Hello,
I hope someone can help.
My wife bought a second-hand laptop from a local, independent gadget store.
Two months after she purchased it, it died.
She had been told (in person) at the time of buying the laptop that they were all inspected before being resold
and could be returned to the store if they stopped functioning within 12 months.
But when trying to return the laptop, the same man who sold it to her claimed he didn't say such thing and is refusing to help.
Obviously we should have got something on writing, etc; but that's not what I'm seeking advice on.
Having also been present when the sale was made and also witnessing his verbal 'term',
I was so insulted that he would then deny it to our faces at a later date.
I decided to call up as a potential customer and enquire about a laptop,
asking whether there was any sort of warranty period.
I recorded the conversation, and low and behold he once again confirmed that laptops could be returned within 12 months.
We made a formal complaint and his response was that no such term exists or has ever been made.
I then offered him the recording to prove otherwise.
Well as you can imagine, being framed like that didn't go down well
and he informed me that he will be reporting me to the police.
Even though I researched the legality beforehand and referred him to Ofcom's website
stating that calls can be recorded without knowledge or consent so long as it isn't shared to third parties,
he insisted I'd broken the law and he would be prosecuting me.
So I have two questions really;
1) Have I broken the law? I haven't shared the recording with anyone apart from him.
2) The fact that I have proof he does induce customers with misleading information - this in itself being illegal - surely there is someone I can share this with?
The way I look at it, programmes like Watchdog obtain secretly filmed footage of these sorts of things
and they're allowed to be televised without the consent of the offending party;
surely my circumstance too is in the public interest and can be reported to a relevant body?
Thanks for any advice