Advice on sale of goods act/ARGOS, please?

[HolgerDanske]

My partner bought a playstation 4 from Argos yesterday.

It is not working properly.

They have said that they will need to send it away to check for faults. I maintain that a brand new item should work.

Would I be able to argue that as this is a brand new item, it is not reasonable to have to wait for it to be checked and repaired? It was purchased to be used for a holiday, so that he has something to do while on down time. Having to send it away and wait will definitely cause significant inconvenience with this holiday in mind, in my view.

Secondly, if they are determined to refuse exchange or refund would I be able to argue that a temporary replacement, like for like, so BRAND NEW, is necessary as any period of waiting for a BRAND NEW item which has cost hundreds of pounds is unreasonable? In which case they might as well give us a new one and save the hassle all round?

Thirdly, would their contract with us not supersede their internal fault checking system, given the fact that the item is new so there will have been no wear or tear and in fact no change to the item from the state of being brand new, in which case it is the responsibility of the retailer to ensure our satisfaction and afterwards bring their own case to the manufacturer?

Surely it can not be right that we should have to accept such shoddy standards from a brand new and expensive item.

Oh and thank you to anyone who answers

I know that I would insist on a refund.

That's not right. I'm sure that the policy is to repair if fault occurs within a reasonable time, but if there is a fault when you buy it, it should be replaced. I think you've been misinformed.

If you are on Twitter id recommend contacting them- i think it's 'argos helpers' or 'helpers at argos' or something. In my experience they can get things moving pretty quickly.

Good luck!

Know your rights

? If goods are not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or as described, you are entitled to a refund, repair or replacement. However, you can only claim a refund for the first few weeks after purchase (the Law Commission is proposing a 30-day cut-off period) after which you are deemed to have "accepted" them and it's up to you to prove a manufacturing fault.

? If you are happy with a repair or replacement within the first six months it's up to the retailer to prove that the fault wasn't there at time of purchase.

Yes, me too. It's ridiculous.

He's already called them up and they fobbed him off.

I'm just trying to see whether my arguments make sense and particularly whether there is any distinction legally between items within warrantee or within reasonable expectation of life span, and brand new items, before I go in there and demand it. I'm so cross, I'll call head office if I need to. How on earth they think is a good idea is completely beyond me. Surely they would be better off keeping people on side. I tell you what, if they mess us around on this I'm never shopping there again. So frustrating. I can't understand how they think this is a positive way to interact with customers.

The sad thing is I had to work so hard to convince him to buy it as he has such a hard time spending money on himself. He works extremely hard and needs to do something to de-stress.

Just ask for manager and insist on a refund.

Sale of Goods Act

Sorry

1979

here

Thank you.

I would just take it back and say it was not what you thought and get a refund - and deny all else

have a look at their returns policy

This happened to me with a robot hoover thingy, at B & Q, they wanted to send it away and I'd only had it 2 days must of worn the blooming thing out they saw sense in the end and just gave me my money back

Thank you for that, tickle.

Thank you. I had a look at the returns policy earlier and it clearly states if it's faulty we will give a refund or replacement. So it should be straightforward. But I get the sense they are trying to claim that there is no proof of a fault. In any case that isn't my responsibility to prove, is it. That is their responsibility to sort out as part of their contract with the manufacturer, surely?

Argos are twats, we had a cast iron reason to return somethign and they fucked us around royally

We emailed the CEO, it was sorted in 24 hours

Just take it back with the packaging and receipt. If you paid by card, take the card. Go to customer services. Tell them you want a refund because it's faulty. Ask to see the manager. Be firm.

If the customer service is crap, say you will be contacting head office. But be firm about the refund.

In fact link this thread to their Twitter and FB now.

It might come to that! Where do I find the email for the CEO?

Honestly it's enough to make you want to swear off consumerism altogether.

It's disgraceful, really.

I was going to buy a new tv from Argos. I won't bother now. I'd rather pay a few bob more and get decent customer service.

Yes, it's going to be John Lewis only from now on.

what is wrong with the console?

Is it a known issue, and is it something that Argos think you caused?

No it's something they would think we've caused. It's a hardware issue. They just don't want to bother.

But I will go in and speak to the manager tomorrow. It's likely the person on the other end of the phone wasn't all that knowledgeable and I'm hoping the manager will sort it.

Just couldn't quite believe it has to be such a big palaver.

Eh hardware, softwAre? I don't know the difference and I can't remember what my partner said. But it's not damage to the console. It's brand new straight out of the box.

Uhm oops, I meant to write it's NOT something they would think we would have caused.

As far as I'm aware they're within their rights, annoying as it is, to check that any alleged fault does in fact exist and if so, that it is not the result of misuse/accidental damage or similar. Technically, despite the fact you only bought it recently, you could still have spilt wine over it/used the wrong power cable or similar. I'm playing devil's advocate really but I don't think Trading Standards would object to them receiving the item back for assessment before arranging a replacement/refund. They should offer a collection or reimburse your return costs, once a fault has been verified, though.

Email the CEO. You can probably Google it.

Found this on MSE:

The Argos 30 day refund policy is their policy where they allow customers who have changed their minds about purchases to exchange them and Argos do not include DVD and Game purchases in that policy. This is over an dabove a customer's rights under SoGA (Sale of Goods Act)

However, they also do not amend your statutory rights which are to have an item which isn't faulty.

As your item is faulty you can take it back and Argos may refund, they may replace or they may repair. (Though a repair is unlikely).

So your job is to go back with the receipt, tell them it's faulty and see what they offer to do about it.

I think they'll refund op. I would kick up a fuss in store, they'll soon pay to get you out

I don't know if there is a loophole of the Sale Of Goods Act with some electrical stuff. We bought a netbook from Comet which was faulty and they told us they would give us gift vouchers to the value but, to get a refund we had to either return it unopened (in which case how would we know it was faulty?) or agree to send it back to the supplier for them to test it. We took the vouchers rather than have any more hassle and were glad we did as they went out of business shortly after