Item failing 13 months after purchase

gwapenut

Hi all

I bought an espresso coffee machine for about £150 in December 2006 and it was delivered just prior to Xmas 2006.

With it came a form from the UK distributor (not the shop) saying "fill this in and you get a two year warrantee".

The item has now failed and the distributor say they no longer stock spares of the failed part, and therefore cannot repair it for me.

Does anyone know what my rights are with ...
1. The shop - an expensive item failing less than13 months after purchase is not sufficiently durable, as far as I am concerned
2. The UK distributor - promising 2 years warrantee but not honouring it (though I have received no proof of the warrantee despite filling in and posting the required forms)
3. My credit card company

Was there not some EU legislation to do with 2 years being a reasonable expectation of life from such products ...?

Thanks,
Gwapes

taxiphil

The Sale of Goods Act puts the figure at up to 6 years, although it can depend on the value of the item and various other factors.

But 13 months for a £150 coffee machine... I'd say that definitely falls short of the SoGA. It would take a very brazen retailer to argue in court that 13 months was reasonable!

You've got 3 lines of attack which you've listed above, but the strongest and most obvious is the retailer's liability under the SoGA. I'd write them a Letter Before Action pointing out their liability and requesting a repair or replacement within 14 days.

Your credit card company are jointly and severally liable, as the item was over £100, but at this stage it might not be necessary to involve them and would just complicate things for you.

gwapenut

If they are unable to repair or replace (which looks likely), am I entitled to a refund?

Is it worth involving Trading Standards or is that only for misdescriptions etc?

taxiphil wrote: »

The Sale of Goods Act puts the figure at up to 6 years, although it can depend on the value of the item and various other factors.

But 13 months for a £150 coffee machine... I'd say that definitely falls short of the SoGA. It would take a very brazen retailer to argue in court that 13 months was reasonable!

You've got 3 lines of attack which you've listed above, but the strongest and most obvious is the retailer's liability under the SoGA. I'd write them a Letter Before Action pointing out their liability and requesting a repair or replacement within 14 days.

Your credit card company are jointly and severally liable, as the item was over £100, but at this stage it might not be necessary to involve them and would just complicate things for you.

dmg24

If they could not repair or replace with an equivalent model you would be entitled to a proportionate refund.

KILL_BILL

you would get a amount taking into considreation the amount of use that you have had for it for 13 months

gwapenut

To ber fair to the coffee shop, they have bent over backwards to sort this problem out and have now provided good service.

So my problem is now a hypothetical one - where does one stand legally when a distributor offers a 2 year guarantee and then refuses to honour it, refusing to fix machines.

For anyone who is interested in whose warranties can be trusted... in my opinion the distributor "Fairfax cookshop" have acted dishonourably in this respect.

Tozer

gwapenut wrote: »

To ber fair to the coffee shop, they have bent over backwards to sort this problem out and have now provided good service.

So my problem is now a hypothetical one - where does one stand legally when a distributor offers a 2 year guarantee and then refuses to honour it, refusing to fix machines.

For anyone who is interested in whose warranties can be trusted... in my opinion the distributor "Fairfax cookshop" have acted dishonourably in this respect.

Legally, your contract is with the retailer and it is to the retailer who you must make any SOGA claim. However, by providing a guarantee, the distributor is entering into what is called a collateral contract with you entitling you to claim pursuant to the terms of the guarantee. You would need to demonstrate that you complied with the terms of the guarantee to succeed.

I think your best bet is to make a claim against your credit card provider pursuant to (I think!) section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974 which requires card suppliers to be jointly and severally liable with the retailer. Your claim would then be made that the item did not conform with section 14(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) in that it is not of satisfactory quality by being insufficiently durable. Hope this helps.