Dusting off my weapons now

[Gertie100]

Morning all.

DVD player 13 months old has just given up the ghost.
Lost receipt, but proof of purchase via credit card statement.

Reading through other threads can someone advise if I should get an engineers report prior to taking it back to Currys?
Or take it and educate them with the SOGA which we all know they know absolutely nothing about...

cheers all

[Bookworm]

Well, you could try to speak to Currys first on the off-chance they won't quibble and save yourself the hassle of getting a report.

[Gertie100]

Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!! No seriously.....
I was looking for a shred of possibility - so yes I will be brave and chance my arm (which will be encased in my shield!!!)

[gyzmo]

Don't ask - don't get!

Bearing in mind the cost, would a reasonable person say it should last longer under normal usage? you could argue with them before getting the report.

[Gertie100]

Well I went to Currys last night and was told that because it is outside its warranty period they is nothing they can do.

Apparently:

Currys are such a big company that there is no way that they would not be following the law on such things.
The warranty is only a year because the products are not designed to last longer than a year - yes that's right folks, all products you buy from Currys are not designed to last longer than a year...
So my Samsung Digitial Home Cinema System - HT-TQ25, which along with the TV (LE26R7) cost me £1699 in Jan 07 is not designed to last longer than a year.

I quoted everything to them - contract of sale with them, not head office, SOGA, statutory rights and they just stood there like lemons.

I'm so mad that I can't actually see straight, so as much as I know what to do next, please can someone guide slightly because I want to take these barstewarts to hell now. Apparently I have to contact head office now using a 0845 number (yeah right), or emailing. Does anyone have a specific contact name??

Also can I inform Samsung that Currys are telling people that their products are only designed to last a year??

[Gertie100]

How does this sound?


Dear Sir,

I purchased a Samsung television and DVD Home Cinema System package from your store on the 29th Jan 2006 at a cost of £1699.00. The DVD player has now ceased to work.. Having owned the package for only 13 months, I can not say I am impressed.
On the 21st February 2008 I took the DVD player back to Currys in Newport, South Wales to initiate repair / replacement.
I was dealt with by ****** and *******

When I first explained why I was in store I was met with general apathy and a “don’t care” attitude. Tom asked me what I expected them to do with it. I explained that in accordance with the SOGA 1979 I was entitled to a product which would last more than 13 months. At this Tom informed me that the reason your “free” warranties are only valid for a year is because the product is only designed to last a year. I will admit that I asked this question 3 times because I was so astonished as to the response.

I was also informed that Currys, being such a large retailer are well aware of the law and it is very unlikely that you would be so ignorant of the SOGA. So I was astounded to find that Currys have actually been approached by Trading Standards and told that they are not complying with law and that their staff need to be better trained.
I am also composing a letter to Samsung to inform them that their distributors are informing their customers that their products are only designed to last a year.

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) I have a contract with yourselves.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states in section 14 paragraph 2B:

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—

(a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,
(b) appearance and finish,
(c) freedom from minor defects,
(d) safety, and
(e) durability.

I am claiming with respect to (e) Durability.

The item as sold to me has not proved durable. I have another DVD player which I have owned for 7 years and is still working. I would expect a DVD player of this value to last at least a similar amount of time.

The action I would like you to take is simply to repair the DVD player to its former working self at no charge to myself.

I am quite happy for your engineers to take the DVD player away to be repaired.

In the event that the DVD player can not be repaired, I would expect a suitable replacement, taking into account the price and features of the DVD player.

I await your reply within 5 working days.

Yours faithfully

(can you tell where I pinched this from!!)

[gyzmo]

Sounds good - though I would not abbrevaite the Sale of Goods Act in a latter myself. Quite acceptable to simply say the Act after first mention - that's just me.

[Gertie100]

Gymo - thanks for that - will amend!
Am I taking the mickey with the bit about going to Samsung?
I did check on their website and they have the following statement:

"Samsung products carry a full warranty for the period specified. Some Samsung products carry different warranty periods due to the nature of the product's design, manufacture or expected use."

They state 12 months for a dvd player, so are they saying that they expect their product to only last for 12 months??
Cos thats crap really isn't it!

[Bookworm]

A warranty has nothing to do with durability under SOGA, I wouldn't even try to argue that one, it just clouds the issues. You're not interested in warranties, you're interested in affirming your rights under SOGA. Apart from that, you need to give them 14 days, not 5, so that your next letter would give them another 14 days, which is what a "reasonable" amount of time is before having to resort to court action for redress.

Other than that, you're good to go.

[Gertie100]

Lovely job!
Thank you both very much and I will keep up to date..

[Gertie100]

Morning all

We are hurtling towards the end of the 14 days given in my letter, no response from Currys (customer services or the local store).
So in order for me to issue an LBA do I now need to get an engineer's report done in order for me to actually have a figure to take them to court with?

Or should I ring them and chase first?

[Bookworm]

LBA first, you'll only need the report before issuing a claim, at which point you would add the cost of the engineer's report to your claim.

DON'T RING THEM!!! Have you learned nothing on this site?

[Gertie100]

To be honest the reason I would ring them to see if they lie about receiving the letter cos I know they did!

[gyzmo]

Then they would lie to you about you making the phone call to see if they were lying, thereby completely defeating the object!

[Gertie100]

Being terribly thick here but having trouble adapting the bank LBA for a consumer issue, is there another template about?

[Gertie100]

Emmmm, have I upset you two?

Anyway - letter before action almost sorted, however a few things:

Do I have to tell them how much I will be claiming for?
We haven't had an engineers report done yet so can't put it on the letter as a specific amount, and to be honest they have peed me off so much I just want to be able to get a replacement!

I have had absolutely no response from them at all, they are completely useless and if I treated one of my customers like that then I would be shot at dawn...

Can someone help please?