curry's - 21 month old Sony Bravia TV (KDL-37W5810) - refusing to repair under SOGA

[dx100uk]

yep typical of them sadly

 

dx

[Crazy Diamond]

To answer whoever was asking:

 

If you choose to go to manufacturers and they replace the TV, then you have no recourse against the retailer should the goods fail later on.

 

If a retailer tells you to send it to manufacturers (sometimes because they have agreed with them to deal with customer directly) then it's ok to do so, but make sure you get it in writing AND only if it's not a major inconvenience to you. Whatever agreement they have in place with the manufacturer is not your problem, but theirs.

 

Last thing about the 5/6 years limit: People (not surprisingly as TS et al don't even seem to know what they're on about) think that the limit of 6 yrs is from the date of purchase, that is incorrect. S.32 of the Limitations Act 1980 quite clearly states that it is 6 yrs (5 in scotland) from the date the cause for remedy arises "the period of limitation shall not begin to run until the plaintiff has discovered the fraud, concealment or mistake (as the case may be) or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it." http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58

 

Granted, if your toaster breaks down it would be reasonable to wonder why it would take you 2 or 3 years to start pursuing the retailer, but what if you'd been abroad, or in a coma? You get hit by a truck the day after your washing-machine dies (cos it's one of them weeks, lol), you wake up 4 yrs later, s.32 would only start running from then, not when it broke down. Extreme example I know, and it will be hard to convince a judge that yo had overwhelming reasons to delay your search for remedy, but you get my point, I hope.

 

HTH some folks.

[sparx]

How long would someone expect a TV to last? 4-5 years? is there any information online about any surveys or anything done? I'm actually hoping now they cannot repair and would give a partial refund as the newer model version of ours is actually cheaper, and a whole load better, than our current one. How are the partial refunds worked out?

[Crazy Diamond]

*sorry, ignore me, I thought I was answering a different thread!*

 

There is no set formula for partial refunds, it would be based on expected lifetime of TV considering brand and price etc...

 

so a TV for which you paid £200 wouldn't be expected as long as one for which you paid £1000, etc.

 

So you divide price of TV by number of months you'd expect it to last, substract the amount of months you've had the use of it from the total price and the differnce is roughly what you'd expect them to offer.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Crazy Diamond
going slowly crazy (ier)

[sparx]

Sony are offering a 5 year guarantee with their new TV's.... so they obviously expect them to last no less than 5 years. I would reasonably expect a TV to last 4-5 years. If they used that figure we would end up with enough refund to buy the newer model of ours (with more features).

 

I'm not holding up hope for a refund, they may repair it, however as the components are on the mainboard of the TV they may just say they can't fix it cheaply enough! It is quite an obscure model, even the Sony guy had trouble finding a service manual for it let alone parts!

[Crazy Diamond]

TBH, once they agree, it's unlikely they will repair, with the technology moving so fast, it's usually quicker and cheaper to exchange/refund than repair. Sony has had a lot of issues with TVs which failed and parts are seldom available so odds are that when they cave, you'll get what you're after. ;-)

[sparx]

TV's back, so far so good! I wanted to know more details about the repair really, although I probably won't be told what was done. Glad its sorted at last!

[sparx]

Just an update, apparantly they just updated software and the firmware.... which I had done twice before on instruction from Sony - they didn't replace any electronic components. Seems to have fixed it though!

 

Thanks for all the help guys, the head office people are much nicer - and get more done - than the store managers!

[sparx]

Just an update, apparantly they just updated software and the firmware.... which I had done twice before on instruction from Sony - they didn't replace any electronic components. Seems to have fixed it though!

 

Thanks for all the help guys, the head office people are much nicer - and get more done - than the store managers!

 

Surprise surprise it's started doing it again - i'm going to email the customer service contact we dealt with before, but as it is very close to christmas we do not want to be left without a television over this period - not to mention the fact we are still paying for our Sky subscription when we do not have a TV.

 

Would it be too much to request that we are loaned an ex-display/old model of TV so that if they cannot return the television in time we are not left severely inconvenienced? We did source an old CRT last time at our own expense (fuel cost, was from freecycle), and then disposed of it once we had our TV back (again, at our own expense).

 

How many times can they "repair" the TV before we can demand a refund or replacement - and would this refund run from the date we originally notified them of the original problem (October)?

Edited December 9, 2011 by sparx

[dx100uk]

it would not be too bad to DEMAND a replacement NOW

 

state clearly that you have had numerous repairs

and according to SOGA, you feel the time is now to get this sorted

under your consumer right

 

dx

[kurvaface]

As many times as it takes or provide you with a refund or repalcement.

[sparx]

it would not be too bad to DEMAND a replacement NOW

 

state clearly that you have had numerous repairs

and according to SOGA, you feel the time is now to get this sorted

under your consumer right

 

dx

 

They rang back today and offered to pick it up, get it inspected again, and then see what happens from there. They point blankly refused to give us a loaner tv / etc, even though their 28 day period will take us over christmas, when we have family / etc over, and no TV would be a nightmare and incredibly inconvenient. We're already out of pocket for sourcing a replacement TV last time they repaired ours, we don't want to do so again if we can help it.

 

They have only had the TV back once, can we ask/push/demand for a replacement (or even better, a partial refund)? Should we let them have it back AGAIN, and let them inconvenience us again? We don't want to demand anything we are not entitled to but this is getting silly and I can only see the same issue happening in the future (I.e. it being "repaired" and then still being faulty). Even a quick google search shows that the flashing power light is circuitry related but they seem to have completely ignored that.

[dx100uk]

send compaint email to the ceo as in post 5 now

 

and point to this thread too.

 

no i would not let them take it till you get a reply.

 

dx

[sparx]

edit

How's that look? Asking too much? I've tried to be blunt and to the point as I tend to waffle when writing - we're going to ring Curry's back today and see if we can get an agreeable situation worked out, however I think it will end up with me sending this email. I may send it once we've been sorted out anyway, even if it is a vain attempt at getting them to realise that they need to train their staff and stop fobbing people off! Edited December 9, 2011 by sparx

[rebel11]

Hi sparx

 

Thats fine, it might be an idea to add a sentence, saying that if 'Curry's fail to resolve this matter to my satisfaction which Curry's have failed to do to date, then I will take further action through the courts'.

[dx100uk]

pers i'd send the email

the sooner the better

 

several times this has worked within 2-3days

 

dx

[Surfer01]

If possible send a copy by snail mail.

[sparx]

Email sent, also included a link to this thread, so we'll see what happens.

 

Can we have the TV inspected by a third party engineer (i.e. the sony service center), and then provide that to Curry's as proof of the fault? They seem to want to inspect it AGAIN, even though they did this the first time they took the TV away, and the fault is exactly the same as it was the first time.

Edited December 9, 2011 by sparx

[dx100uk]

yes you can.

 

very good idea.

 

AND you can reclaim the costs

 

dx

[sparx]

yes you can.

 

very good idea.

 

AND you can reclaim the costs

 

dx

 

Spoke to a member of the executive team again today, asked for everything we discussed to be put into writing so that we can make an informed decision as to what we do next.

 

If we were to get it independently inspected, Curry's would NOT reimburse us for this cost as they have offered to take it away and look at it for us, and I argued him on this point.

 

They stated that they wanted to look at it, and attempt to repair it, and they would not be offering us a partial refund or replacement at this stage. I did question the competence of their engineers, since a quick google search reveals information on how to repair the fault (and that it is circuitry based), and the fact that they just "updated the software/firmware" when I did this before to troubleshoot the TV as per Sony's instructions.

 

They are stuck fast on offering any kind of loan tv while ours is away, no matter any kind of inconvenience caused to us by their delays.

 

There was more discussed but as I didn't record the phone call I cannot remember the specifics. I am getting totally and utterly miffed now by what I can see as incompetence throughout the company, and total disregard for the law and our rights as a consumer. I don't think we are being unreasonable in wanting to get this situation sorted out NOW and not be out of pocket.

 

My parents are reluctant to go to court over this (I am not, I would quite happily see them there), and obviously if we were to raise a case against Curry's I am assuming that my father (since he paid for it) would have to stand up in court - could I raise and defend this case on his behalf in any way?

[dx100uk]

If we were to get it independently inspected, Curry's would NOT reimburse us for this cost as they have offered to take it away and look at it for us

 

as usual cant understand or want to understand how SOGA works

 

IT's IN black and white on the SOGA link i sent.

 

muppets

 

dx

[sparx]

If we were to get it independently inspected, Curry's would NOT reimburse us for this cost as they have offered to take it away and look at it for us

 

as usual cant understand or want to understand how SOGA works

 

IT's IN black and white on the SOGA link i sent.

 

muppets

 

dx

 

Have you got a reference to that part? I can't seem to find a section where the retailer HAS to reimburse for an independent inspection, only if they request one (Which Curry's are not, as they're offering to look at it for us). I have heard this before though, just want it in black and white to make sure i'm doing it right! Does it fall under the part:

Any refund, repair or replacement you arrange with your customer relating to faulty goods must not cause them too much inconvenience and you will have to pay for other costs, for example, collection or delivery.

 

Or by asking us to let them take it away and look at it again are they implying that they do not agree with our claim that the repair was not satisfactory / claim that the product is faulty?

 

If you disagree with a customer’s claim, you can ask if they are willing for you to send the item to a third party or the manufacturer for inspection. If the customer agrees you can do this, it is important to remember that the goods must not be damaged during this process.

[dx100uk]

this is the point, they cant use their inhouse guys as surely this is not fair or independent!?

 

i have certainly know most inspections to have been refunded though i admit it is not obvious in soga either

 

dx

[sparx]

16 days on, and the fault which came back has not happened again since that few times. We are beginning to believe we are going mad. (It definately happened, it just hasn't happened for the past 2 weeks!)

 

In everyone elses opinion, is it worth following up with Curry's, or just putting up with the fault as it is until it becomes much worse (as it was before)?

Edited December 27, 2011 by sparx

[Squibian]

I completely sympathize with your situation, however, the people going on about the SOGA are only quoting part of it! Although the contract lies with the retailer and not the manufacturer, the retailer has rights too!

They are perfectly entitled to use whoever they wish as the repair agents (at an acceptable cost to the consumer) and in the vast majority of cases, this will be the manufacturer (as so many of you have pointed out, this ensures a decent level of repair!). Also a lot of Manufacturers will only accept calls from the customer direct due to stupid data protection type laws.

Now do not get me wrong, I am not defending the company or their actions, but so many people will quote various things, but as mentioned above, only part of it.