Anyone know anything about consumer rights/laws??

[Ikon]

Right, basically I bought a new stereo a year ago, one of those nice silver Technics stack ones. Anyways I saw it in the local catalogue shop for £300 which is half of what it is in shops/catalogue, so I went in to get it and with a bit of luck on that day it was another 50% off everything so I only paid £150 for it (Bargain or what!) and when I bought it I was told that it was either ex-display or it was a returned item, they also said it didnt come with a manual which was fair enough.

They gave me a 12 month guarentee with it and a few weeks ago one of the speakers blew (not the whol thing, just the tweeter). It was still under warranty so I phoned them up and the manager said that because Id had it for a year he couldnt give me a refund and they would only get it fixed, which is what I wanted as I didnt want a refund as I doubt I'll ever find a Technics stereo for £150 again. I didnt hear from them for a few weeks and so my Mum went in as she knows the assistant manager, and she said that she would give me some new speakers but they were Aiwa ones so I said no way, so she said she'd contact head office about it. Anyways whilst Ive been in Ibiza my Mum has got back onto them and they told her that they are not willing to fix the speaker as I only paid £150 for the stereo and the only thing they'll do is give me a refund!!!

 

Now surley they cant do this!!?? If my speaker broke whilst still under warranty then they must have to fix it regardless of what I paid for it!

 

Does anyone know anything about this sort of stuff? Have I got anything to go on here, should Ii contact trading standards??

[TomD]

Ikon said:

I was told that it was either ex-display or it was a returned item...

that's the clincher.

 

i think maybe the guy who told you they'd repair it didn't know his stuff to start off with, and then checked and found that it was ex-display and therefore outside its guarantee.

 

it's common that ex-display or reconditioned models have a limited guarantee.

 

if something's outside its guarantee the manufacturer or retailer really has no obligation to repair it. but i'm not a lawyer...

[Ikon]

TomD said:

that's the clincher.

 

i think maybe the guy who told you they'd repair it didn't know his stuff to start off with, and then checked and found that it was ex-display and therefore outside its guarantee.

 

it's common that ex-display or reconditioned models have a limited guarantee.

 

if something's outside its guarantee the manufacturer or retailer really has no obligation to repair it. but i'm not a lawyer...

 

Yeah I see waht your sayin, but my argument to that would be that it was the shop themselves that issued me with the warranty. It isnt a manufacturers warranty.

Their just bein twats at the end of the day!

[slapmatt]

Check your receipt. On the back of the receipt will be the returns policy, which will outline the warranty period.

 

Unless it explicitly states that the product you brought is ex-display and has a shorter warranty period, then it should be covered by the standard 12-months and you should get your speaker fixed.

[Dawn]

Jammy sod

 

I've got a Technics and it cost me £135 to get it fixed this year

[alasdairm]

try:

 

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

 

alasdair

[Tresh]

Whilst I haven't yet studied consumer law, I have studied contract law, which is what this is in effect.

 

If they have given you a warranty for a year, which states that any faulty item will be repaired or replaced (or some similar wording) then they a legally bound to adhere to those terms.

 

There is a contract, a simple case of offer and acceptance.

 

If they won't fulfil their obligations issue Court Proceedings for "specific perfomance" of the contract (i.e. they carry out the terms of the contract you have entered into) and nominal damages. Hopefully you shouldn't have to do this as usually when a shop starts hearing legal terminology they sort it out.

 

Good luck!

[Zen_Master]

if all else fails, just order a new tweeter from your local technics distributer- they are really quite easy to fit and probs a fair bit cheaper than getting a whole new speaker

[Blink]

Firstly, if they have stated that it was covered by 12 months guarantee, then it is covered, whether it is ex-demo or not.

 

However, I think that it is a case of repair or replace. (Obviously some things are irreperable, or BER (Beyond Economical Repair)) So as far as I remember my consumer law, they are entitled to offer you an equivalent replacement (it does not have to be an exact replacement).

 

Contact Technics direct, and see if they are capable of repairing it, then go back to the store, armed with that information.

[IAHH1562627749]

onus is on the retailer to provide the guarantee stuff for the first 12 months - unless its refurbished / second hand and explicity says 3 months.

 

as blink says, they have to repair or replace - and its to equivilant value or above. this is not equivilant to what you paid, but equivilent to the list price of the product (ie like the manufacturers price). if the awai speakers are roughly at least as expensive as yours then it would be deemed fair.

 

i don't know if they have to replace your speakers with identical ones if they physically can do that, and yer gonna run into problems proving how much the speakers are worth as a component if they have to offer something different - as a guidline take speakers from a system with the same list price as yours is/was.

 

sometimes goods have a 2 year manufacturers warrenty. checks yours, if thats the case then you can do it directly with manufacturer. u may also be able to do it directly with the manufacturer anyway, so an avenue worth exploring (at the end of the day, u did get a good price)