refund from a business after 5 months. Excercise bike

kittensandmilk

Hello,

I hope you are well.

In September I purchased an exercise bike online with a built in TV screen for £800 from a small online retailer. 1 month later the screen failed, the company begrudgingly came to collect the bike and replaced it with a new model (which they had opened to check it worked). 

The bike has now failed again, and cuts off after around 30 minutes of use.  The company offered another replacement however seeing as their products keep failing and is unlikely to last for a long period of time I would rather take my money back and shop elsewhere.  Am I entitled to this?  I read the company as 1 attempt to repair, or replace before offering a refund. but am I not sure if I misunderstood.  

Many thanks for the help

Cat

screech_78

Yes, they have one attempt at repair/replacement and if this fails, you can exercise your final right to reject. If within 6 months, this would be a full refund. 

kittensandmilk

screech_78 said:

Yes, they have one attempt at repair/replacement and if this fails, you can exercise your final right to reject. If within 6 months, this would be a full refund. 

Hello, thank you for the fast response.

The business are saying they have another attempt to replace it as they replaced it with a new product.  does this alter things?

Clive_Woody

https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds

kittensandmilk

thanks for this.  I did read it but i'm a bit confused (I have diagnosed autism so sometimes miss interpret things)  Do you think i'm entitled to a refund.

Alderbank

Yes, you are entitled to a refund now, because their replacement has also failed.

The law says they are first entitled to replace or repair but must then offer a refund. You can't blame them for trying (they would like to secure a sale and a satisfied customer) but they are not entitled to another go unless you agree to it.

I would thank them for their offer but decline it, and say you wish to enforce your statutory consumer right to a refund at this stage. They should pay for the bike to be returned and refund you to the same card you originally paid with.

kittensandmilk

Alderbank said:

Yes, you are entitled to a refund now, because their replacement has also failed.

The law says they are first entitled to replace or repair but must then offer a refund. You can't blame them for trying (they would like to secure a sale and a satisfied customer) but they are not entitled to another go unless you agree to it.

I would thank them for their offer but decline it, and say you wish to enforce your statutory consumer right to a refund at this stage. They should pay for the bike to be returned and refund you to the same card you originally paid with.

Thanks for this.

Shall I email them asking for a refund? so far this has been over the phone.  I'm worried I will send it back and they will say they tested it and it works (it doesn't fail till it has been users for 20-30 minutes). 

Many thanks,

Cat

ArbitraryRandom

kittensandmilk said:

Alderbank said:

Yes, you are entitled to a refund now, because their replacement has also failed.

The law says they are first entitled to replace or repair but must then offer a refund. You can't blame them for trying (they would like to secure a sale and a satisfied customer) but they are not entitled to another go unless you agree to it.

I would thank them for their offer but decline it, and say you wish to enforce your statutory consumer right to a refund at this stage. They should pay for the bike to be returned and refund you to the same card you originally paid with.

Thanks for this.

Shall I email them asking for a refund? so far this has been over the phone.  I'm worried I will send it back and they will say they tested it and it works (it doesn't fail till it has been users for 20-30 minutes). 

Many thanks,

Cat

You should definitely put things in writing just in case you need to prove a timeline down the road.

I wouldn't be too concerned as within the first 6 months the onus is on them to prove it's not faulty rather than you to prove there's an inherent fault - but you are the one who has interacted with them so you would have a better sense of how difficult they might be. If you're worried they might not find a fault with a casual inspection then you could do something like film it in use/when it fails? You'd just need to prop your phone somewhere it could clearly see the screen. 

You could rig something so you're not in shot as the issue is only with the display, then you could send it to them with your email (using a free file sharing site like dropbox if it's too big). 

kittensandmilk

Hi everyone,

I received an email back from the company today telling me they would not be providing me with a refund and stated:

a)  I have had use of the product for 5 months and a small fault on the screen is not a big deal.

b)  they would lose money if they had it returned after 5 months.

c) For all they know I changed my mind about wanting an exercise bike and just want my money back.  (this is not true, I have used the bike most days whilst working and it is effective.  But I would rather purchase something else that is more reliable and doesn't keep failing).

What should I do now?  I feel like crying.  I'm going to be out a lot of money here and be left with a bike that doesn't have a working screen.

I feel like I have been conned here.  I purchased the bike using my credit card, would it be possible for me to use section 75 here to help me?  The only problem with this is I paid off the credit card in full and my credit card issuer
(Halifax) state i'm not allowed to have a positive balance on my card. 

I am also scared to open up a claim through my credit card because the company I purchased the bike from delivered the bike themselves on a van.  They could become violent or aggressive to me if I do so.


Many thanks for the help in advance guys,

A very upset cat

eskbanker

kittensandmilk said:

I purchased the bike using my credit card, would it be possible for me to use section 75 here to help me?  The only problem with this is I paid off the credit card in full and my credit card issuer
(Halifax) state i'm not allowed to have a positive balance on my card.

A positive balance arising from a refund isn't a problem, it's only if you deliberately choose to deposit funds to create one that you breach card terms.

kittensandmilk said:

I am also scared to open up a claim through my credit card because the company I purchased the bike from delivered the bike themselves on a van.  They could become violent or aggressive to me if I do so.

If you make a s75 claim through Halifax then you're recovering funds from them, rather than the retailer, and the retailer already knows where you live anyway.  You do have the law on your side here, so don't feel guilty about exercising your rights....

Alderbank

Ignore their points b and c. Their opinions have no relevance.

The issue seems to be about the screen display. You say it is OK at first but 'fails' after 20-30 minutes.
They seem to be saying that it is a minor cosmetic change which does not affect your use or enjoyment of the machine.

Can you explain what actually happens, possibly with a picture?
Even when it fails after 20-30 minutes can you still read the numbers on the display?