Faulty PS3 blu-ray drive

[garyk121]

Hi All,

 

Im a noob here so please excuse me if I over elaborate on the details.

 

I have had a PS3 for 18 months or so and recently it crashed in game and no wont read any discs. I tried to get a repair via Sony but as the manufacturers warranty had run out they want £99. The gentleman on the phone said he aprreciated my gripes and that we should not need to have such a conversation as the console should not break down. However their policy is 12months free and 99 quid after that.

 

Failing this I decided to go back to the retailer under ARticle 14 Sale of Goods Act 1979 and argue that the goods were not durable etc.... The retailer said that they were not at fault and would not be repairing.replacing my console.

 

With this in mind I threatened a small claims proceeding against them, to which they replied it would be a waste of the Courts time.

 

Am I right in thinking that providing the reasonable man (and even an expert as in the Sony guy who said it should work) would expect the blu-ray drive not to pack up after 18 months, the retailer should be responsible for repairs. I understand that it is my burden of proof to show that the drive is faulty.

 

If so, how do I go about issuing Court proceedings. I have already notified the retailer of my intentions to do so.

 

Many thanks

 

garyk121

[Fenris]

I would write a letter to whomever you feel is responsible for the repair, i.e the shop or Sony. I'd try the shop first. Try writing to the stores manager explaining that the drive has failed and that you do not think this is your fault but a fault in the quality of the parts used.

 

Out of interest, you might want to try and find out which drive you have. Not sure if it applies with the PS3, but in the Xbox's (original and 360) they use several different suppliers and some are not as good as others and fail a lot. Even if it is a Sony drive (which is what I'd expect) a quick Google for something like "PS3 drive failure" will, no doubt, dredge up some dedicated PS3 forums and info. I did this when I bought a 2nd hand 360 that then showed RRoD! There are loads of forums full of people in the know.

 

If you find a high proportion of people complaining about drive failures then there's a chance you might have bought one of a batch of PS3's with a problem drive. If that's the case, the shop is your first port of call. The main problem is proving that it's a problem within the drive rather than someone trying to feed it a jam sandwich! (Old VCR reference!)

 

If it comes to it then you can state the sale of goods act. There's a line that says something along the line of being fit for purpose and having an exceptable usage period. Clearly if you've used the PS3 for 20 hours a day for the last 18 months, it's not unreasonable for Sony to say you've overused it and thay're within their rights to charge you the £99 repair fee (although, since it's out of warrenty anyway, you'd be better off installing a new drive yourself for about £40). On the other hand, if you've only used it for a couple of hours on weekends then it's a candidate for being unfit for purpose.

 

Court's your last option really. It's easy to threaten it at the time. I'm sure we've all done it! But it's really not the best course of action at this point. Letter to the shop --> letter to the head office --> Trading Standards or, letter to Sony --> letter to Sony complaints --> Trading Standards. I'd contact Trading Standards anyway just to get clarification. But your sticking point is proving the drive's defective.

 

Good luck and do post back. I'd be interested to read how you get on.

 

Fenris.

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

Hi any news