Returning a Camera if it was packaged in that heat wrapped stuff?!

sohurt

Hi all

Made a hasty decision tonight as the shop was closing and i was in a rush to buy a digital camera from PC World at £30. (rolls eyes)

Anyway it was packaged in that god awful heat wrapped stuff, you know the type you need edward scissorhands to open and even he has trouble?

I've opened this up and took a few snaps and to say it is awful would be giving it a compliment. Is there any way I can return this? I looked on their website and found this:

To qualify for a refund or exchange the product must be:-

• in otherwise in 'as-new' condition;
• complete with any accessories and free gifts offered with it (and, if possible, the original box and packaging).

Which seems to look not too bad.

Any ideas?

Thanks

emweaver

what mp is it meant to be?

danz0l

We had issue with that god damn heatwrap stuff last year with Argos. We bought a pair of usb headphones that were too tight and so not fit for purpose. We tried to take them back but they refused due to the package being cut (albeit very carefully). We explained our consumer rights, stated their own 14 day no quibble returns policy and that this product was not fit for purpose and actually could be deamed a health hazzard to the wearer. They wouldn't budge.

I had to go to the trading standards website and find out the consumer laws myself, write to head office repeatedly (about 2 or 3 times) with the last stating i would seek legal advice on this issue. That got them moving and they almost immediately, with the aid of a few consumer law quotes i had written from the trading standards website, got them phoning me offering a full refund.

Now Argos have been a !!!!!! recently with returns, PC world however used to be very good so its likely you won't have many issues.

Now going by what you stated and the quality of the product purchased you can claim an exchange or full refund under the 1979 sale of goods act. Heres what that product would fail under.
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) says that goods should be as follows:

• Of satisfactory quality. This means the goods must meet the standards that any reasonable person would expect, taking into account the description, the price and all other relevant information. In some circumstances, the retailer may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer about the goods.

Satisfactory quality includes the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety and durability and whether they are free from defects (including minor faults)

• Fit for the purpose that goods of this type are generally sold. They must also be fit for any specific or particular purpose made known to the seller at the time of the agreement.

Clearly the camera has one main function, to take photographs. If that function is of a lesser quality than you had expected it fails the satisfactory quality and fit for purpose parts of the consumer act. This alllows you, by law, an offer of either a replacement, repair or refund. As its the product quality at fault i think you are perfectly within your rights for a full refund.

As regards the packaging issue you might face, just state that the product could not be tested in store, the seal had to be broken to test such product and then just quote the above again.

Heres the link to the trading standards Buying Goods, your rights.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0043-1011.txt

Hope that helps.

emweaver

If its a low MP then that could be why the quality is so poor which doesnt entitle you to a refund under the terms of unfit for its purpose as its purpose isnt high quality photos.

danz0l

You could argue that point though that a camera is there to take photographs and if they are well below your expectations of a photograph then its "not fit for purpose".

Obviously price reflects purpose but i think you'll find PC world will refund without question.

emweaver

But if its say only 2mp its not technically below expectations as you cant expect it to provide high quality photos and it is doing what its specified to do

poppyolivia

I thought ANY camera under 5mp is good enough for photography..its when you start to enlarge them you have problems...so no matter what mp it is, if its not good take it back! A 1,2,3 mp camera should give ok photos.

danger_mouse_2

at the risk of sounding daft ive had similar problems before with numerous cameras, generally i check the settings and make sure they are set to the best as it can make a fair bit of difference compared to the default factory settings.

emweaver

not when you print them thats when you see the difference. i had some photos on my laptop off my very old 2mp camera and when I tried to get them developed I was warned they werent of high enough quality and they came back very blurry.

What camera is it youve got?

danz0l

We had a 1.3 mega pixel kodak for years and it was very good quality. Sure its not as good as the modern cameras but well what we expected from our camera.

emweaver

missing my point completely, say for example itsa 2mp camera you cant return it for having a poor quality photo because you expected it to be high quality. you get what you pay for.

which is why i asked what mp it was as it could be a low mp and not a "faulty" camera