Consumer Rights Question

[Jamie]

Yeah, definitely worth keeping this thread up to date I reckon. Would be good to know the outcome for future reference. Good luck.

[goldfish]

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

Should provide some information... it's produced by the OFT, so is the horse's mouth...

Simon

[benedictw]

Good Luck!

[WiredWorm]

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

Cool site - thanks for that Simon.

I've dropped them a line too just to confirm where I stand.

[WiredWorm]

Ok, next update.

The people at Consumer Direct are really on the ball - i've just had a call from them and they've offered me my first batch of free advice.

The TV is still under a deferred credit agreement so they've pointed out that both the retailer and the credit company are jointly liable. She also agreed that the TV should last longer than the 2 years 8 months that it has so it's worth following up. I've also now got some links to template letters that I can send to both Dabs Direct and also the Credit Company.

I've also been made aware that as the goods are older than 6 months it's my responsibility to prove that the fault is a manufacturing issue and not as a result of being dropped/bashed/abused etc. No great problem there - worst case I might have to pay to get a TV Repair Company to produce a report but the cost for that can be claimed back if I succeed in my case.

I've downloaded the letter templates so i'll hammer those out today so they're ready to post before the end of the week. Once sent they have 14 days to reply. If I don't hear anything then Consumer Direct have told me to get back in touch with them.

[Bane]

also send out a couple of hand written letters. for with emails they could easily deleat them and say they did not get the email. and when you do write the letters keep a copy for yourself and if they say they didnt get the hand written letters you will have the proof from the copy of the letters/ just an idea and make sure you send it by tracker so you know they got the letters for like you said if you win you can claim the costs

[WiredWorm]

And, as expected I got this reply to my mail from Dabs.

Thank you for your email.

According to our records this item is now out of warranty.

Please contact the manufacture for more details on this Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

No mention of my statutory rights then. No surprises there.

I'm not sending any more e-mails. From now on correspondence will be via letter - i've already got the first two ready to go on Monday.

[goldfish]

also send out a couple of hand written letters. for with emails they could easily deleat them and say they did not get the email. and when you do write the letters keep a copy for yourself and if they say they didnt get the hand written letters you will have the proof from the copy of the letters/ just an idea and make sure you send it by tracker so you know they got the letters for like you said if you win you can claim the costs

Sending a letter via recorded delivery is a good idea, but you don't really think that hanging on to a copy as 'proof' is going to get you anywhere, do you?

I can just imagine the look on eg DABS face if you wander up to them claiming that a letter you hold a copy of is somehow proof that you sent it, let alone that they received it...

Simon

[WiredWorm]

I asked consumer direct about recorded delivery and was surprised when they told me that it really wasn't necessary - getting proof of postage should be sufficient.

To be fair I guess that most organisations realise that saying they never received a letter isn't going to help much, because people will simply keep saturation mailing them until one gets through. I'm writing to both the credit company and Dabs anyway, so if Dabs fail to respond I suspect that the Credit Company will lean on them quite heavily.

As it stands at the moment the Credit Company effectively owns a faulty TV and they'd be non-too pleased if I refused to continue payments on the basis that it's not fit for purpose or of merchantable quality. Let's see what happens eh?

[aureole]

If you want attention, you really need to start structuring letters in the form of "If I don't recieve a satisfactory reponse in X days, I shall be doing Y". Small claims track of the county court is your friend, you've enough information to start a claim (make sure you apply to your local court and mention since Dabs are happy to do business in your area, they can come to you instead if they get to assigning a court).

[WiredWorm]

My letter gives them 14 days to reply, and is based on a template issued by Consumer Direct. They said that if I got no reply in the 14 days then to call Consumer Direct and they'd advise further.

[WiredWorm]

Ok, time for the next update in the saga. I posted the two letters off on Monday by recorded (signed for) post. I was quite stunned to get such a quick reply from Dabs. They sent me the following e-mail.

I am writing this e-mail in regards to the letter that I have received today in regards to your faulty TV.

You are covered under the sales of goods act, however it does state in the sales of goods act that if after the first 6 months have elapsed from date of purchase the onus is on the customer to prove that the lack of conformity existed at the time of sale. For faults that become apparent after 6 months, again it is for the customer to provide evidence that the item did not conform to contract at the time of sale.

You would need to contact the manufacturer of the item as it is no longer under warranty with us.

Once you have contacted the manufacturer and obtained the correct details of the fault, please come back to me and I can help resolve the issue for you.

He's quite right about the 6 month ruling. I believe that if i'm able to get written confirmation that the fault is a manufacturing issue then it's still up to Dabs to resolve the issue with either a free repair, partial refund, full refund or replacement item.

Now, my argument here is that when we spoke to a number of TV Repair companys' they all said the same thing. In their words 'it's a common fault with the Samsung sets'. Now that, in my view pretty much puts the issue down as either substandard components or poor build quality.

Need to speak to Consumer Direct to confirm things but I think my next course of action is to look for a local Samsung Repair Center and ask them about getting a written report produced on the fault. It may cost me to do this but I believe that if I prove the case then this cost can be claimed back.

[WiredWorm]

Spoke to Consumer Direct - my next plan of attack was totally correct.

Just spoke to a local Samsung Repair Center and they can do me a check on the TV and a report for £65.80 if I take the TV to them, or £131.60 if they come out (the Center is over 30 miles away).

The latter option is obviously more costly but i'm not too keen at having to get a 40" LCD TV all the way there - especially if there's a chance I could cause damage in transit or be accused of doing so. Plus of course if I win the case then the cost can be claimed back anyway.

I described the symptoms to the guy on the phone and he said it sounded like the TV would need a new panel at a cost of around £400 + labour. So that's around £500 then which is around half the value of the TV. Looks like i'll hopefully get offered a free repair with a bit of luck - which i'd be quite happy with.

[Jamie]

Thats all sounding pretty good so far, keep the news coming.

I've just had a thought though, and I know this is going slightly off topic but, if wiredworm is successful with this then where does it leave us with the appalling failrate of the 360. Surely nobody should have to pay the £80 (I think) charge to fix their console? I know M$ are now fixing consoles for free after the years warranty, but thats only for red ring of death failure, not anything else.

And secondly, extended warranties are surely an expensive, unnecessary waste of money?

[benedictw]

And secondly, extended warranties are surely an expensive, unnecessary waste of money?

That is correct. Pure profit from the POV of the shop.