Good Afternoon CAG, A customer has provided me a Dell Laptop to repair. The fault is most certainly a failing hard drive. Having done the usual diagnostics and attempted recovery it is very likely the drive will need replacing. The laptop has 1 year collect & return warranty on the laptop which expired mid July 2013. The fault was reported around the last week of August. The Laptop was purchased from Tesco Direct in April last year. Do you think I have a claim under the sales of goods act? I am happy to replace the drive in the laptop as is the customer as they need a quick fix. However I don't want to charge my customer unnecessarily if a replacement hard drive can be provided OR claim under SOGA. As the laptop only had 12 months warranty, it's a pretty poor show that it's failed in month 13. Considering I have other laptops here that have been running fine since 2006 without too many problems. Any advice appreciated. Thanks NS

This company has a very strange interpretation of Sale of Goods Act. If the item is 6 months old it only gives partial refunds. So if your item failed after 7 months you only get a 90% refund. Thats not the half of it. They originally tell you to contact the OEM for returns, again shirking responsibility! Its only when I insisted under the SoGA, that they had to take the RMA, that they arranged a courier collection. What happened to me was that I asked for a replacement item as I knew if I would only get 90% back if I put refund on the RMA. But someone at ebuyer changed the status of the RMA to 'refund' even though they had plenty of stock to give a replacement. They deny any wrongdoing and refuse to replace the item saying I asked for a refund. Rather than put the situation right regardless of whose fault it may have been, a decent company would have said OK whatever, who cares who put refund, the situation is that now the customer is asking for a replacement and we will honour that. In the end so many weeks passed of eBuyers stalling on the replacement, that the item then became out of stock - discontinued (funny that!) They say you have to place a new order, but the items have doubled in price since I bought the old one! Again, very convinient! Are there any grounds on which I can sue using small claims? I have lost only about £5 but I want to do it for the principle and to protect other consumers who have lost far more! People need to be aware this is how they manage to offer low prices.

Hi All, Hoping someone can please take the time to offer us some advice. After a long series of attempted repairs and a dangerous incident involving the car coming very close to flames while stuck in the severn crossing toll booths i finally rejected a car and left it at the dealers premises. I have informed the dealer by letter of my rejection and he has recieved this letter (sent recorded delivery). I just got back from work today and the dealer has had the car towed back to my house while my wife was out and parked it on the street. It is a fairly long story that is best explained by reading the letter that i sent to the dealer when i rejected the car. If anyone has some spare time and would like to help out and have a quick read of the letter I would be very grateful. The letter is attached. What options would i have now the car is back outside my house (it is taxed and legal for a few more months but the neighbours will be annoyed as it is already tight for parking *rolly eyes*). Can we force the dealer to accept the car back on his premises? Have we left ourselves with any chance of winning a county court claim as we have had the car repaired ourselves? By the way, although i described 'the severn crossing incident' in a fairly dry manner in the letter above i would like to assure you all that watching a 20 stone man trying to launch himself out of the opposite passenger door of a car and then getting his foot stuck in the steering wheel and receiving a gearstick up his bottom may have been quite amusing to some. On a contrasting note, the panic in my childrens faces as they were stuck in the back of a car that was quickly filling with smoke is not something that i will forget easily and i intend to take this cowardly dealer for all that i can. He is refusing to speak to us as he says my wife is 'not being nice to him' (he actually said that. she was being perfectly reasonable by the way). A cursory glance into his history has already uncovered a number of dissolved companies and car dealerships that he has owned in the last 10 years as well as similar stories on review websites relating to these now dissolved dealerships. Please help. Sorry for posting such a wall of text.

Hello, I need some help from a SOGA expert. My Sony Bravia failed after almost exactly 3 years needing a new circuit board at a total cost of £122. The TV new was over £600. SOGA suggests that it should have lasted at least 6 years. Obviously I cannot go after Comet so my question is can I pursue Sony through SOGA, to the courts if needed. Their so called customer service is based off shore with very poor english and they were most unhelpful. I certainly won't buy Sony again. Any advce would be welcome. I will write to them suggesting they cough up as a good will gesture but, given their attitude on the phone, I am not too hopeful. Thanks Martin g

hi everyone, I need so help from an expert on the Sale of Goods Act, as I bought a PC from comet in July 2011, it was returned as faulty in October 2011 with a faulty dvd drive, memory and hard drive which they then repaired under warranty it's worked fine ever since and has only had light usage but sadly it wont work at all since July this year. It's a packard bell all in one touch screen pc and the screen fails to work, at barely 2 years old and I think (though cant be sure as I am not an expert) that the graphic card has failed as the screen doesn't come on at all which makes the PC unusable. I didn't purchase an extended guarantee from comet as I've had numerous packard bell pc's over the years and they've all lasted well and have been of general good quality, in other words I've had no complaints about them until now. Comet obviously no longer exist I've emailed packard bell and asked them to undertake a free of charge repair as clearly the device is not fit for purpose as it's reasonable to expect more than two years/(18months approx since last repair) in lifepsan from a computer. Packard bell wont help and have referred me back to the retailer comet who of course no longer exist. I've threatened them with the SOGA in my previous emails and I'm certain though not sure that responsibility for repairs transfers to the manufacturer under the SOGA when a retailer goes out of business or ceases to trade. This is the part I'm not sure about! Does responsibility for the PC transfer to Packard Bell now comet is no longer trading. Also does anyone know what constitutes a fair and reasonable life span for a PC which would satisfy trading standards I've looked on the internet but cant find any consistent (read legally satisfying) references. Many Thanks for any help and advice.

We bought a 52 plate Xsara in July 2012 from a local dealerfor £995 (including £600 for our old Micra). It had about 88k on the clock, andan MOT until October. My wife took it for a test drive and did not see anyproblems other than stalling it a couple of times, and that the rear viewmirror was missing, which the dealer told us he would sort out for us (thoughnever has). Over the following couple of weeks I noticed that the clutchbiting point was nearer to the floor than I was used to, but not knowing a lotabout these things, thought nothing more of it, particularly as one member ofstaff told me that it had had a new clutch fairly recently. However as timewent on we began to notice more issues with the clutch, with the car judderingwhen reversing and a few days short of the MOT my wife even reported that it hadstuck down on one occasion and she had had to lift it up with her foot. we nursed it through to the MOT which was when wehad a real shock. Not only was the clutch completely shot, but there were majorfails on the front and rear suspension, along with tyres, wipers needingreplacement. The view of the tester was that the vehicle was a right off, withthe rear suspension alone set to cost £800+ as a new rear axle was required. At this stage we were stuck until a call to the CAB led tous finding the SOGA. As we had had the vehicle for less than 6 months, we feltwe had a pretty good case to go back to the dealer. However, when we did so, hewas very dismissive and was rude to my wife, calling her ‘obnoxious’ when shestarted quoting the SOGA to him. Since that day he has refused to speak to heragain, citing her attitude and comments made to another customer as we left. He came back a few days later after talking to ‘his’mechanic (that has not seen the vehicle), that the suspension problems wouldonly cost about £300 to repair, and that he would be happy for ‘his’ mechanicto repair it and get it through the MOT if we gave him £110 for the tyres &wipers. At no stage has he acknowledged any responsibility for the clutch as hestates that we had not gone back to him about it since we bought it, and that itcould have all developed since we bought it from him, as we have covered about4000 miles in that time and what did we expect for a car of this age. As this would represent us having to pay him £110 for hismechanic (who hasn’t seen the car) to do a £300 repair on something we have beenquoted £800+ for by the MOT inspector (who has) & to get it MOT’d, and then payfor the clutch ourselves, we felt this was totally unacceptable. followingadvice from the CAB and Consumer Direct, we wrote to him stating that we wouldaccept £750 as full payment (to allow for the 3months usage/wear&tear ontyres/wipers). He has now written back, after talking to ‘his’ mechanic,offering us just £297, along with telling us that the only relevant itemsmentioned on the previous MOT was an advisory comment about the frontsuspension, (which to my mind volunteers the fact that the suspension wasalready questionable 9 months before we bought the car and would therefore havedeteriorated further over time). Our reading of the situation is that we have a pretty goodcase to get a full refund, or at least something in the region of the £750 wehave asked for, t hough in our last conversation with him he told us he was happy forus to go to court as he “knows he will not be made to pay anything like that”. Does it sound to those of you with more experience of thesethings that we do have a case, or are there factors involved that may make ourcase less robust than we think and mean it more advisable that we take him up on his offer of‘moving a little bit’ from the £297 he has offered? What should be our next move, and is it worth getting asolicitor involved (we would hopefully qualify for Legal Aid)? If we do go tocourt, what sort of expenses can we realistically charge to him from theinterim period (we have been able to share my mother-in-laws car, at herinconvenience, but have still had to take buses and trains on occasion)? Could we hire a car and charge it? What wouldhappen if we bought a cheap car in the meantime, would that affect ourposition? Do we need to keep the car in question for further potentialinspection? Should we ask the garage which did the MOT to write a report on thecar – what is this likely to cost?

Hi Bought a new car from a franchised dealer recently, 3 faults become apparent very quickly Within 10 days they are advising the car needs taking apart so we reject the vehicle under sale of goods act and ask for a refund. They refuse. We now need a solicitor to advise but don't really want to go through with county court etc due to solicitor costs. (car cost 20k so won't go to small claims court) Any recommendations for some professional help ????? Thanks

Hi All. I bought a 18 month old BMW last May for £21K, the day after I picked it up it was back in for a repair under warranty to a faulty rear brake light. Since then it has been in a further 4 times for various things ranging from ECU resets to a complete replacement soft-top. Its currently in BMW now after being recovered as it wouldn't start at all. My warranty will expire in Nov and as the car has been into the dealer (where I purchased it) for 5 warranty repairs in 12 months I am a little nervous of large bills landing on my doorstep once the warranty has expired. I have spoken with the dealer and requested they provide a 1 year extension to my warranty as I feel that a BMW with 13k on the clock and less than 3 years old, should not be in for repairs 5 times in a 12 month period. They are not overly helpful but are talking it over. What my question to you guys is, would SOGA apply as the car is not fit for purpose or something like that? Any other comments or advice? Many thanks Steve

Hi There, My sister has an iPhone 4S which was Replaced by Apple within the warranty period (Albeit only just). She was told that it would have 90 days warranty on the replacement handset and was sent on her way very happy indeed. exactly 110 days later the replaced iPhone 4S completely died. Won't turn on, no output from the screen so back to the Apple Store to see what could be done. As the iPhone was 20 days out of warranty, they wanted £129 out of a 16 year old girl to replace the handset. Pretty poor show if you ask me, but their rules were rules! I am aware of the Sale of Goods Act as I am Self Employed and I am curious on the best way to proceed? The original iPhone was replaced whilst it was still in warranty. The replacement died 20 days after that period had ended. Would this be grounds for "Unreasonable period of operational life for the product" It died less than 4 months in service. I am not paying £129 as the handset is insurance covered, but with an Excess I'd rather not go down that road either. Could anyone suggest the best way to proceed please? Do you personally think that they are in breach of the Sale of Goods Act? For the benefit of doubt. Handset was NOT: Jailbroken, Taken Apart, Dropped, Water Damaged and was always in a case which covered the screen also! Thanks Caggers

sorry moved it over to correct forum

Good Afternoon All, I am currently in a situation with Dell and I would like to ask for some advice on how to proceed. In May 2008 I had a Dell XPS 1530 which after 2 repairs failed again. They replaced this free of charge for me in August 2010 after threatening legal action and citing the SOGA. They replaced it with a Studio 1558. Now in February 2013, this laptop already having been fixed once for overheating has now failed again. It overheats, fails within 10-15 minutes sometimes (just shutting down). Not only that but the graphics have glitched where all the colours are inverted and some keys don't even work on the keyboard now. I contacted Dell by mail again requesting they replace this again or refund me, otherwise I will proceed with small claims court. Dell called me (and are about to email) to advise they are not willing to play ball and that I should begin legal proceedings. This is because my "original" purchase was 2008. Just because the recent laptop was given to me in 2010, it doesn't matter. What would your advice be in this instance? They want £170 for a repair, that I am not confident will be a complete repair and based on my service history will need to be looked at again within 12 months. Is what they are saying true, that my original purchase date of £600 in 2008 is what counts? They machine they replaced it with in 2010 was £999 at the time and I didn't have to pay any extra difference. I look forward to any advice. Thanks Jamie

hi, the bearings are starting to go on our 2.5yr old washing machine. would i have a reasonable claim under the sale of goods act? it's a run-of-the-mill £200 indesit machine. thanks, kristian

I need some advice, This is my first post on this site in a few years but it always helped in the past so hopefully someone here can help I bought a joblot of CK Boxershorts from a website called Stockshifters They were Advertised as 100% Authentic I am not a business, i am an individual, but they say they are a B2B company only so normal Consumer Rights do not apply I have contacted them about the goods being Counterfit, and they confirm that they were made aware of this in November last year, but did not recall any of the other lots that had been sold to other customers I have A crime refernce number for the goods, I also still have all the goods, I bought them in november last year I just need to know my rights I have been told that i should still should send items back, and ask for a refund as the items are not as described, and not fit for purpose (they are very bad, they fall apart after washing and they are fake so not as described anyway) But Stockshifters say they are not liable at all as the SOGA does not apply to them Im hoping someone on hear will have some good advice, as i am £500 down at the moment and wish to have some of it back I did write to them returning the stock quoting it was breach of contract, as you have not received the "Authentic" goods ordered. Sales of goods act applies even if you are not a consumer. The goods are not as described. the sales of goods and services act 1982 I got this reply from them today as they refused delivery of the shorts back It is regrettable that you have had a bad experience purchasing goods via the stockshifters website. We do everything we can to monitor the vendors and the goods traded on our website but it is not possible to inspect every product. If a vendor is suspected of trading in counterfeit goods they are banned immediately from the site. With regards to this particular vendor, their account was suspended due to a number of supplier issues but none due to counterfeiting. We have no evidence that the goods sold by this vendor are counterfeit. Stockshifters is an intermediary and does not buy and resell stock. Vendors fulfil their own orders and as a buyer it is your responsibility to inspect stock and contact us within a 48 hour period if the goods are not as described on the website. Stockshifters have held up their end of the agreement and acted within the T’s & C’s http://about.stockshifters.com/terms-and-conditions/which both yourself and the vendor have agreed to. By agreeing to our T’s & C’s you are given access to our site as a business/trade customer – business/trade customers do not carry the same consumer rights as consumer buyers. The following link may be of assistance: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_different_ways_of_buying_e/consumer_buying_at_auction_e/buying_goods_in_an_auction.htm I understand that you have already been put in contact with the vendor of the boxer shorts and any claim you make would need to be made against this vendor. Should you decide to proceed with legal action against Stockshifters we will have no choice but to defend our position. In the interests of avoiding any further dispute, I would urge you to make contact with me if you feel there are considerations we are overlooking. Beast Regards, Denham

Hi, We recently bought an 08 C4 picasso (just over 50k miles) from a local dealer. Paid £7500 (£1000 part ex, £6500 balance). Took no extra warranty (my bad). We recently had a trip to scotland and while in a car park the braking system failed, warnings for braking system failure, handbraking system failure, ESP failure and depolution failure all at the same time. I had to contact a local garage as we were stuck. He said to leave it a while and try switching the engine off/on etc to see if it clears as he couldnt help at all. He advised we should get it to citroen. We only had the car 3 weeks so I spoke to the car dealer we bought it from explaining the situation and he said I should get Citroen to look at it. I said he should take the financial hit for that and after some back and forth with the dealers mechanic they have agreed to get the codes read at their own garage. Where exactly do I stand her regarding Sale of Goods and what should I expect from the dealer? Any help is appreciated. Dave

Hi. I'm new here and am desperately looking for help!! I brought a used car from a private dealer 6 weeks ago. Its a 06 reg diesel fiesta with 72000 miles. £3600. It was part ex for £3k and £600 cash. The dealer was selling from his home and had around 10 cars for sale. He had a website and gave me an invoice in a company name.... It was sold as serviced... but i have since found out that the dealer who 'stamped' in the book did not service the car! Today the turbo in the engine blew and the ford mechanic thinks this will have knackered my engine too. I was offered a private warranty at the cost of £200, but the small print said it had to have full service history and this was missing 1 service so it rendered it useless as the terms were broken so declined it. Having read up on the SOGA i think i may have a case as the car clearly was not of satisfactory quality when it was sold to me. I have had it 6 weeks (2 of which i was on holiday) and its done 1000 miles since i brought it. I dont believe a fault like this can develop in such a short time and therefore it must have been a fault when i brought the car 6 weeks ago. Can anyone give me any advice??? Thanks. Rachel xxx

Hi All, I'm trying to prepare for the worse so wanted to seek a little advice first... At the end of June I purchased a 5 year old SUV with 70k on the clock for just shy of £20k from a Main Dealer (although not the original manufacturer, it is part of the same dealer network). The car had FSH, MOT and was HPI'd and new rear tyres were even fitted for good measure. Last weekend whilst driving the car I got a control message to tell me there was an issue with the self-levelling air suspension. The end result was a collapsed air spring at the rear of the car which I thought was the only issue but with the car parked outside my house, I noticed an issue at the front too (on the same side of the car). This is now confirmed as the front spring snapping via what the dealer says is excessive corrosion. I'm hoping the warranty provided will cover this, but I am trying to gauge that if not, is covered by the SOGA. Given it's only been 2 months and used for about 6-700 miles, from what I have read, the burden of proof falls on the dealer to prove the fault did not exist at time of sale. My questions I guess, are: - Does the SOGA distinguish between what components fail? - Does excessive corrosion that would have existed at point of sale imply the dealer should have fitted new springs at the front? - If I need to claim against the dealer under the SOGA, do I pay for the repairs first and reclaim, or do I not repair the car and contact the dealer first? - As this is our only car, can I take out a hire car and add this to the total claim? Thanks

Firstly - I'm a newbie here - so apologies if I ask the same as others have !!! I had a credit card with MBNA for around 15 years before I used the card to purchase a car (cost approx £9k) in March 2011. The transaction was made by myself with the car dealer that advertised it, I called the dealer and read out my card details over the telephone for the car that I had seen a description of on the internet. The car dealer delivered the car and upon arrival it was clearly not as described in a number of ways (some damage and no full MoT to mention a couple) and this is clearly provable against the internet description where it stated full MoT and no mention of any damage. The supplying car dealer was clearly in the business of selling cars as he had about 6 other cars advertised for sale at the time and I've kept copies of all these descriptions in case they are required later. So under distance selling regulations, I complained to the supplying car dealer and asked for a refund, made the car available for them to collect but they refused to accept the car back and refused to collect the car. I immediately made a section 75 claim to MBNA. MBNA stated the disputed amount would be put on hold until the matter was resolved. Sensing there was going to be a fight I cancelled the direct debit so that the disputed amount would be "on hold" with MBNA and not with myself and wrote to MBNA telling them that was my course of action and supplied copies of all information receipts/descriptions/correspondence with the car dealer. Eventually MBNA refused the section 75 claim, for a couple of spurious reasons. One was broken debtor-creditor relationship - MBNA claimed the car dealer was selling the car on behalf of the previous owner !! clearly MBNA don't seem to understand how car dealers sell cars and this one was an obviously blatant attempt by the car dealer to attempt to avoid responsibility. The other was that MBNA claimed that I knew about the damage prior to delivery and that I should have checked the car before purchasing. I demonstrated to them that I relied upon the description and could not have been expected to travel from Oxford to Scotland to check the car over before deciding to purchase. It was clear to me that I had provided sufficient information and evidence to support my section 75 claim, and I repeatedly insisted that MBNA honour their obligations under section 75. However, they refused and set on a course of pursuing me for what they claimed was an outstanding balance and what I repeatedly claimed was the disputed "on hold" amount. I wrote to them on several occasions suggesting that we should put the matter in front of a judge to decide. Eventually they went through the process sent me lots of demanding letters and default notices which I always replied to and politely reminded them that the outstanding balance is subject to a Section 75 claim and that if they felt strongly about it then I would be happy to talk it all over in front of a judge. MBNA's last letter they stated that they would be selling the debt. I immediately wrote back to MBNA and informed them that they do not have my permission to give or sell any of my personal data to anyone. At this point I made a claim through the financial ombudsman, which is currently in progress. In the meantime, MBNA have sold the debt to DLC who appear oblivious to the section 75 claim and are now harrassing me with letters and phone calls. I have written to DLC telling them to stop harrassing me and referred them back to MBNA, stating that it appears that they have obtained my personal data in contravention of the data protection act. Clearly there are several strands to this situation, I feel strongly that this is a valid section 75 claim, but it seems that MBNA have simply avoided justice and I have been left with a blemished credit history. My first concern is that the claim via the financial ombudsman may be too late. My second concern is that having not paid the balance when I left the "on hold" balance with MBNA may have undermined the claim to some extent. Comments, the experience of others in similar situations and all advice is appreciated. (I will add/update as and when I get updates) thanks !

As the topic suggetss, am currently starting proceedings against a main dealer garage (Vauxhall) under the SOGA for a defective car. My question is this, do I write to the main dealer that sold me the car, or the finance company that I have my car finance with? thanks for any help in advance

Hi all, Am new and need advice. I purchased a car from an independent dealer with warranty. 5 months and 2 weeks later on the motorway in France the car breaks down. Where do I stand in getting a contribution towards the £1100 pounds it cost for the car to be repaired? Thanks in advance.

Good afternoon all, I'm really hoping for some guidance, on what's turning out to be a stressfull car purchase. 06/07/12: Saw second hand BMW 5 Series (Touring) for sale at a certain well known dealer (Motherwell branch. I live in Wrexham). I emailed their web-sales team to start negotiations and pose questions regarding the vehicle (considering the 250 miles train journey required). Questions below: What warranty does the car come with and is it local or national (i.e Car Care Plan)? How long / many miles until next service is due? Does it come with 12 months MOT? What's front and rear tyre wear like (mm's)? What does iDrive detail for each diagnostic point (miles til oil check, break fluid, pads and discs)? Are there any external dents, scratches or scuffs (alloys included)? Internal scratches or tears? Has the car been in any accidents / had any structural / aesthetic repair work? Received a reply as follows: Used cars are sold with 2 months warranty. Warranty repairs can be done in any ***** branch. In some exceptional cases we can authorise work to be carried out by separate VAT registered garages, but that’s at the branch manager’s discretion. ** Serviced and MOTd by us on 22nd June 2012 At least 6mm tread on all tyres iDrive shows 19000 miles for everything except brake pads, which show 28000 miles No damage on the bodywork or interior No evidence of accidents/structural or aesthetic repair work having been done. 07/07/12: Took the two trains and one bus trip required to get to the dealer in Motherwell, and after a long wait (50 mins) was able to see the car. IT looked to be a stunning, silver 5 Series, and despite it raining heavily and being overcast, I took time to wipe as much water from the panels to check for dents, scratches and blemishes. It all looked fine, and I continued to purchase the car. Driving home, I stopped near home (as the car was now dry) to appreciate the car (I drove a 52 plate Corsa before this!). I was absolutely gutted to see that there were patches on the bonnet, both sides and the roof. They're highly visible in direct sunlight, and during visit to a local bodyshop I learned they were called 'bag marks'. There were other issues present too (darker, defined patches on the bonnet, which I've learned are moisture marks, and some fairly deep scratching to a few panels). The guy at the repair place advised that the car had received a majority re-spray, and that although the respray was generally very good, and that the issues present could happen to any body repairer, the issues weren't acceptable and should have been dealt with. I contacted the dealers, and sent through photographs of the issues, asking for their assistance. Their reply, in a nutshell, was 'tough luck', as I'd checked the car over and bought it as seen. Their argument is that a 58 plate car should be expected to have bodywork issues. My argument is that I'd received a written response from them to advise the car was without damage, and that there was no evidence of repair work, and I see this as a SoGA issue. 08/07/12 to 15/07/12: Emails back and forth, basically saying the same things. 15/07/12: After speaking with another customer of the local bodywork repair place (luckily a solicitor), I sent an email and letter detailing the problems, and that they had 7 days to respond, regarding covering the cost of repairs, or receiving the vehicle back (I'd prefer to keep the car, as mechanically, it appears sound). 20/07/12 to 27/07/12: Family holiday. Returned on 27th July to find no responses to my email / letter. I guess my question is, is it unreasonable of me to expect them to address the issues? I understand I bought the vehicle and drove it away, but it was only when the vehicle was in sunlight that I could see the problems (numerous 'bag marks', on all panels other than the tail of the vehicle, moisture marks and fairly deep scratches in 4 or 5 locations). Do I have a case? If so, is it clear? Thanks so much, in advance, for any guidance you can offer.

Hi Just under two years ago, I bought a printer for home use. Yesterday it stopped working and a simple inspection shows that it is almost certainly the power supply that is broken. I've looked on the web and a new supply is about £20. I contacted the retailer and they asked me to e-mail them which I did: They have now responded, saying: I guess this is within the letter of the SOGA, however I'd like people's thoughts on what level of proof I would need to show that I have not caused the defect. Do I have to go to the trouble and expense of getting a report from a service centre? I'm also a bit sceptical as to whether a report for an HP service centre would claim there was an inherent fault. I would expect the best I could get from them was a statement that there was no damage caused to the power supply. I would have thought that a statement from an independent service centre would suffice. It feels like the shop is trying to fob me off; I am prepared to fight and raise a court claim if necessary. Advice gratefully received. Thanks

I bought a TV from Dixons 15 months ago. The TV immediately switches off when switched on - so it has a fault and this problem is common with flat screen TVs in view of the threads posted to this and other forums. I have written to Dixons requesting a free of charge repair. They have advised me that they can collect and inspect the TV for £95 to determine if there is a manufacturing fault. Have any other members used Dixons inspection service? How was it for you? Were any manufacturing faults found? Do members prefer to get an independent report to provide evidence of failure of manufacturers' components prior to requesting a free of charge repair from the retailer? Sean

Looking for a bit of advice... Our £430 dishwasher has developed a fault after 1 day less than 2 years old. I contacted Comet and agreed to have the machine inspected at a cost to us of £69 (£59 callout + £10 SoGA fee). The engineer called today and said the machine was faulty and requires a new pump at a cost of £115.22. Due to the age of the machine they have offered to discount the part to £34.58 (70%) which would bring the total cost of repair to £103.58 (call out + parts) The standard repair charge for items out of waranty is £125 which includes a parts allowance of up to £150. Am I being unreasoanble to to expect that I should not have to pay anything toward the cost of repair? I dont think I am as surely (IMO) a dishwasher should be reasonably expected to last longer than 2 years especially as theres only 2 of us in the house and its only been on, on average 3-4 times a week. What can I do from here? thanks for reading.

Quick story: Bought a ASUS laptop last year for £700 from an online retailer. Out of the box all seems fine and shiny, notice something on the cover around the screen but not very noticeable; looked and felt like glue and dust residue from the protective film. On the second week I went on a business trip with the computer and during the trip someone noticed that the 'something' were very minute scratches and not glue/dust residue. The computer also started to act funny, so as soon as I got back home I called the retailer about both issues (the laptop acting funny and the scratches) who passed me onto their repair agent and the laptop was sent for repairs. The repair agent found an issue with the motherboard and that was covered by the manufacturer's warranty but the scratches were not. I discussed with the retailer but they insisted that I accepted and inspected the laptop in the 7 days given and if I did not spot the scratches then it is my problem. What I have done now: Since the retailer will not budge, I considered going to the small claims but instead I used Section 75 of the Consumers Protection Act with the credit card company I used. However, they have just replied back saying that no contract was broken...!?!?! What I believe the law is: Distance selling rules - I like the item and kept it after inspection period given, so no help here. But if the DSR period is over then the SOGA comes in to force. Sale of Goods Act - (1) The goods are 'faulty' and are not of satisfactory quality. (2) The fault was discovered and realised within the first month, in fact, only two and half weeks so well within the 6 year period. (3) I do not have to prove the fault was my doing as the goods were within 60 days - as I only wanted a repair. The scratches are very minute and hard to spot on the glossy frame and you need to be really close to it and tilting it at an angle to actually see it let alone notice it, therefore it was ignored in the first instance. I asked the repair agents for a report of the scratches who also mentioned that the scratches were not 'noticeable unless you are looking for them'. I wish to contact the credit card company once more before going to small claims, so I need help and practical advice. Please, please, please help me to find similar law cases, especially discovering faults after a time period.

It looks like I'll be taking Comet to the small claims court. 1. cooker broke after 13 monts 2. comet refused to repair / replace 3. got an electrician's report stating the fault was 'with the appliance' 4. comet still refused 5. just about to send my final letter (attached) .... then to court! Any advice / reassurance gratefully received! Joe