Richer Sounds warranty issue

Danwilderspin

Hi all… not been here for a while but I have had two issues with two suppliers in two weeks.

I’ll keep them separate as they are very different.

im after advice here.

so just under 5 years ago I bought a 4k projector from richer sounds. 

Dust gets in the vents over time (I live in a 300 year old house) but I get the portable Dyson and hoover them clean every couple of months.

anyway a few weeks ago it was getting a bit loud but still working 100%. Fine with no faults except the noise of the thing doubled.

i took it to richer sounds as it is covered by their 6 year warranty (which is why I went with them)

I then got this back from them once they looked at it:

” Unfortunately, my repair team have advised that, due to the projector being in poor condition, as can be seen from the photos, it has burnt the chassis inside because of the excessive dust clogging it up. 

They have advised that "This is not a fault of the item. Poor cleaning/maintenance from the customer and possibly situated in an inappropriate location has lead to this condition", so it will not be covered under our or the manufacturer warranty. ”

I’ve attached the photo they sent - yes it’s dusty but that 5 years use with no dust screens (design fault?) . I’ve checked the manual and under maintenance it says if fitted with a dust screen - keep it clear - it wasn’t a model fitted with one and as I say I do keep it clear as best I can. 

Also the screws to get the cover off are all covered with warranty void tamper stickers confounds get in without voiding the warranty! 

They also don’t want to give it back to me as they are saying it’s far too dangerous but they do legally have to if I insist (even though it actually worked fine).

I’ve said I was not happy and the branch said they’d get head office to ring me tomorrow but as they made the call it was out of warranty to not expect them to change their mind.

Where do I stand on this?

Thanks for reading. 

screech_78

Warranties and consumer rights are completely separate things. 

The warranty only covers what the warranty says it covers. So if they’re saying it doesn’t cover mis-use (which very few warranties do) and the fault is due to mis-use by the customer, then the warranty can be void. If I remember correctly anyway, Richer Sounds work on the basis that if the item can’t be repaired during the warranty, then you’d get a partial refunding depending which year you’re in. 

Consumer Rights state that after 6 months, the onus is on the customer to prove that the fault was there at the time of purchase. You’d almost certainly need an independent reporting confirming a manufacturing fault. But even if that went in your favour, Richer Sounds are saying it can’t be repaired and doubtful a replacement could be offered as unlikely they still sell the exact same model. That would leave you with a partial refund to account for usage and it probably wouldn’t be much after 5 years. 

They should however be sending the item back to you, although if they’re saying it’s dangerous, they should be providing you with written confirmation of that so you can’t sue them later if anything goes wrong. 

Hoenir

Surprised that there wasn't a dust cover available to purchase to protect the equipment. . 

Danwilderspin

screech_78 said:

Warranties and consumer rights are completely separate things. 

The warranty only covers what the warranty says it covers. So if they’re saying it doesn’t cover mis-use (which very few warranties do) and the fault is due to mis-use by the customer, then the warranty can be void. If I remember correctly anyway, Richer Sounds work on the basis that if the item can’t be repaired during the warranty, then you’d get a partial refunding depending which year you’re in. 

Consumer Rights state that after 6 months, the onus is on the customer to prove that the fault was there at the time of purchase. You’d almost certainly need an independent reporting confirming a manufacturing fault. But even if that went in your favour, Richer Sounds are saying it can’t be repaired and doubtful a replacement could be offered as unlikely they still sell the exact same model. That would leave you with a partial refund to account for usage and it probably wouldn’t be much after 5 years. 

They should however be sending the item back to you, although if they’re saying it’s dangerous, they should be providing you with written confirmation of that so you can’t sue them later if anything goes wrong. 

Thanks for this - they aren’t even offering a partial refund right now they are just saying flat out no. How can dust be misuse if I’ve followed the manufacturer’s instructions?

cheers

TELLIT01

The OP has stated that it was in a dusty location.  To be honest I have never seen any electronic equipment in a filthier state internally than that one.  The problem isn't down to a manufacturing fault and I'm not surprised Richer Sounds has refused and repair or replacement under its warranty.

Aylesbury_Duck

TELLIT01 said:

The OP has stated that it was in a dusty location.  To be honest I have never seen any electronic equipment in a filthier state internally than that one.  The problem isn't down to a manufacturing fault and I'm not surprised Richer Sounds has refused and repair or replacement under its warranty.

I agree  .

Danwilderspin

TELLIT01 said:

The OP has stated that it was in a dusty location.  To be honest I have never seen any electronic equipment in a filthier state internally than that one.  The problem isn't down to a manufacturing fault and I'm not surprised Richer Sounds has refused and repair or replacement under its warranty.

I didn’t say it was in a dusty location I said it was in a 300yr old house which is not the same. It is on a shelf 2metres off the ground which couldn’t be less dusty.

if dust is such an issue should there be a dust screen?

‘ Dust gets in the vents over time (I live in a 300 year old house) but I get the portable Dyson and hoover them clean every couple of months.’

Danwilderspin

Aylesbury_Duck said:

TELLIT01 said:

The OP has stated that it was in a dusty location.  To be honest I have never seen any electronic equipment in a filthier state internally than that one.  The problem isn't down to a manufacturing fault and I'm not surprised Richer Sounds has refused and repair or replacement under its warranty.

I agree  .

I won’t go over what I said in my other reply but I work for a computer company and when you pop the side off a great deal of office desktop and those used at home that are over 4 years old they look like that. But they don’t die, and they are serviceable without voiding the warranty.

visidigi

Danwilderspin said:

Hi all… not been here for a while but I have had two issues with two suppliers in two weeks.

I’ll keep them separate as they are very different.

im after advice here.

so just under 5 years ago I bought a 4k projector from richer sounds. 

Dust gets in the vents over time (I live in a 300 year old house) but I get the portable Dyson and hoover them clean every couple of months.

anyway a few weeks ago it was getting a bit loud but still working 100%. Fine with no faults except the noise of the thing doubled.

i took it to richer sounds as it is covered by their 6 year warranty (which is why I went with them)

I then got this back from them once they looked at it:

” Unfortunately, my repair team have advised that, due to the projector being in poor condition, as can be seen from the photos, it has burnt the chassis inside because of the excessive dust clogging it up. 

They have advised that "This is not a fault of the item. Poor cleaning/maintenance from the customer and possibly situated in an inappropriate location has lead to this condition", so it will not be covered under our or the manufacturer warranty. ”

I’ve attached the photo they sent - yes it’s dusty but that 5 years use with no dust screens (design fault?) . I’ve checked the manual and under maintenance it says if fitted with a dust screen - keep it clear - it wasn’t a model fitted with one and as I say I do keep it clear as best I can. 

Also the screws to get the cover off are all covered with warranty void tamper stickers confounds get in without voiding the warranty! 

They also don’t want to give it back to me as they are saying it’s far too dangerous but they do legally have to if I insist (even though it actually worked fine).

I’ve said I was not happy and the branch said they’d get head office to ring me tomorrow but as they made the call it was out of warranty to not expect them to change their mind.

Where do I stand on this?

Thanks for reading. 

That doesnt just look like dust, that looks like moisture and dust.

Thats not something I would expect to be covered under warranty.

Aylesbury_Duck

Danwilderspin said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

TELLIT01 said:

The OP has stated that it was in a dusty location.  To be honest I have never seen any electronic equipment in a filthier state internally than that one.  The problem isn't down to a manufacturing fault and I'm not surprised Richer Sounds has refused and repair or replacement under its warranty.

I agree  .

I won’t go over what I said in my other reply but I work for a computer company and when you pop the side off a great deal of office desktop and those used at home that are over 4 years old they look like that. But they don’t die, and they are serviceable without voiding the warranty.

The point TELLIT01 was making is that the terms of a warranty are what determines whether RS should take any action here, and as long as they're not breaching their own warranty terms, they're at liberty to decide whether or not to help.  They've judged that the problem is down to you, so that seems to be the end of the warranty process.  Without having access to the warranty terms I cant say if that's correct, but on the basis of the photo, it would seem reasonable.

You could try claiming through your consumer rights, where RS should send it back to you and would probably ask you to have it independently inspected.  If that inspection determined it is a manufacturing defect, then RS would have to take some sort of action.  They'd perhaps be most likely to partially refund you.  What's a 5 year old one of those projectors selling for on eBay?  That's the sort of refund you might expect to receive, plus the cost of the inspection.

born_again

Rather than vacuuming. Looks like it needs compressed air blowing through the vents to remove the dust