I have a surround-sound headset which has developed a fault and apparently the headset has been out of production for some time so the manufacturer has offered an alternative headset as replacement. I wasn't given the option of repair (their warranty covers replacement or repair). So this is where it gets annoying/silly. The headset is proper surround-sound with a microphone and a high quality desktop volume control. The replacement they suggested is a stereo headset, without microphone and no volume control! They don't make a surround headset any more so can't offer like for like or better - which I believe would be required under UK law. It was bought in Maplins but now I'm dealing with people in China so have no idea where I stand here. I don't want to RMA it and send it off to them (as they are suggesting) only to be told when they have it that they'll replace it but not like for like. I've tried to get them to commit to naming the replacement they will send me having said I would not accept their suggested replacement but they don't seem to want to commit, which is worrying. The headset is just over a year old on a two year warranty. Can anyone suggest what I should do, and should I in fact be dealing with Maplin as the retailer rather than the manufacturer? Thanks for any help.

Hello Guys, I am looking for advice on best place to start with my issue. I have 2 years 9 month old Bosch washing machine purchased from online retailer washtech.co.uk which suddenly developed sevaral cracks in the outside plastic drum. Washing machine was working ok for a first year then touch screen controls started playing up and I got it repaired under warranty in October last year. No problem with controls since then but today my garage got flooded by the water during drum clean cycle. I took back panel off hoping it was a pump or waste pipe. Unfortunately external plastic drum had at least two long cracks. I understand I can try and get it fixed by retailer as it not lasted a reasonable amount time or fix it myself and then take them to small court if they refuse to pay for repairs. I just wonder if I could try to start with Bosch to see if they agree to repair it free of charge or provide some sort of report or their view on the fault? I was told by their technician that after repair they made I do not have any warranty (original warranty was running out in two weeks after they made repair). I know some manufacturers extend warranty after repair by another year. And Bosh themselves say they will give 12 month warranty on the appliance if they fix it. But I guess it is meant when you pay them or could it apply to any repairs? Thanks for reading!

My son's VW Golf needs a Drive Belt replaced, is it covered by the manufacturer's warranty. It's a 15 plate done just over 20,000 miles.

Hi, Please give me your opinions on this: Purchased from main dealer an 18 month old car in September 2014 with 7500 miles on the clock and balance of 3 year manufacturers warranty. Noticed by end of 2015 (approx 28000 mile total) that gearbox 'crunches' when changed from 3rd to 4th gear quickly (yes this is a standard manual gearbox). Went to dealer in March 2016 to complain about gearbox (and other warranty faults), they drove car and agreed with me about gearbox. Manufacturer agreed to replace gearbox and new gearbox arrived at end of April. I couldn't leave car with the dealer at this time as I was on standby to work abroad for a number of weeks. Finally got gearbox replaced at beginning of June. New gearbox is much worse, not only does it crunch in 4th but it also whines (like an old mini) in 2nd. Car returned at begging of July to look at again, dealer agrees it is not correct but "doesn't know what manufacturer will say as it's out of warranty". Told them "don't care fault occurred in warranty period an has not been resolved - actually made worse". Manufacturer eventually agrees to send an engineer from the factory to look at my car who came last week. Manufacturer has agreed that the new gearbox is faulty but they will only supply a replacement 'box if I don't complain about it crunching in 4th as this is a "characteristic of the car". This is not entirely true as I have driven one of the loan cars with same gearbox and it does not crunch however the other loan car did, however there is a lot on the internet about failing gearboxes, crunching, stiff changes etc etc. The gearbox obviously has an inherent design flaw. The car was purchased with a personal loan with the car as security (dealer finance) although at the time I was told it was HP. I am thinking of pushing back on the dealer and loan company - under sale of good act, repair or replace vehicle - inherently faulty. Comments or opinions please? Thanks

Hi all, Over the past 6 weeks or so, ive been having intermittant crashing of the xbox which has started getting more and more (so far today in 1.5 hours 4 crashes). Ive been on live chat who got me to do various trouble shooting. It happened with 1 game more than others so ive even replaced the game but it still happens (maybe the game is more processor hungry) I purchased the console approx 29th Nov / 1st Dec 2015. Can store exchange it (GAME) or does it have to be MS? Thanks

hi, any advice on clarifying a small matter would be helpful. we bought a bed for our son from an online store. the bed was hardly used as was in spare room just before the one year warranty it broke. they sent him a part to fix it but it broke again, same fault as before . he got in touch with the retailer and after some back and fourth they have said not their problem and have given us the manufacturers details. are they right or should the retailer sort this out as we believe the bed is not fit for purpose any advice would be appreciated.

Hi, i bought a pair of soundmagic ear buds from Amazon in May 9th, 2015 , all good until this week. The left ear has blown / shot / stopped working. These have honestly had very light use, 3 times a week for about an hour or so at tops. Always put back in the case when not in use & looked after. What can i do & who do i contact. Having looked at the Amazon site it is a 30 day return policy so not sure how to proceed . Any help will be gratefully received.

Hello everybody, I'm writing to ask you what you think I could do in this situation. I apologise in advance for the long post, but it's a very long story with many details so I thank you for your patience in reading this. 1 months ago I bought a motorbike from an official Peugeot dealer, that was the beginning of the nightmare. 1) the bike arrived several weeks later, there were always delays and I had to chase them because they did not inform me 2) once the bike arrived, the wrong number plate was put on - I was asked by the dealer 2-3 days later to take it back for number place replacement as he swapped it with another one by mistake. Later on this year when my road tax renewal has arrived I have then found out I was registered as the owner for 2 vehicles: mine and another one (first number plate I was put on) 3) On the day I picked up the bike for the first time in the shop, the bike kept turning itself off at every traffic light - took it back and dealer said he didn't adjust the idle before selling it, he then did and it was ok 4) I had a crack on the front mudguard, which I only noticed 2-3 days after the purchase, I asked it to be replaced and they never did, they conveniently forgot about it - eventually I gave up Later on a mechanic points out the back mudguard is practically rubbing against the wheel because the hook was broken, he repairs it with wire but doesn't keep it and asks for the replacement part as it came out like that from the factory - no part received 5) 11 days after the purchase the motorbike starts leaking petrol, I call AA, they take it to the garage and replace a cracked fuel pipe and a leaking fuel filter - leaving the bike parked outside at the end of the reserve with barely any petrol in for me to ride it to the next petrol station 7) Despite me not being instructed about oil checks etc (I was told I didn't need to check oil levels and that would be checked only by a mechanic during the routine service), after about a month I decide to check the oil level - stick comes out dry. I think I must have got it wrong so I take it back and ask to have a oil check. One of the mechanics just fills it with oil, doesn't say a word and says here you go. I ask what happened, he said nothing it's safe to ride away, there's oil. 6) the bike doesn't start in the morning, regardless of hot/cold weather, once it's been parked for 2-3 hours it doesn't start I take it back, they first say there's nothing wrong with it and return it to me. I take it back again, they adjust the idle again. I take it back again, they change the spark plug and say the battery is fine so they can't see a problem. Still the problem isn't fixed, I take it back again and they change the automatic choke and ask me to come back if it still doesn't work - by then I just had lost hope. The problem persisted but I didn't go back, I just lived with it and said to myself I was going to take it another dealer. 7) I had been there at the garage at least twice a month for the first 6 months. I have asked when's the next check due and they say 5000 miles (my meter is in km though) 8) The bike gets stolen, no big damage just the ignition had ripped cables, the bike was pushed along the street then they couldn't start it so they just left it there (I guess that not being able to start the bike in the morning saved my bike on this particular occasion) 9) I ring the dealer asking if he could fix my ignition by soldering the cables back, as he asked for £120 for the new part and it was gonna take time to order it (other dealers I contacted were selling it from 60 to 80 pound) He said the soldering can get complicated and I might end up having to pay 120 for the labour anyway (5 cables? really?) and started mumbling away something along the line that he wasn't sure if it was possible because the back of it is plastic and it melts, etc. etc. he wasn't really convinced he could do it but he ended up saying he could at least try. I was happy with try and I need the bike for work I ask him if he had time that afternoon, he said yes but not too late - I said to him I could take 2 hours off work and head there around 4pm, should take me an hour so should be there at 5pm. He said it's fine. I asked him 2-3 times because my employer back then wasn't really happy about giving me 2 hours off if he was gonna at least try to solder it back I would have come otherwise I couldn't afford to go there, not have it done and then having to take more time off which wouldn't have been possible for me at the time. He said he was going to at least look at it and try so I went. Got there around 5,15-5,20pm (shop closes at 6pm but sometimes I see them opened for a bit longer), he said I could leave the ignition there and he would have taken a look at some point another day. I pointed out I couldn't take any more time off to pick it up and that I asked him several times if he could do it on the day but he was adamant that no, I was 15 mins late, the shop closes in 40 minutes so he couldn't possibly solder 5 cables. I then ask for the wiring scheme so I can solder it myself and he said he didn't have it, but I could google it - that's what I had been trying to do but I couldn't find it online either. I asked him to just tell me how the cables had to be soldered back (in what order) and he said he didn't know he would have googled it himself but if it's not on google he would have waited until another bike of the same model came in so he could check the wiring and solder it back, so he didn't exactly know when it was going to happen. I start freaking out, I said that he was wasting my time and I was in huge distress and that by the way the bike still didn't start in the morning after and he said I could take the bike there and they can have another look. Happens that I had talked to another dealer who said he knew exactly what the problem was, and given the past experience with this dealer I decided to trust the other one. I have said to this guy that no, I wouldn't have left the bike there anymore because they don't know what they're doing, they messed everything up from day 1 and instead of showing a little bit of respect and appreciation for my patience by fixing the ignition they were bold enough to say that no, 15 mins late I'm not even gonna look at it. I said I would never come back. 10) I end up buying the part on ebay and fixing the ignition myself 11) I take it to the other dealer because it still didn't start in the morning, they notice the spark plug was the wrong one for that bike, they replaced and it got a bit better but still would struggle to start 12) The other dealer also notices a weird noise in the piston, says the piston was worn and was getting too small for the cylinder - I ask him if he could be a damage that was caused by riding it without oil for a month, he said yes and he also added he wasn't going to do anything about it because he didn't want to get involved with Peugeot for a human error that somebody else did, as it would be difficult to claim it under warranty. He says the engine will die all of a sudden sooner or later. But it was still working I used it as it is. Yesterday evening the bike turns itself off in the middle of the street on the way home and doesn't start anymore. Looks like flat battery, I charge the battery put it back in but same thing. This morning I try again, same thing - I call AA and take it to the original dealer where I bought it so I can also explain what the other dealer said. The guy I had spoken to before as he sees me leaves the shop (found out today that he is the owner) I speak to one of the mechanics said he was going to look at it, I go to work prepared to come back there at 6pm when I finish. 20 minutes later I receive a phone call from the owner saying I just left the bike there and legged it, I explained I spoke to his mechanic and he said he was gonna look at it. He said that since I said I wasn't going to come back then he doesn't want to fix my bike so I must go and collect it now because he's pushing it out on the street and once it's out of his shop that's entirely my problem - plus the warranty is not valid anymore because I didn't service it, so he wouldn't have done any work on it anyway. I say.. what service? I asked you and you told me next one 5000 miles, I'm 3000km behind. . well, apparently there were 2-3 services in between that I wasn't made aware of. I was actually told 5000miles was the first service I had to do, now.. I never owed a NEW bike so I didn't really know when you're suppose to service it. Then the guys starts shouting at me I ask him to please don't shout, he's adamant it's out of warranty and also that he doesn't want to see my bike in his shop he's pushing it out. I said I was gonna make a complaint with peugeot. I do.. I call customer service at Peugeot, explain the whole situation to them and they say that unfortunately since the service is explained in the manual and service book (that I was NEVER given by the shop but the shop is denying it) the warranty is not valid. As for the guy's manners he can't do anything because Peugeot don't impose any standards for the level of service of their dealers so they can conduct the business like they want, and if he wants to be rude then he can be rude and Peugeot is not responsible. As for the lack of oil from the start, he said that no written proof is there, he will deny it and it is just my word against his so they can't do anything to help me. I picked up the bike called AA and had to transported back to my home. The mechanic from AA reckons the piston got thin and bent, so when the bike runs for 3 mins, the piston gets bigger, jams in the cylinder and the bike turns itself off. When the piston cools 10 mins later the bike starts again but as soon as it gets hot it jams again. Only his opinion anyway he didn't look in the engine. Now, at this stage what can I do? I was thinking of claiming under the sell of goods act, trying to prove the bike was not fit for purpose from day 1 and the services received was insufficient, but can I prove it? When I went back to the shop today I set my phone on recording, so I have a conversation with me and the mechanic where he apologises saying it wasn't up to him to fix it or not and I asked him if he remembers I was always there and the bike was broken from day 1 one I bought it, he said yes I know. I wonder if I could use it as a proof (I feel guilty for the poor mechanic though), but I doubt that I can because I didn't warn them I was recording. Any thought?

Hello all I bought a MacBook Air last summer and bought the extended warranty, which gives me 3 years cover. I had a problem with the screen a few weeks ago contacted Apple to get it repaired. At first I took it into the local Apple authorised reseller and when the technician saw it he advised me to contact Apple directly because if he sent pictures of problem to Apple they would automatically rule that it was due to accidental damage and therefore refuse to repair it under the warranty. I contacted Apple, explained the situation in great detail and the machine was collected by their agent to be repaired. After several phone calls back and forth, Apple are claiming that the problem is as a result of accidental damage and are still refusing to cover the repair. I do not believe this is fair and would like to know if anyone can see a way forward for me please. Yes, the computer is covered by our home contents insurance but I don't see why I should claim the £500+ it will cost for a replacement screen when there is nothing I have done that could have caused the damage. How exactly is "accidental damage" legally defined and upon whom lies the burden of proof? The full details follow, it gets a little long I'm afraid, but the details of this case are very important. What happened is that I closed the laptop one afternoon, left the house, returned a few hours later, opened the laptop again and the screen was distorted. I live with my partner, we were both out of the house together, there was nobody else in the house and therefore it is impossible that anyone used or tampered with the computer in my absence. There was no visible damage to the glass screen, but the display looked as though someone had shot a bullet through it - there was a black roundish mark about the size of a 5p and from that black mark were several horizontal lines. In my discussions with Apple before the computer was sent off for repair they asked if there had been any impact to the screen or if anything had been on top of the keyboard when the laptop was closed. I said no, explained that I am extremely careful with the laptop and would never dream of closing a lightweight, delicate glass screen whilst anything was sitting between it and the keyboard! I didn't say this to them, but I'm not 12, I understand the value of money and I'm not likely to be slapdash with something that cost £1,300! After the computer was sent for repair, the technicians called me to tell me there was in fact a crack in the screen behind/near (I can't remember which) the camera which is housed in the frame of the laptop screen. This of course was not visible until they dismantled the screen for examination. They claim that this sort of problem is "always" (their word) caused by accidental damage and therefore would not be covered by the warranty. I know for a fact that NOTHING has hit, struck, dented, knocked or in any other way caused impact to the screen. I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that absolutely nobody had access to that machine while I was out of the house that afternoon. I'd been using it on my lap whilst sitting up in bed and when I went out I placed the laptop on top of the duvet. It didn't fall or slip. The only pressure of any kind that can have been inflicted upon the screen is the pressure between my thumb and fingers as I grasp it to open the laptop; the laptop opens easily and smoothly so no particular pressure is required. I don't carry the laptop out and about. I have been very ill over the last year and leave the house about once a week on average, and even then I've taken as little with me as possible, I certainly haven't been stuffing a laptop into my bag! It sits at home. It has been gently treated and I really cannot begin how to imagine how the damage was incurred. I'm not a technician so I think it's probably pointless for me to speculate, but the only possible thing I can think of is what I mentioned above about opening the laptop. If that is indeed the cause then I think it really should be considered a manufacturing error because opening a laptop is, in my opinion, a perfectly natural part of its operation. Really sorry this is such a long post but I thought the details were relevant. If anyone has any feedback on this I'd be very grateful to hear from you. If I have to accept their decision then so be it, but I think this is a totally unacceptable situation. ETA: I'm so sorry, should have realised that this is a very important detail - I bought the laptop in June last year, so just over a year ago.

Hi everyone, I bought an Asus gtx 670 graphics card in May 2012. Asus has a 3 year warranty on most of its electronics AFAIK and I bought it from Dabs.com. Now, Ive never been in a situation where its been so long after a component has failed but they do have a 3 year policy. I contacted asus (and I know they have a poor customer service rep) but fair dos to them, they got back quite quickly and this is what they sent me: But on Dabs website (they havent replied yet) it automatically instructs me to go contact the manufacturer. I can see a potential run around going on which I want to avoid so please advise.

As we know comet are in administration to keep the better half happy i brought her a nice new TV from comet have had the TV for 1 week to the day there is no sound and no picture Phoned comet helpline and a nice automated message gives me the phone number for UMC rang them to be told `we are not covering any products sold by comet as they have not brought the warranty` and have told me to go back to comet if you phone there help line due to circumstances beyond there control they are not able to take the call and to try later must say tv looks good sat in lounge until you turn it on What come back do i have if any? Be warned buying from comet think again:-x