Prize not as claimed. Help with complaint letter

[jimdx]

Hi all

 

Not really sure whether this is the right place to post or even whether I should be condsidering writing a complaint but here goes, let me know what you think.

 

The draw was a free entry hence my concerns regarding the complaint (I have however spent £50K+ this year with said company)

 

The promotion was for a LCD tv valued at £500 and was a regional promotion with some 13 winners, I was one of those winners and received in writing a letter congratulating me on the fact "a £500 TV" was on its way to me.

 

I'm no expert on TV's but i'm not clueless either so I found it difficult to hide my dissapointment at the 37'' Goodmans TV being unloaded from the estate car. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, this is a free 37'' TV afterall, I smiled and allowed the company to take a photo of the handover.

 

The following day I unpacked the TV only to find several parts missing and obvious signs the TV was a display model. After about 3 weeks and a few phone calls the TV was collected and shortly after a new packaged tv arrived. Again I smiled, said thanks and opened the box everything was ok and the tv worked fine when I set it up. Sometime later when I was watching it I realised it was making horrible vibrations when certain tones were spoke or if any bass passed through the speakers even at low volume.

 

This TV is basically an unwatchable piece of rubbish and no way close to £500 in value as claimed, in fact I have found it available online for £280. To rub salt in my wounds I arrived at work today and was flicking through the trade magazine only to find a nice big article on the promotion and some guys stood in front of what was a nice LG tv much more valuable than the TV i had received.

 

In the phone calls leading upto getting the tv replaced I voiced all my concerns and the fact I was nor never would be happy with the TV delivered and I made the company fully aware of the fact the prize wasn't a £500 tv as claimed, I suggested they should get their money back. When the tv was collected I even gave the nice lady who was sorting it out a promotional leaflet for the shop the TV was going back to offering a 42" LG for only £450, unluckily for me it would seem my verbal complaints when un heard and of course the shop had an exact replacement for the Goodmans.

 

Should I complain, the prize simply is not what it is claimed to be?

 

Should I just shut up and be grateful for what turned up, bearing in mind i've already spent £50k and earned this company far in excess of £500?

 

Thanks

[gyzmo]

Newspapers love this kind of story. Private Eye, a few years ago ran similar stories against newspaper competitions. One was supposed to be a brand new camper van. It was in fact a piece of junk.

 

Just make sure that whichever paper you report it to is not linked with the company running the competition.

[buzby]

You cannot argue based on price - Probably in 2007 this model WAS £500, but you cannot argue that 'you could buy it cheaper'. The money you paid to the firm for their services is not relevant either - although if I was in your shoes I would have pushed them for a discount on the total cost of the work, and saying you don;t have to give me the TV....

 

Since they did not specify a make and model, there has been no mis-description, however you DO have an expectation of the item to be (a) new and (b) in full working order. They fixed the first issue when you contacted them, and if a problem has arisen now, then you have every right under SOGA (as they are the supplier) to have it restored to full working order - it doesn;t matter you personally didn't pay for it. Goodmans sets along with other similar brands are made to a price and not of particular high quality - but they do work and are fairly reliable (no different from any other consumer electronics), so I'd contact the firm and say that as the TV has gone faulty again, could they please advise what you need do to get the fault fixed, keep it light - and they'll probably swap it for another new one!

[gyzmo]

No SoGA rights here as not a sale. Best that can be hoped for is a breach of contract.

[buzby]

SOGA Rights DO apply. I refer you to mobile phones that are supplied 'Free' by retailers - who would be delighted not to have SoGA as well, but they do. Full cover by the Act is provided.

Edited July 28, 2009 by buzby

[buzby]

Best that can be hoped for is a breach of contract.

 

What contract? There's no contract in entering a competition.

[gyzmo]

SOGA Rights DO apply. I refer you to mobile phones that are supplied 'Free' by retailers - who would be delighted not to have SoGA as well, but they do. Full cover by the Act is provided.

 

Might be why it comes under "supply" legislation and not "sale". It's a technicality but an important one because if you used it in a court the response would be "there is no sale".

 

And I'm not arguing with you further.

[gyzmo]

And competitions are contracts. Try reading "terms and conditions".

 

And read up on contract law.

 

And stop talking out of your rear.

[buzby]

And I'm not arguing with you further.

 

Excellent news. I never argue with people who resort to abuse.

 

All I do is consider my position and be grateful nobody'll be folled by the bluster. Having won two cases using SoGA for items I did not directly pay for (but was the 'beneficial owner') my rights were protected in full.

 

The 'nocase to answer' defence was dismissed by the Sheriff. As for reading up on Contract Law, why - do you think I've missed something the Sheriff hadn't?

[jimdx]

Thanks for the replies..

 

Its so weird, i wish I hadn't won the tv as I think the company has an excellent product line and I dont want to fall out and stop dealing with them. Only the other day I made a new contact opening up a whole new avenue for me which is great, certainly not worth losing over a TV.

 

I think the sound is definitly a problem though, the vibrations are really bad. At first I thought i was just being hyper critical as I hate the tv anyway but I showed my m8 yesterday and within minutes the vibrations occured. Is it a fault, I dont know. As the company bought a job lot of tv's I will have to go via them to deal with the problem as they hold the receipt.

 

I don't want to go down the legal rights route and fall out with the company. They have always been really friendly in all my dealing with them so alongside the sound problem ill give the moral arguments another try and see what happens, ill also just ask why I cant have the same TV that is in the magazine photograph as I am there listed as a winner.

 

Ill let ya know what happens.....