Currys have kept my faulty TV for over 2 weeks – still paying finance – what are my options?

JasAub

Hi all,

Looking for advice and next steps.

I purchased a Philips 75” TV from Currys in April this year (£959 on finance). It developed a fault in August and Currys collected and repaired it (screen replaced). The exact same fault has now returned again.

Currys collected the TV for re-assessment on 13 October.
Since then, I have had no updates, no communication, no repair outcome and no return.

Their repair team have told me that they can’t authorise a replacement and that it has to come from a different internal team – but that this team cannot be contacted by staff OR customers. So I am stuck in a dead-end loop.

Meanwhile, I am still liable for the finance payments despite not having the TV in my possession and having had no access to it for over two weeks.

I’ve now issued a 7-Day Letter Before Action under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (repeat fault = final right to reject) and notified my finance provider under Section 75.

Questions:

1. Is there anything else that I should be doing while waiting out the 7 days?

2. Should I continue escalation with the finance company first, or go straight small claims if Currys do not resolve in the 7 days?

3. Has anyone else here dealt with Currys blocking escalation like this before?

Any guidance appreciated. This feels like a systemic barrier rather than just poor service.

Thanks,
Jason

Alderbank

I'm not clear what you are asking for.

Because the fault returned after Currys had fixed it, under the CRA your right is either to agree to a repair or replacement again or else to exercise your final right to reject.
The CRA says you can't jerk them around - if you agree to repair or replacement you have to give them a reasonable time to do that. You can't suddenly change your mind.

It reads like you chose a replacement? If so you now have to give them a reasonable time to do that. 'Reasonable' is not defined in the legislation; it is a question of fact about how quickly they can organise it and whether a reasonable person would consider the time to be reasonable.

If when it failed again after the repair you immediately said, 'I don't want a repair or replacement, I am now exercising my right to reject for an immediate refund' then the stuff about them organising a replacement is meaningless.

When you bought the TV, you arranged a loan of £959 from the finance house to pay Currys for the set and agreed to pay fixed payments to service that loan. Until the loan is paid off you owe those regular payments as you agreed.

What's a 7 day letter?

PHK

I think you've got a little bit muddled between the warranty and your consumer rights. 

When it went wrong again, did you explicitly tell them that you were exercising your right to reject the TV for replacement/ refund as they'd had their chance to repair?

Exactly when in April did you purchase it?

MyRealNameToo

JasAub said:

Looking for advice and next steps.

I purchased a Philips 75” TV from Currys in April this year (£959 on finance). It developed a fault in August and Currys collected and repaired it (screen replaced). The exact same fault has now returned again.

Currys collected the TV for re-assessment on 13 October.
Since then, I have had no updates, no communication, no repair outcome and no return.

Their repair team have told me that they can’t authorise a replacement and that it has to come from a different internal team – but that this team cannot be contacted by staff OR customers. So I am stuck in a dead-end loop.

Meanwhile, I am still liable for the finance payments despite not having the TV in my possession and having had no access to it for over two weeks.

I’ve now issued a 7-Day Letter Before Action under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (repeat fault = final right to reject) and notified my finance provider under Section 75.

Questions:

1. Is there anything else that I should be doing while waiting out the 7 days?

2. Should I continue escalation with the finance company first, or go straight small claims if Currys do not resolve in the 7 days?

3. Has anyone else here dealt with Currys blocking escalation like this before?

Any guidance appreciated. This feels like a systemic barrier rather than just poor service.

14 days is not a particularly long time, particularly as we are also talking half term time when lots of people will be on holiday. 

It sounds like you originally returned it for repair and now want to switch to a refund but it would be good for you to confirm 


Currys arent great, but they do tend to be generous, if you dont mess about with them. My nearly 3 year old TV was handled worse by them, after 2 weeks it was still showing as in transit to their repairer facility however 3 days after my complaint it had been assessed, deemed unrepairable, and a couple days after that get an emailed gift card for the exact amount I'd paid for it and went out and bought the brand new higher version as it was November when TVs are heavily discounted, all with a new warranty and new rights. 

It sounds like yours may or may not be over 6 months old, if it is then under the CRA any refund can be reduced to reflect use whereas my experience of their warranty at the time was a full refund so by being impatient you may get a reduced settlement.