Section 75 claim on faulty goods?

chris_greenwood

I purchased some Sony earphones in 2021 for approx £250 on my credit card. 

About 5 months ago, I did a firmware update and ever since then, the left earbud has become faulty and only lasts for about 20 mins on a full charge before it dies. I have looked online and discovered 100's of other users are having the exact same issue with their sony earbuds. Apparently, it has been caused the firmware update which has caused permanent damaged to the battery. 

I contact Sony's customer support team (their customer service is utterly appalling) and they said as the item is out of warranty if I wanted it fixed I would have to pay for it myself.  I explained that paying £250 for a pair of ear buds, its not unreasonable to expect them to last at least 5 years after the date of purchase!! I have made a complaint, spoke with their customer service multiple times, but they refuse to budge.

Would my earbuds be covered under the section 75 consumer credit act? Would i have a realistic chance of getting a refund (or at least get the issue sorted) going down that avenue? (My credit card is with Santander, if that makes any difference?!)

Any help or information would be really appreciated. 
Thanks

eskbanker

Section 75 gives you the same rights against your card company as you have against the retailer, so if you can make a compelling case that the effect of the upgrade constitutes a breach of contract, by virtue of the durability requirements within the Consumer Rights Act, then this argument would apply equally to the creditor as the supplier.

TadleyBaggie

Did you buy them directly from Sony?

DullGreyGuy

chris_greenwood said:

I purchased some Sony earphones in 2021 for approx £250 on my credit card. 

About 5 months ago, I did a firmware update and ever since then, the left earbud has become faulty and only lasts for about 20 mins on a full charge before it dies. I have looked online and discovered 100's of other users are having the exact same issue with their sony earbuds. Apparently, it has been caused the firmware update which has caused permanent damaged to the battery. 

I contact Sony's customer support team (their customer service is utterly appalling) and they said as the item is out of warranty if I wanted it fixed I would have to pay for it myself.  I explained that paying £250 for a pair of ear buds, its not unreasonable to expect them to last at least 5 years after the date of purchase!! I have made a complaint, spoke with their customer service multiple times, but they refuse to budge.

Would my earbuds be covered under the section 75 consumer credit act? Would i have a realistic chance of getting a refund (or at least get the issue sorted) going down that avenue? (My credit card is with Santander, if that makes any difference?!)

Any help or information would be really appreciated. 

Your rights are with the retailer not the manufacturer so unless you bought them from Sony you are dealing with the wrong firm. S75 simply mirrors those rights to the card issuer. 

If you say a reasonable life is 5 years, and given you've had them for 3-4 years you will only be entitled to a refund in relation to the 1-2 years life left in them (and that assumes they agree with 5 years being reasonable) not the original purchase price. A quick google has many giving a much shorter life expectancy than 5 years so it could be a matter of months refund rather than a year or more. 

Note if you go S75 the bank will almost certainly want an engineers report, if it supports the case then its cost can be added to the cost of the claim. If it says they broke due to user error or they've reached their natural lifespan then it's your costs to cover. Ideally the engineer would opine on a reasonable lifespan in the report to deal with that matter.