I have a Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset, purchased from Play.com in 2009. The headset has been well looked after however for no apparent reason the microphone has suddenly stopped working. One day it was fine, the next it is not working. I contacted Play.com and asked them to replace the headset under SOGA, stating the less than 2 years for a £30 headset advertised as high quality fell short of expectations and as such the item wasn't fit for purpose. They responded stating that after 6 months it is the onus of the customer to prove the item was faulty, which I know is correct, and that without a fault report that stipulates the problems are the result of a manufacturing error there is nothing I can do. My understanding of the rules were if a customer shows that the item is in a good condition that is sufficient proof that the item has been well cared for. As long as the headset remains in a good condition (no damage to the headset or cables) then that is sufficient to request a replacement on grounds that the item was not durable enough, and as such is unfit for purpose. Can someone clarify where the law stands, and do I have to get an engineers report on this?

SOGA lasts for 6 years.

Can no one advise me on this?

Hello Caggers, I'm after a bit of advice about the HLC. I signed up for the MCSA/MSCE course back in 2009 and have so far sat 2 exams. I have fully paid for the course and was just about to go on to book my 3rd exam, however they have changed their booking policy and now tell me that I have to hand over my username and password to the Prometrics booking site so they can book it for me. The form I had to fill in was unsecured and in plain text format. I complained over the phone and they said they can't just send me the voucher any more as this is their new procedure. I had no notification of any changes, nor did I agree to any changes. My next step is to send a formal complaint, however before I do so I wanted to get the advice from the collective experience here on how I should proceed with this and what rights I have. I am completely unsatisfied with their service (mistakes that were brought to their attention about their course material and online content have not been rectified over a year later) and this latest development is the final straw for me.

I just sold my car with 2 1/2 months left on the insurance policy and 2 outstanding payments left for it. I rang up my insurers to inform them that the car had sold and they told me they wanted both the outstanding payments and a cancellation fee of £45 on top. I'm on benefits and can't afford to pay this, unless I take it from the sale of the car, which I really don't want to have to do. If I had kept my mouth shut and just left the policy to run it would have just been the 2 outstanding payments taken over the next 2 months and no cancellation fee. How can they justify charging me an extra £45 and still expect the remaining 2 months payment if I'm not being insured for this period of time? Can anyone offer me advice on what I should do here as surely I should either pay the cancellation fee or the remaining payments, not both?

Already have. The third party is claiming that I wasn't on the roundabout, that I was next to them at the junction and pulled out with them, then cut across them. They do however have several glaring holes in their statements. The main statement I have says the instructor was driving and that the learner driver was a third party witness. They also have down that my car is red. My car is blue. There was a red car next to them at the roundabout and it sped off really quickly. What I think happened was that car went and obstructed the learner drivers view of me on the roundabout. They then went when they shouldn't have. At the moment liability is in dispute.

No, I was already on the roundabout turning right. They pulled out next to me about 2 junctions after I entered the roundabout. They shouldn't have even entered the roundabout and are liable because they failed to give way at a roundabout.

Hi, I was involved in an accident back in April. I was on a roundabout in the outside lane and a learner driver pulled out a couple of junctions ahead very slowly and I ended up just ahead of them. I indicated to turn off, expecting them to do so as well (I was turning off onto a dual carriageway). However they tried to keep going round the roundabout and hit the back of my car. After months and months of messing around and delays and trying to claim through Easi Drive they said because there is no third party witness they cannot do anything beyond accepting the 50/50 settlement offer received by the third party insurance company. I rejected this and closed the case with them. I then phoned my insurance company, Churchill, and tried to process the claim through them. They took my statement and responded to the third party claim. I received another offer for a 50/50 settlement from the third party insurers via my insurance company on Saturday. I have just phoned them up and rejected this. They have said it is now down to the third party insurers on whether they wish to take this to court or not. However, my insurance company have said they won't progress my claim unless I pay my excess. They say that if the third party insurers don't take this to court the entire claim will be dropped. My excess is £750, and the estimated repair bill is £850. I cannot afford to pay this. I don't have that kind of money available to me. However my insurance company are refusing to do anything unless I have the car repaired and pay my excess. So I'm now stuck in the situation where my insurance company won't help and my car is SORN (tax and MOT expired end of June). Nobody seems willing to help me. What can I do to get this sorted?

Agreed, your cheapest, easiest and IMO best option is to get a new machine.

Took a long time but I finally got a replacement card today. XFX replaced it under warranty.

Unfortunately I'd already signed the waver and sent it off before I received your first message. I guess we'll just have to see where it goes from here.

Now you see that's what I was asking. If I sign that form am I waving my rights under SOGA to have it replaced as it's not even a year old? I got the answer that this form in no way affects my statutory rights under SOGA. They say the warranty doesn't apply to physical damage of any kind, so signing off that I agree they don't have to replace it under warranty shouldn't affect my rights under SOGA, correct?

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'll post back later with how I get on.

OK, so if I sign that form and have them send it off to XFX and XFX fail to replace it I can still ask them to replace it at a later date under SOGA?

But isn't that as good as signing the waver anyway? In which case wouldn't it be better to sign the waver, see if XFX will replace the card. If they do all is good. If not then proceed to have the card replaced under SOGA?