Sale of Goods Act & Tesco

[PractialJoke]

My parents bought a large electrical appliance from Tesco about a month ago and its stopped working.

They've been back to the shop where it was purchased and have been told it's a matter for the manufacturer to deal with. The appliance will have to be sent to the manufacturer and they will decide whether to repair/replace/refund.

I always understood that as a buyer your contract is with the retailer and any issues are between the customer and the retailer - the retailer then takes it up with the manufacturer as appropriate, but surely Tesco knows the law, so have I got it wrong?

The man in the shop actually said "I'm not being patronising..." to my 70 yo father!

No you haven't got it wrong. Your parents' contract is with Tesco. They are liable if there is a problem. Don't let them fob your parents off like this.

To be honest I'm sure Tesco do know the law. Some of their staff, however, may not be as familiar with their legal obligations.

My father had this with a large tool supplies brand. We returned a saw and the chap said it would have to be referred to manufacturer, etc. I said 'um, no...Sales of Goods Act says....' he insisted he was right. I opened my phone, found the page on the internet referring to it and showed him. He said 'but company policy...' I pointed to my phone. It went on a bit but I made it clear that my father wasn't leaving without a refund. They refunded.

Tesco did this with my dsis when she returned a broken toy.

It is tescos way of passing the buck.

yes you are right, your contract is with Tesco

they ARE within their rights to send the appliance back to the manufacturer though... i presume that's what they're doing? you don't have to do that yourself?

copying and pasting now:

"Returning faulty goods
If you buy a product that turns out to be faulty, you can choose to reject it which means you can give it back and get a refund.
But, the law only gives you a reasonable time to do this – what's reasonable depends on the product and how obvious the fault is.
However, even with major purchases or complex items, it’s safest to work on the basis you usually have no more than three to four weeks from when you receive it to reject it.
Getting faulty goods replaced or repaired
You have the right to get faulty goods replaced or repaired if it's too late to reject them. You can ask the retailer to do either, but they can normally choose to do whatever would be cheapest.
Under the Sale of Goods Act, the retailer must either repair or replace faulty goods 'within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience'.
If the seller doesn't do this, you're entitled to claim either:
• a reduction on the purchase price, or
• your money back, minus an amount for the usage you've had of the goods (called recision)"

I had the same issue with Tesco when a Vax vacuum cleaner I'd bought from them stopped working. They said I'd have to liaise with Vax directly. Unfortunately for Tesco, I'm a lawyer, so stood my ground, pointed out the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act and insisted upon seeing the manager who quickly organised a refund.

The contract is with Tesco and they cannot wiggle out of their statutory duties and pass the buck.

The ease of repair/replacement can depend on who the manufacturer is though, whilst I'm in firm agreement that the contract is with Tesco and they should sort it out its often easier to go through manufacturer for certain things.

Vax for one have amazing customer care and can turn round a replacement or repair twice as quickly as Tesco so in that situation its easier for the consumer to deal with them directly. Same with Apple, again easier to go directly to them.
In those cases its not Tesco who are shirking responsibility, more they are finding the quickest solution for the customer.

God are they still doing this? Several years ago I had this with a TV. I stood there for about 40 mins but they did refund!