Faulty TV from Co-op, they refuse to repair***RESOLVED***

[jacktheband]

Hi all.

Hoping for some advise on next steps with a faulty TV that is 1 and a half years old.

 

 

I want Co-op to repair it free of charge under the SOGA but they're not having any of it.

I'll lay out the timeline as follows.

 

Toshiba TV was bought by mother in law from a Co-op store in person in Oct 2014.

She paid £208 for it (reduced by by about £50 as she had just finished working for a different Co-op store and had a discount card).

She paid using her Barclaycard.

 

In approx Jan this year it went faulty.

Won't switch on.

The power button on it alternates between red and green, but the screen remains blank.

 

 

Read some online advice, tried keeping it unplugged, then plugging in and keeping finger on power button, etc. But no joy.

Completely dead (apart from flashing power button).

 

 

Mother in law speaks calls Toshiba, who tell her that she is over the 12 month warranty so tough, she will have to pay for any repair.

 

 

She goes out and buys a new TV.

Then i suggest that i take up the fight (as i'm a bit more clued up and don't like companies not taking accountability).

 

 

Have been busy for a few months but have started contacting Co-op a few weeks ago to see what i can do

(i guess i'm sort of hoping she'll give me the TV if i get it repaired,

as she's gone out and bought a new one!

But if not, i'm just happy to have helped her).

 

I email Co-op Customer relations mid-March advising them that i am raising complaint that the TV is faulty and that i am wanting them to repair it free of charge under the Sale of Goods act as i believe it is not of satisfactory quality and not lasted a reasonable length of time.

 

 

I attached a scan of the receipt as proof of purchase.

I was expecting a reply along the lines of 'as it is over 6 months then prove it was inherent that the point of purchase', in which case i would have to go and get an independent technical assessment of the fault.

 

First reply was the standard 'we're busy, we might take a while' email.

13 days later (i.e. late March) i get a reply acknowledging the complaint and advising me that they are forwarding it to their electric shop.

 

 

The next day another email apologising as they now realise that it was bought from a store and not their electrical shop (i.e. not online).

 

30th March:

Reply saying that will not repair it. and that i will need to contact Toshiba.

I reply immediately stating that i am wanting it repaired under SOGA, and that i am pursuing them accordingly for this.

 

 

Any warranty is in addition to my statutory rights (and the 1 year warranty has run out anyway).

I reiterate that i want them to fulfil their obligations under SOGA, and if they are unable or unwilling to then to either take the complaint higher or refer me to any ADR scheme that they are a part of.

 

31st March: Email reply that they have spoken to one of their Team Leaders and are now referring it to their Group Risk and Insurance Division for advice.

 

Yesterday: Reply received that they will not be repairing it, and again referring me to Toshiba.

Some quotes from this email (as i can't believe how wide of the mark they are):

 

"I have now discussed your complaint with our legal department.

They advise me that the Co-operative Group is responsible for electrical products sold in our stores for twelve months after purchase until the initial twelve-month manufacturer's guarantee expires.

 

After the initial twelve months, if an electrical product purchased from one of our stores develops a fault, the purchaser needs to contact the manufacturer of the product to arrange a repair.

 

As the TV you purchased from our store is now out of its initial twelve-month guarantee, the responsibility for its repair is now with Toshiba, the manufacturer and remains with them for the six years following the expiration of the initial twelve-month manufacturer's guarantee."

 

So,

i have yet to ring Toshiba myself.

But that would be a pointless exercise i would imagine as it is out of warranty and they have legal obligation to do anything for me.

 

 

I have yet to approach any independent technician to assess the fault and provide a report, as i was waiting for Co-op to either prompt me for this or accept the fault as stated.

 

Do i attempt to pursue the complaint with Co-op?

Or ask for a deadlock letter?

Or is there a Retail Ombudsman i should approach?

 

 

Any help appreciated. (apologies for the long post, but always best to get all details and leave out any ambiguarity).

[martin2006]

Your contract (mums) is with the co op so any soga issue is down to co op to resolve. Should that mean co op then have to pursue toshiba well thats co ops problem, dont be fobbed off.

Not sure on timescales for a CC chargeback but may be a possibility to add pressure on co op

Edited April 6, 2016 by martin2006

[dx100uk]

well the do-op are TOTALLY WRONG

 

 

and i'm really surprised their 'legal' dept have stated such.

very very bad!!

 

 

anhow

bypass them

phone up Barclaycard and invoke a section 75 claim

as it was paid for by a creditcard

and under section 75 of the CCA

they are EQUALLY responsible for the product.

 

 

dx

[martin2006]

Upon checking there is no time limit on s75 claims other than normal 6yr limitations act

[graham77]

Hi,

 

I had a similar fault with a tv and found a simple repair was to locate the fan grill at the back of tv and check if fan is spinning when tv turned on. With a hoover pipe on suction put it as close as possible to/touching the grill and suck for a couple of minutes to get dust out of fan blades and get it working again. I put a tiny screwdriver in the grill and spun the blades a couple f turns and hoovered again and it worked perfectly. Fan chokes and overheats stopping tv from turning on. Might fix it so worth a try.

 

Good luck

 

Graham.

PS under sale of goods act 2015 you do not have to prove a fault rather the company has to prove it.

[dx100uk]

after 6mts you have too prove a manu fault

hence the need for a report.

[jacktheband]

Thanks for the replies.

 

So, looks like doing a section 75 with Barclaycard is the way to go. One question, i have yet to approach a TV repair company for an independent engineers report to support that the issue was inherent since the point of sale. I was waiting for co-op to ask me for this (or was hoping they would accept the issue without demanding that i do this). Should i be getting this individual engineers report prior to submitting an s75?

 

In the meantime, i have emailed co-op back stating that i reject their response and to provide me with their full complaints procedure and any ADR that they use, and to escalate it higher in the complaints procedure or issue me with a deadline email. Just trying to ensure that i have pressed as far as i can with them and that they confirm that they will not play ball.

[jacktheband]

Well, well, well. Today has got off to a good start.

 

Following my email to co-op on Friday in which i asked for a copy of their full complaints procedure, which ADR they were signed up to and making it clear that i will not be accepting their response of 'we will not do anything', i have had a reply from them this morning offering me a cheque to cover the repair costs of the TV. Well, i say the repair costs, but the cheque will be for £210 which is basically a full refund of the TV. Obviously, i immediately agreed to their proposed resolution!

 

This is a little bit more proof that they seem to not know what they are doing, as they certainly are not obliged to give me the full cost of the TV (considering it has already had 1 year's use out of it). And they have not asked for me to provide any independent proof that they fault was inherent since the point of sale. Oh well, i'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Obviously, i'm very happy with the outcome.

 

Thanks for everyone's help with this. My next step was going to be a Barclaycard s75, so hopefully this post will be of help to anyone else in a similar situation that always worth pushing through a company's complaint procedure until they buckle, or if they don't then you've always got s75 to fall back on (assuming you paid by credit card).

[jacktheband]

If any admins want to change the thread title to show that it is resolved then that would be grand. Cheers.

[martin2006]

Excellent result jack, proves persistence pays off, will update title thread

[Andyorch]

Well done Jack