Hi there

Purchased a DVD Recorder from Comet last February, the thing has never worked right, always resetting itself at the end of recordings and thus giving bad discs and a waste of time recording. Then suddenly it would work fine again for a few months.

The guarantee runs out next month and i was thinking of taking it back before then to see if they can repair it, Is it worth the effort and hassle or should i just let the guarantee run out then claim through the credit card company, for an easy life ?

Many thanks in advance

It's always best to make a complaint to the trader as soon as you know there is a fault, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and I'm not always very great at practising what I preach!

*****

When you talk about the guarantee, this is with the manufacturer and not the trader, and it is completely bound to whatever terms and conditions the manufacturer includes. They can include whatever terms and conditions they like, and don't have to offer a guarantee at all if they don't want to! Once the period of the guarantee is up, that's that, you can't pursue the manufacturer legally any longer.

*****

You also have separate rights against the trader. These are your statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act. This Act states that all goods you buy must be of satisfactory quality, fit for all normal purposes and as described. Your rights under this Act can last for up to 6 years (due to the statute of limitation), but will not cover normal wear and tear.

You have a short period of time after buying goods in which to check them for faults and if faulty to take them back for a full refund. This is often about 3 weeks. After this time has passed, the trader is entitled to offer a repair or replacement in the first instance.

If repair or replacement fails or is impossible, you are then entitled to rescind the contract, which basically means a refund less any amount for wear and tear you have enjoyed from the product.

Remember these rights are against the trader where you bought the goods as they are the ones you contracted with, and can last for up to 6 years so longer than a normal manufacturers warranty.

Within the first six months of purchase, the onus is on the trader to prove that the goods are not faulty. After six months, the onus is on you (the buyer) to prove that the goods are faulty and were inherently faulty from the time of purchase (i.e. a manufacturing fault as opposed to being normal wear and tear)

*****

Be aware that if you go to the manufacturer under the guarantee instead of back to the trader under the Sale of Goods Act, you may affect your future rights against the trader if things go wrong again. For example, if you buy a Sony stereo from Comet and it goes wrong in 6 months and Sony replaces it directly, you now have a different machine from the one you bought from Comet and therefore can no longer take it back to Comet. Does this make sense?

*****

Additionally, if you have paid either partially or in full by credit card or finance arranged by the trader, and the goods cost over £100, you have rights under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This makes the finance company equally liable for any breaches of contract by the trader, i.e. paying for the repair or replacement of faulty goods. This is particularly useful where the trader is being obstinate or has gone out of business.

Most people claim from the trader first and then pursue the finance company if they don't succeed. If you go straight to the finance company the first thing they will probably do is get in touch with the trader about the issue. Although there's nothing to stop you singularly pursuing the credit card company, I wouldn't recommend it if the "trader" avenue is also open.

Hope this helps. I would advise you to act quickly now, you have unfortunately already lost the benefit of the reversed burden of proof in the first six months (trader having to prove it's not faulty rather than you having to prove it is faulty). Personally I would go for Comet under the Sale of Goods Act - write them a letter detailing the faults, state that the item does not comply with the Sale of Goods Act as it is not of satisfactory quality or fit for all normal purposes, and therefore you are seeking a repair or replacement item by (date). Copy it to your credit card company for information so they know there's a problem. See what they say.

That was quick !

Thanks a lot for your help, the item was an ex display model reduced from £200 to just £70 so thats why i snapped it up, looks like i'm not covered by the Credit Card scheme then.

I will pop back into comet with the machine on saturday then, see if they will repair it. And take it from there.

Thanks for your help so far

dollypops

No problem! Let us know how you get on.

Don't let them fob you off and tell you that you have to go to the manufacturer, or that you've left it too late. Incidentally the fact it was ex display makes no difference to your rights either, if they think of trying that one!

Hi

I also have a problem over a faulty goods purchased from Comet online. which is nearly 4 years old and will be pursueing them for restoration, compensation or replacement.

Just to add to the earlier comments about Sale of Goods Act, Which online have details about this area and have added a section about how long is acceptable for goods to last see below which may also assist.

The legal bit

If you've unwittingly purchased faulty goods, the chances are you're entitled to some kind of compensation. Which? reveals your rights - and how long they last.

Navigate this report

• Overview
  
• Knowing your rights
• The legal bit
  
• What should happen
  
• What's going wrong
  
• Claiming your rights
  
• Case study: Dabs

When you buy anything from a shop, you have certain rights under the Sale of Goods Act. These are often referred to as your statutory rights. The law states that, when you buy goods, they must meet the description given, be fit for purpose, and be of satisfactory quality.

In plain English, whatever you buy must do what it's supposed to, be in good condition, free of faults, safe, and must last for a reasonable length of time.

How long something should last will vary from product to product, crucially, if you do have a claim, it's the retailer that you claim against- the manufacturer only has to honour any guarantee or warranty they have given with the product. There are limits on how long you have to take a claim to court too, the action has to be started within six years of when you purchased the item or took delivery (except in Scotland, where the limit is five years)

How long is reasonable?

One of the ambiguities of the Sale of Goods Act is that it doesn't define how long products should last, because different products have different life spans. And even two identical products can have varying life spans, depending on how much they're used.

While the list below is not a comprehensive one it gives a general indication of life expectancy for a range of product types. This information is an extract from the Radio, Electrical, and Television Retailers Association's Code of Practice

Small appliances

Irons, Kettles, Hair Dryers etc. 2 - 5 years

Medium Size Appliances

Cleaners, direct acting space heaters, refrigerators and freezers, spin and tumble dryers, Microwave Ovens 3 - 8 years

Larger Appliances

Electric Cookers, 8 - 10 years

Dishwashers, washing machines, 4 – 8 years

Low priced portable CTVs 3 - 5 years

Higher priced non-portable CTVs 5 - 8 years

Low priced VCRs and DVDs 2 - 5 years

Higher priced VCRs and DVDs 5 - 8 years

Low priced Hi-Fi Systems 2 - 5 years

Higher priced Hi-Fi systems 5 - 8 years

Note

Life expectancy is the length of time a product would reasonably be expected to be able to be economically repaired where the spare parts are available. Some cosmetic parts may not be available for the same period of time as functional parts.

It does not imply that goods should last for a given period of time without going wrong or that the repairer should not make a reasonable charge for a repair.

Beedydad

Well popped into comet today with the recorder.

Told them the spiel about whats wrong with the machine, guy looked at me like i had horns or something then took it off me, filled in the form and said it will take bout 15days for repair.

So heres hoping

Well, got the recorder back from them last saturday the 3rd feb, with a slip saying it had a new optical unit in it.

So got home set it all up again and popped in a blank DVD-R

Up pops a message.....

Copy prohibited, Can Not Record

So i swear loudly !

Then try a blank DVD-RW

Up pops a message.....

Copy prohibited, Can Not Record

So i swear some more.

This is just recording from the tv, i am not trying to pirate movies or anything. Am now at a loss what to do, what is my next move, The warranty runs out on 3rd March.

Thanks

I would take it back to the store as soon as possible, inform them that the repair that they have carried out has failed and in fact the machine is worse than it was prior to their fault, give them one final chance to repair the item and put it into the state it should be in (i.e. full working order!) and state that if they cannot do this within a reasonable time you will be looking at an alternative solution, i.e. replacement or rescission (partial refund).

(You may not legally be entitled to a brand new identical replacement entirely free of charge but we will cross that bridge when we come to it!).

Follow this up in writing to the store to confirm what you are expecting them to do, and keep a copy so you have this for your records if needed later.

Don't panic about the warranty, your rights under the Sale of Goods Act can last for up to six years (though don't cover normal wear and tear) so you don't have to worry about losing any entitlement to redress in this case.