Warranty repair and escalation advice

Gmac11

I sent a Tamron camera lens for repair under warranty. The lens was received at the nominated repair centre on 8th September and has been there ever since because they have been unable to get the parts necessary for repair. Credit where it's due, the repair centre have been prompt in their responses so far and keeping me up to date.
However, I have two queries. 1) How long is a reasonable amount of time to wait for a warranty repair before escalating the issue? I have been fine so far, luckily I am not a professional so I'm not losing business or anything but it is starting to rankle that a lens I paid £1400 has spent almost 2 months on a repair bench somewhere. I do understand that in the current climate supplies and parts are hard to get but I've waited almost 7 weeks and surely at some point someone has to take responsibility?
This leads to my next query. In the event I DO escalate, where do I go? The retailer has not been involved at any stage and the repair was arranged between myself and Tamron with me posting said lens to the third party repair centre as instructed by Tamron.

eskbanker

What do you see escalation achieving, i.e. what outcome are you hoping for?

Gmac11

Well I guess in an ideal world a replacement or a refund (minus whatever they reckon 9 months usage is worth). 

If they ultimately cannot get the part then the lens is of limited use. I admit, I could get some use out of it but with the current fault it would be worthless on the used market. 

born_again

How old is the lens?

As you have gone under warranty, not much you can do. While you can chase them, if they have not got the parts, there is nothing they can do. Unless there is something in the warranty T/C about timescales.
You could ask if they could supply a spare to keep you going.

Gmac11

My lens was bought in September last year so was just coming up on a year old. The model itself was only released in June last year so it’s not an old lens by any means.
I haven’t found anything in the warranty info about timescales etc.
In reference to my initial point, surely there has to be a time when questions need to be asked and answered? How long should I give it? A year? 2 years? It can’t be reasonable to expect a warranty repair to last indefinitely?
I’d have thought, at a certain point, the inability to source/produce the parts should be down to Tamron?

zoob

You need to talk to the retailer you bought it from as there respocible under CRA2015
The manafacture only needs to sort under there warranty terms, its the retailer thats responsible for getting the issue sorted within a resonible time frame 

Okell

@Gmac11 -  why did the lens need to be repaired?

Are you claiming it was faulty when you bought it, or has it been damaged since you bought it?

Any statutory legal rights you have in respect of faulty goods need to be exercised against the seller, not the manufacturer.

Any contractual rights you have under the warranty depend entirely on the terms and conditions of that warranty.  What do those say about timescales and availability of parts etc?

[Edit:  when I say "faulty" I'm using the term as shorthand for "not conforming to contract" under the Consumer Rights Act 2015]

Gmac11

Okell said:

@Gmac11 -  why did the lens need to be repaired?

Are you claiming it was faulty when you bought it, or has it been damaged since you bought it?

Any statutory legal rights you have in respect of faulty goods need to be exercised against the seller, not the manufacturer.

Any contractual rights you have under the warranty depend entirely on the terms and conditions of that warranty.  What do those say about timescales and availability of parts etc?

[Edit:  when I say "faulty" I'm using the term as shorthand for "not conforming to contract" under the Consumer Rights Act 2015]

Sorry, to be clear - the lens mount became defective (loose) after a few months of use - it was well within normal usage parameters. Tamron accepted this and the repair centre indeed confirmed the mount should not have become loose as it did - otherwise they’d have rejected the repair and returned it to me.

I've checked and rechecked the smallprint within Tamron’s 5 year warranty and I cannot see any mention of timescales/parts etc. 

Okell

Have you got it in writing that

Gmac11 said:

Okell said:

@Gmac11 -  why did the lens need to be repaired?

Are you claiming it was faulty when you bought it, or has it been damaged since you bought it?

Any statutory legal rights you have in respect of faulty goods need to be exercised against the seller, not the manufacturer.

Any contractual rights you have under the warranty depend entirely on the terms and conditions of that warranty.  What do those say about timescales and availability of parts etc?

[Edit:  when I say "faulty" I'm using the term as shorthand for "not conforming to contract" under the Consumer Rights Act 2015]

... it was well within normal usage parameters. Tamron accepted this and the repair centre indeed confirmed the mount should not have become loose as it did - otherwise they’d have rejected the repair and returned it to me... 

?

 If you haven't - then get it in writing.

You could (if you wanted to) then go back to the seller and use that written evidence to establish that the lens was "not of satisfactory quality" when they sold it to you.

You would then be entitled to either a repair or a replacement from the seller. 

Any repair must be carried out "within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer".  [See s23(2)(a) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) ]  As even Tamron's own repair centre can't give you a timescale for repair I think you can justifiably tell the seller that any attempt at repair would be unacceptable to you.

[Edit:  "within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to" you only applies to your right to repair under the legislation - not to any repair under warranty]

That leaves a replacement.  What would be a suitable replacement, I don't know.  I know nothing about photography.  The seller might argue that you are only entitled to a 9 months old replacement but after less than a year I think you can reasonably say you will only be satisfied with a new replacement.  Assuming such is available...

If it can't be repaired, and you and the seller can't agree on a suitable replacement, you can exercise your final right to reject under the legislation.  That entitles you to a refund, but the seller would be entitled to deduct from the refund an amount to reflect 9 months use.

So it sort of depends what you want to do.  Do you want to leave it with the Tamron repair centre in the hope they can fix it reasonably soon, or do you want to go back to the original seller and argue for a replacement?  And failing that go for a refund less a deduction for use?

I think it partly depends on how reasonable the seller is and what sort of relationship you have with them.  Have you discussed it with them at all?.  I think that if the repair centre have told you that the mount should not have come loose then you have a pretty strong hand.

But see what others say before you do anything.

[NB - if you want to go down the seller route, I presume you will have to get the lens back from the repair centre first]