Currys Fob off re SoG

[mark casey]

My mother purchaced a new tv from currys that went wrong after 9 months that they exchanged for her, which she then added some extra money to get a better spec tv.Now 13 months later this tv has a problem with a garbled picture, so I talk to customer services about this and they tell me to get an independent engineers report ( which concurs with the info i saved from an article in the guardian 25.03.06 that i saved).
When i phoned customer services they told me to take report to shop manager and get him to sort it out.
Now this is where my problem is
The manager said that as i had no extended warenty he would not repair/replace or refund the TV. I told him that under Sog I was covered re his and did not need the extended waranty as Sog covered me.
To cut long story short he phoned techGuys and they said that a power surge has destroyed the screen( without even seeing the TV) to which I replied " Very clever excuss" which did not go down very well with him ( I should have said sack the guy who told you that as no way can a surge even reach the screen, and if it could then the instructions would say use surge protection).
then I was told to go to the manufactures to get tv fixed He then gave me the telephone number of the sub contractors(Humax) of manufactures for the TV as they have no Uk office,
I phoned them and they have never heard of the compnay (Hyundai).
Now I am in the procees of dreafting letter to Currys, but I decided to phone Trading standards, They gave me some good advice and said to tell shop to train staff
I will let you know how I get on

[JonCris]

Typical of Curry's & their stores in general (PCW) I'm afraid.

Even though they have been warned repeatedly about their aggressive selling of extended warranties training staff to tell consumers that after 1 year the customer has no rights they continue to do it. So when you don't buy one (at extortionate cost) they think you have no recourse

All of their staff seem to have little understanding of the consumer laws under which the operate.

It's important to remember that YOUR contract is with the supplier & NOT the manufacturer. Curry's had no right to send you to them as it's they who must deal with the manufacturer not you.

Any legal action will be against the shop so don't get involved with the manufacturer otherwise they may try to use that against you in any defence

[ForestChav]

Well surely as the item is over six months old the burden of proof is on you to prove the fault existed at purchase. If you can prove it did then you can inisit they repair or replace the goods?

Do you have an engineer's report?

[mark casey]

Forestchav
The fault is not the issue it is the durability of the item that I am using in this isntance so be carefull about the six month rule the SoG states quite clearly the following
section 14 Paragraph 2B:
a) fitness for all purpose for witch the goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied
b) apperance and finish
c) freedom from minor defects,
d) safety
e) durability

and all thesse are covered for six years with the sales of goods act.
so after the six month then you should allways use durability to get the repair/replace or refund
any ambiguity with this can be clearified with trading standard of OFT
It was the OFT that told me I was right to follow this route and this is also the course suggested in quite a few posts on this web site

[ForestChav]

No, they are covered for a reasonable time, which is up to six years as that is the legal ceiling for claiming debts.

It is unreasonable for me to take my £5 kettle back to Tesco after 5 years and 11 months saying "The sale of goods act says it should last 6 years give me a new one now" without proving it was faulty, nor should I expect it to last much longer than a year or 2.

Basically Soga says the retailers obligation is only to fix items which are faulty when you get them or have a manufacturing fault which is inherent at purchase, and after 6 months you need to prove any allegations you are making against the item.

Wear and tear is also explicitly not covered.

The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002
Take a read of that, it might help you.

[ForestChav]

Originally Posted by mark casey

Forestchav
The fault is not the issue it is the durability of the item that I am using in this isntance so be carefull about the six month rule the SoG states quite clearly the following
section 14 Paragraph 2B:
a) fitness for all purpose for witch the goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied
b) apperance and finish
c) freedom from minor defects,
d) safety
e) durability

I'm sure SOGA doesn't refer to the occult either.

[mark casey]

I have read the Sog act I am not saying in all instances everything is coverd for six years as an ice cream would only have the life of a few mins so six years is the maximum coverd but not the maximum for all items.
a TV should last longer than 13 months and according to which a tv should last 8-10 Years . so durability is the main issue here and for that I am covered for at least 6 years
and I am only talking about this case not a kettle or anything else
a Plasma Televison .
13 months is ridduclouse and anyone who says that 13 month is an accptable life for one is clearly mad or out to gain something

[Bookworm]

Regardless, after 6 months, the onus is on you to prove that the item is not suitable as per SOGA, and the first advice you were given to get an independant report is quite correct. If you had done that in the first place, you would have been better armed when they said it was down to a power surge for starters.

Incidentally, the age of the TV runs from date of purchase of the FIRST TV, not the replacement, so anything that would use deadlines, whether the 6 months reverse burden or the 6 years, means that it would count as 22 months, not 13.

[ForestChav]

Actually, your rights under soga end after 6 years of purchase.

[mark casey]

bookworm
I did get an indepent report that is what stated it was screen at fault
It is an assumtion by the techguys that it was a power surge that caused problem.
no item of uk electrical goods should be able to be damaged by power surge as this is so common that it would make everything stop working if no protection was provided,( the instruction manual would tell you to use protection if it provided no protection)
I never claimed it was unsutible
What I claim is that it is not durable ie it sisnt last a reasonable length if time (22 months is not the time scale as she paid extra and got a different make of TV ) but still 22 months is not a reasonable length of time for a tv to last

[mark casey]

The Techguys did not look at the TV nor did the manager they only read the report.
the manager wrote down what he was told by tech guys and it was complete rubbish as any electrician or tv repair man will tell you

[mark casey]

also why would the OFT tell me to add a note with my letter to tell them to train thier staff beter if I have got it all wrong?

[Bookworm]

Right, didn't see the bit where you got report.

Ok, well, if the report doesn't mention power surge and says it's the screen which is faulty, then you're set.

Letter to Curry's, enclosing copy of report and giving them 14 days to sort out or you'll seek reimbursement of repair/replacement from them, throught the courts if necessary. I would also complain about manager's attitude and attempt to deny you your statutory rights under SOGA.

[mark casey]

exactly bookworm
I will draft extra letter to customer services about the manager tonight and if i can work out cut and paste on this site will put coppies of letter up

[mark casey]

here is a copy of the letters I will be sending , I got the gist of them from a post on the comet forum if i find post again I will credit to them

Dear Sir,
I purchased a Hyundai 42” Plasma television from your store on 28th October 2006 at a cost of £799.00. The Television has now ceased to work. I’ve had an independent TV engineer inspect the TV for the fault and he has traced it down to screen level, requiring replacement of the plasma panel costing in excess of £1000 including VAT and labour. Having owned the TV for only 13 months, I can not say I am impressed.
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/font]Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) I have a contract with yourselves.
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/font]The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states in section 14 paragraph 2B: [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font](a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied, [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/font](b) appearance and finish, [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/font](c) freedom from minor defects, [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/font](d) safety, and [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
[/font](e) durability.
I am claiming with respect to (e) Durability. [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]The item as sold to me has not proved durable. I have owned other televisions in my house, the last one lasted almost 20 years and one of my sons has used his for over 10 years, I would expect a TV of this value to last at least a similar amount of time.[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]The action I would like you to take is simply to repair the TV to its former working self at no charge to myself.[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]I am quite happy for your engineers to take the TV away to be repaired. [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]In the event that the TV can not be repaired, I would expect a suitable replacement, taking into account the price and features of the TV.[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]I await your reply within the next 14 days.[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]Please find enclosed copies of the engineers report and copies of original receipt[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']

[/font]yours faithfully
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'] [/font]

[mark casey]

the link i got most of if not just under all from is
Letter to the Manager. Is this OK?