Consumer Rights Question

[WiredWorm]

Right, there seems to be a fair few people on here (looks at PVB) who seem to have a fairly good grasp of Consumer Rights. I've got a little issue and i'm curious to know where I stand.

I purchased a new 40" Samsung LCD TV back in March 2006 and initially I had no problems with it. More recently, however, we've noticed a black dark patch appearing at the bottom right of the display and more recently it's started to lose it's picture. The sound continues playing but the screen just goes totally black - and the only way to fix it is to turn the TV back off and on again.

It wasn't a huge problem at first because it would only do it once or twice a week - but now it's doing it pretty frequently - i'd say as often as 10 times+ per day.

Now, it seems it's a common fault with Samsung TV's - and when I rung the local TV Repair people up they said it was an issue with the 'driver' and that it was not worth repairing? Not sure what a 'driver' is to be honest but that's what he said. We're going to ring a few more places and see what other feedback we get.

So i'm now sat here with a £1000 TV which after only 2.5 years is soon to be totally knackered. Is it really the case that a TV should have such a short life expectancy? Is it worth taking up with the retailer or would I just be wasting my breath?

[benedictw]

Its a grand of kit. Definitely take it up with Samsung and the retailer. If they don't budge, quote the sale of goods act at them.

BBC Guide to Sale of Goods Act.
A bit more info here in plain english.

I wouldn't expect kit of that age to just die like that. Whats the model number of the TV?

[WiredWorm]

I wouldn't expect kit of that age to just die like that. Whats the model number of the TV?

It's a Samsung LE40R51B.

I'm trawling the net at the moment to see what else I can find out about the issue.

[disciple]

Yep it's absolutely reasonable to expect a TV to last over 2.5 years without fucking up, what's more consumer law within the UK is in agreement.

Have a read of this and decide what you want to do.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/ma ... tocomplain

[WiredWorm]

Interesting reading there Disciple - it seems the laws on my side so at the moment i'm tempted to write a mail to the retailer (Dabs) and see what they are willing to do about the issue.

However, before doing so I'm going to wait and see what the local TV Repair Company's come back with - i'm quite keen to at least get something in writing which confirms the fault and if it's cost effective to have it repaired. I figure such information could be quite useful when putting my arguments to Dabs.

[pogo]

Its a grand of kit. Definitely take it up with Samsung and the retailer. If they don't budge, quote the sale of goods act at them.

The law says it is the retailer who is responsible. If they try and pass you on to Samsung, which in practice means some branch office a few hundred miles away and a head office half a world away, ignore it. Your contract is with the retailer.

Manufacturer's guarantees made sense when consumer protection was weaker, but now you are protected for whatever the reasonable lifetime of the product is. Only in extreme cases, like the RROD, do manufacturers need to step up, to streamline things, protect their costs and limit damage to their reputation.

[WiredWorm]

Another interesting thing i've just learned.

Any warranty offered is in ADDITION to the Sales of Goods Act. So they can bitch and moan all they like that the standard 12 months warranty having expired, because ultimately i'm still covered by the SOGA.

Think I might well persue this with Dabs.

[Stone]

Think I might well persue this with Dabs.

They're the only people you have any rights from, so yes, do this

Stone

[WiredWorm]

Cool - i'll give that a try over the weekend then - i'll write a nice e-mail first to see what they're going to do. I suspect they'll tell me the warranty has expired at which point i'll quote the Sales of Goods Act to them.

Does anyone here know anything about LCD TV's? Any idea what this 'driver' is that the TV repairman speaks of and what it does?

I'm assuming it's the main PCB which renders the image onto the screen.

[PVB]

Right, there seems to be a fair few people on here (looks at PVB)

<Looks up>

Wha-?

It wasn't me!

I didn't touch nuffink!

[Stone]

To be perfectly honest I think you're over-thinking this. I wouldn't bother trying to 'prove' that it's one particular fault or another - they don't need a diagnosis beyond 'it's knackered'.

Since it used to work and now it doesn't, it didn't last for 'a reasonable time' within the meaning of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended and you're entitled to compensation from the retailer. Whether that's in the form of cash back (with some deducted for the enjoyment you had out of it while it worked), a repair or a replacement is up to them, but it has to be reasonable so you should be able to just push for a replacement - I doubt they'll be bothered enough to arrange a repair for you. If you want to look up the exact wording it's in OPSI (think you want section 14). Don't forget the Sale & Supply of Goods Act 1997 also applies - it modifies the 1979 Act so you really should read both. As long as you set out your points clearly to them you'll be fine. My standard advice applies: ring them rather than emailing (harder to ignore), escalate through as many supervisors as you need to before people start taking you seriously and don't take no for an answer. You're in the right!

Of course you may want to do things differently but I tend to just go in with all guns blazing from the outset, it's always worked for me

Stone

[Kronos]

Cool - i'll give that a try over the weekend then - i'll write a nice e-mail first to see what they're going to do. I suspect they'll tell me the warranty has expired at which point i'll quote the Sales of Goods Act to them.

Does anyone here know anything about LCD TV's? Any idea what this 'driver' is that the TV repairman speaks of and what it does?

I'm assuming it's the main PCB which renders the image onto the screen.

I think it is, as looking at this thread thread here they talk about bit levels of resolution for them. I can't see it costing more than the 2nd hand value of your TV in perfect working order so how they say it's a non-economical repair is beyond me.

And I agree with Stone there, the TV doesn't work clearly and seeing a picture on your TV in a consistent manner is probably a requirement for a 'working TV'.

[Bane]

good luck with the tv wired worm. sorry to go slightly off topic but it is in the same circumstances as this. and yes there might be a topic but i aint trialling 3000 topics to find it.

can EA put securom into its games without telling it customers. for when i red the terms and conditions it didnt mention anything about that in the manual or on the disk. What legal action could i take if i had vast sums of cash. for as weird worm said about his tv but then add you could only watch it 5 times if you turned the power off and the company didnt tell you this you would be up in arms. so in short is ea got a legal leg to stand on if they dont tell you in the game it contains securom. sorry wired worm for this but it just seems wrong that they can put a program into a game and the only way they will say is being forced. Again sorry wired worm but it is frustrateing that they can get away with this legally and not have fuck all done to them

[zip accident]

good luck with the tv wired worm. sorry to go slightly off topic but it is in the same circumstances as this. and yes there might be a topic but i aint trialling 3000 topics to find it.

So make a new topic. In fact, I'll do that, it seems to me it's worth it.

[WiredWorm]

Thought it might be worth keeping this thread updated.

The fault seems to be happening less now - but that's not the point - in all reality it's going to get worse over time and the black patch on the display is still present. So i've decided to put a complaint in anyway.

I've started by firing off an e-mail to Dabs explaining the fault and what the TV Repair Companies have said so far (both who bothered answering have said it's a driver fault and thus uneconomical to repair). I've simply asked if they can help with the issue.

I now expect to get a reply saying that the warranty on the TV has expired. At this point I believe my correct reply is to point out that the warranty is in addition to my statutory rights, which includes the Sales of Goods Act (as amended). Perhaps at the same time pointing out that items must be fit for purpose for a reasonable time.

Fingers crossed - let's see what happens.