agreed to refund? Is this a warranty claim? 

After 2 years, claiming on your consumer rights would mean you have to prove the tap failed due to an inherent fault and the retailer can offer a repair, replacement (if available) or a partial refund to account for 2 years usage. So a full refund is above and beyond your rights. 

Williarmis

Thanks for the response - as you say, the tap is discontinued so cannot be replaced, which is why my post is asking about a 'suitable substitute replacement'. The basis of agreement is the SAD FART principles.
We'll see what others have to say - thanks a lot for your help.

tightauldgit

Williarmis said:

Thanks for the response - as you say, the tap is discontinued so cannot be replaced, which is why my post is asking about a 'suitable substitute replacement'. The basis of agreement is the SAD FART principles.
We'll see what others have to say - thanks a lot for your help.

The remedy for SAD FART (had to google that) is repair, replace or refund though. You can't insist on a repair if they can't repair it and you can't insist on a replacement if they don't have one to give you. So a refund is the remedy.