Panasonic plasma fault - out of warranty - what are my rights?

[dunnie1]

Hello all.

 

I bought a refurbished Panasonic plasma direct from Panasonic ebay with 12mths warranty.

 

 

16 mths in it has developed a fault

 

 

I've sent it to a Pansonic approved repair centre at a cost of £300.

The set was also calibrated and this will now have to be repeated as the main board has been replaced and all setting lost.

 

Then I wondered what my SOGA rights were and found this:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/mar/25/consumernews.howtocomplain

 

Which states "The act says goods must last a reasonable time - and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase."

 

I don't consider 16 mths reasonable for a flagship TV - however I'd like a 2nd opinion?

 

and does it matter it's a refurb?

 

I plan to write to Panasonic and ask for a refund of the repair plus cost of calibration - are there any templates you guys could suggest using?

 

Thanks as always,

 

Dunnie1

[renegadeimp]

Retailer should repair or replace. Their choice

[dunnie1]

Cheers - foresee any issue with me having a refurbished item?

 

Are you aware of any templates I could use?

 

 

Thanks

[renegadeimp]

refurbished or not, they still have a legal obligation to repair or replace.

[dunnie1]

So I went for this:

 

 

Customer Care Department,

I write to express my dissatisfaction at the quality of a recently purchased Panasonic Viera TX-P65VT65B plasma television from your official refurbished eBay store.

In December of this year the item developed a fault which required it to be sent for repair. The TV started turning itself off and displaying an error code in the form of two repeating red blinking lights. This transpired to be a major component failure (see error report attached).

I have made arrangements for the item to be repaired and have already paid for this, as the item is no longer under warranty. Additionally, this set was professionally calibrated at a cost of approximately £250, which will have to be repeated now as all setting have been wiped -at additional cost to me, and as a direct result of this fault.

It’s come to my attention under the Sale of Goods Act (1979) that this legislation offers protection against faulty goods even when the manufacturer's guarantee has run out. The act says goods must last a reasonable time - and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase. I strongly believe that 16 months is not a sufficiently reasonable period of time, especially for a (near) flagship TV model, and I’m therefore seeking reimbursement from you in full for the cost of repairs along with any other associated losses I incur.

Specifically, the full cost of repair £303.62 plus calibration.

I look forward to hearing from you in the next 14 days (22nd of Jan).

Yours sincerely

[renegadeimp]

I dont know if youll get anywhere with that as you are legally meant to give the merchant the chance to repair the item.

 

 

You can get multiple quotes and send them the details asking which they would like to pay etc,

but you still have to give them the chance to fix or replace it.

[dunnie1]

It was repaired by an approved panasonic tech centre, as recommended by panasonic themselves - the only difference is I've stumped up the cash before asking.

[dx100uk]

I think you should be ok as it was purchased direct from panny.

and repaired by a panny approved centre.

 

 

ideally you should have approached them 1st mind.

 

 

dx

[dunnie1]

That's my hope - ideally yes, but it didn't even cross my mind until weeks later unfortunately, until a friend recommended I check my statutory rights

 

Anyway, thanks for all your responses and I'll update when I hear back from Panny.

[dunnie1]

Dear Mr. Dunleavy,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Firstly please accept our apologies for the delay in replying to your e-mail.

I am sorry to learn of the circumstances that have prompted you to contact our department. Unfortunately, without sight of the unit it is very difficult for us to determine the exact nature of the fault. Therefore, we will not be able to offer the requested reimbursement.

In this situation, I would kindly advise you to contact the eBay retailer you have purchased the unit from, at the moment, Panasonic does not have a shop of its own, but we work with independent retailers that sell Panasonic products. By contacting them, they might be able to offer further assistance in regards to this matter.

I trust that the above information will be of assistance to you. However, of course, if you should have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

 

Customer Service Team

Panasonic UK

 

To which I replied

 

Customer Service Team

 

Thanks for replying to my complaint. To respond specifically to the points in your email:

 

• See attached error report from a Panasonic authorised repair centre (as given to me by the ebay store). The exact failure is detailed within, and I believe the repair centre ordered a part from yourselves (an A board) which has recently been fitted.
  
• The ebay store I purchased the TV from is called the “Official Outlet Store” with your logo adorning the site. It’s also in the web address.
  
• http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Panasonic-Official-Outlet - The first words on the website are, and I quote
   
  “Welcome to the Official Panasonic Ebay Outlet, wholly owned by Panasonic UK.” The email domain however is electrotec-ltd.co.uk.
  

 

• Given the above I believe I should be dealing with yourselves.
  

Additionally, the SOGA determines that items should last a reasonable time before failure, so the exact nature of the failure is immaterial. However, to clarify - it’s not from misuse or damage, as can be confirmed by the repair centre.

 

The retailer is copied in for convenience, so hopefully the liable party can be confirmed without delay

 

Thanks,

[dx100uk]

looking good then.

 

 

dx

[MaxxPower]

The owners of electrotec-ltd.co.uk show as a company called "Servicecare Support Services Limited"

I can't find any official ownership links between them and Panasonic though.

 

Seems a tiny bit fishy to me that they wouldn't be using an @Panasonic e-mail address on their official outlet store, but instead the domain of an unrelated repair company.

[dunnie1]

It does yes - thanks for looknig into it - I'm sure they'll continue to bounce me back and forth until someone finally takes responsibility..

[renegadeimp]

Sounds like the company are using BS and pretending to be affiliated to get more customers.

[dunnie1]

It does - hopefully the next response might clear things up somewhat - should I chase Panasonic or this shady company do you think?

[renegadeimp]

Stick with the company for now. Then depending on what they say, contact panasonic then find out your rights.

[BazzaS]

One wonders if the eBay outlet is actually owned by electrotech Ltd, who appear to be owned by Clipper Group PLC, who appear to be owned by a number of nominee firms (according to the most recent companies house filed documents), which would be a more complex setup than "wholly owned by Panasonic UK" would require?

 

If it was a wholly owned subsidiary : why do the consolidated group accounts not involve Panasonic UK?

[dunnie1]

Stick with the company for now. Then depending on what they say, contact panasonic then find out your rights.

 

 

 

I contacted panasonic initially, who advised me they didn't have an ebay store, so its whether I stick with panasonic or move onto the company instead rather than vice versa..

[dunnie1]

One wonders if the eBay outlet is actually owned by electrotech Ltd, who appear to be owned by Clipper Group PLC, who appear to be owned by a number of nominee firms (according to the most recent companies house filed documents), which would be a more complex setup than "wholly owned by Panasonic UK" would require?

 

If it was a wholly owned subsidiary : why do the consolidated group accounts not involve Panasonic UK?

 

 

 

Wow - the plot thickens

[renegadeimp]

If they had no ebay store, then youre dealing with a dodgy company. Get as much info about that store as you can to their head office

[BazzaS]

Wow - the plot thickens

 

At this point I'd be asking electrotec ltd if the outlet store is theirs or only pretending to be theirs.

If theirs, I'd ask them why it claims to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic UK.

 

If not theirs, electrotec ltd and Panasonic UK might want to look at "passing off"

 

How did you pay for the TV?, and who did the payment go to?

If the eBay store beings to neither electrotec ltd or Panasonic UK can eBay provide you with more details for its owner?

You might want to save screenshots of its current claim to be wholly owned by Panasonic.