Sale of Goods Act help please

[teamboleyn]

My mum bought a £600 tv, global trusted brand, in Oct 10. It has now developed a fault. She bought it from Comet so no joy there, they are referring all returns to the manufacturer. I've read that a product must be fit for purpose for 5 years (Scotland). Do I have a leg to stand on? The manufacturer is quoting one year's warranty and that I have no rights. Surely a £600 tv should last longer than 2 years?

Under the Sale of Goods Act your rights are against the retailer, not the manufacturer. In this situation I'm afraid you are reliant on the manufacturer's good will.

What about the manufacturer's warranty? Even if she didn't pay to extend it, big brands normally have at least a 12 month warranty. I'd start with that.

Yes you have more than a leg to stand on!
If a product develops a fault within 5/6 yrs (depending where you are) the retailer is obliged by law to repair replace or refund. It is up to them which remedy they choose.
I worked in retail for yrs.
I never stop hearing about customers being fobbed off with outright lies by retailers, its so unfair.
First take it back to the shop armed with a printout of the relevant part of the sale of goods act. This is the law and NO store policy can override the law no matter what they say.
Be very firm but polite, if they wont budge tell them you will use the small claims court as they are breaking the law.
Then you will have to write a letter, there are lots of good templates on internet. Try bbc watchdog website.
Also your contract of sale is between you and the retailer, nothing to do with the manufacturer.

bellarose2011 - Yes her rights are aganist the retailer but the retailer in this case is Comet who are in administration. That means her Sale of Goods Act rights are pretty much useless. Comet's administrators will refuse to refund, repair or replace the TV. She can then take Comet to the small claims court but that will simply make her an unsecured creditor. At best she will get back a few pence in the pound and that may well be less than her costs in taking them to court.

I therefore stand by my answer. As Comet are in administration she is reliant on the manufacturer's good will.

Really sorry totally forgot that comet had gone in to administration.
What a shame op, you could try to get it fixed by an independent engineer?
In my experience if you go through the manufacturer they will charge you Way over the odds.
Ring trading standards as well just to check that you cant claim against the manufacturer in this situation.

is it a common fault? Have a google on forums and see if you can find other people having the same issue.

If it's a common fault, I'm not sure of the law, but I've always had a lot of luck pointing out that it's a known, common fault with their item and that it needs to be fixed - even years out of warranty

Thanks for your replies. I contacted Panasonic directly and quoted the EU directive about goods having a two year warranty, she then loudly sighed down the phone at me and then refused to put me through to a manager. I have emailed their customer service last Friday and am still awaiting a reply. I'll have a google for your idea Chunky, thanks, the tv was very highly advertised and sponsored some large sporting event, possibly the olympics or the Euros.

I'm not surprised she sighed when you mentioned the EU directive. Contrary to what many people seem to believe, the directive doesn't give you any rights against Panasonic whatsoever.

The directive concerned (1999/44/EC) states that the seller is liable for any faults that appear within two years from delivery of the goods. So your rights under this directive are against the retailer, NOT the manufacturer. And as the TV is more than 6 months old both the Sale of Goods Act and this directive put the onus on you to prove that the problem is a fault in the TV and not down to wear and tear, misuse or accidental damage.

Contact your local Trading standards and they will confirm it is the Seller, not the manufacturer that is liable to refund,repair or replace. But enforcement of a small claims judgement in your favour cannot be enforced, so waste of time and money and having that law anyway.

Hi OP, my less than two year old dryer broke earlier this year. It had been fixed already under warranty so I was less than amused it had broken again. The retailer, next, were useless but after a twitter mention or two the manufacturer brought me a new one and took old one away - for free.

I stated sale I goods act at them and got it dealt with. Never underestimate the power of Social media. Tweet them this thread, it helps.

Panasonic are @panasonicUK on twitter. Suggest you get this moved to AIBU.

Yes, Prh47bridge is right. After 6 months old, you need to prove that the fault was inherent and not something that you've caused/isn't down to wear-or-tear.

You can do that with an independent engineers report, but they can be expensive and they may not find in your favour.

The EU directive was never adopted here because UK law offers you more rights. It doesn't give you any rights against Panasonic. It is Comet that you would have rights against, but they have gone into administration, and therefore it would be extremely unlikely to be successful. The court action would cost you far more than you'd be likely to get back.

I'd try appealing to Panasonic's better side, but I'm not sure how successful that will be after quoting nonsense at them. The EU directive drives customer service teams mad.

What type of fault does the TV have? Is it a common fault for that model?

Did she pay via het credit card? We had a similar problem (Habitat, fault developed within 4 months of purchase, by which time they went into administration). We claimed via our credit card, and was successful.