Faulty components and manufacturer warranties

[Biggles 266]

Hi, was looking for some advice.

 

I purchased an OEM computer hard drive approximately 2.5 years ago from a well known online retailer (who I don't want to name quite yet). The manufacturer - Samsung - says they offer a 3 year warranty on their drives, both retail ones and OEM drives. They also say that drives they sell as system integrator drives have a 1 year warranty. The retailer offers only a one year warranty.

 

My drive has developed a fault. First thing I did was try and organise a return online, but Samsung's site reject it as being a non-UK serial number. I contacted the retailer and explained that Samsung had rejected it. They refused to accept a return, saying they weren't bound by anything and that only offer a 1 year warranty in their T&Cs.

 

I've been arguing with the retailer since on the basis that they sold me a Samsung OEM drive and that Samsung sell it as having a 3 year warranty. I know from doing research on this that the retailer will have bought grey market drives abroad and imported them, that's why Samsung reject the serial number. This certainly wasn't in the specification. I feel this then makes the retailer responsible.

 

The retailer have agreed that they sold me an OEM drive and not a system integrator drive, but claim their specifications (which are no longer publicly visible as the product is no longer stocked) list this as a 1 year warranty and that they aren't bound to do anything. This they say overrides Samsung saying that an OEM drive has a 3 year warranty.

 

I've tried claiming that SOGA applies and that the product doesn't match it's description, since it's sold as an OEM drive but only getting a 1 year warranty. Retailer denies this.

 

Having discussed this back and forth, the retailer still deny liability of any sort but have issued an RMA as a "goodwill gesture" and that if a repair or replacement isn't feasible, then they'd only offer a proportional refund on the basis of the use I've had this far.

 

Should I argue any further? Do I have a leg to stand on? What is a fair proportion?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[perplexity]

If you are accusing them of misleading, what you need to stand on is the evidence to prove the case.

 

It is a strict liability criminal offence, to mislead consumers (according to the The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008) so without the evidence you could rather be sued for defamation.

[rebel11]

Hi big

 

Heres info on SOGA :-

 

http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/

[Biggles 266]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I've read through the SOGA advice on the OFT website, but I wanted another perspective on where I stood.

 

With regards to evidence on misleading descriptions, what would I need?

 

I have the invoice, which clearly lists the drive as a Samsung OEM drive. Samsung's own website (can't post link, but under warranty on their UK site) lists the warranty period as 36 months, and when running the warranty checker based on serial number, says the drive is out of service area.

 

My argument is basically that if they sell a Samsung OEM drive, I should be able to get the 3 year warranty that Samsung advertise it with, otherwise they should be telling me that the drive is a grey market import.

[Biggles 266]

Further note since Samsung just replied to me - they say that the drive is in warranty. In Puerto Rico, where they sold it.

[rebel11]

Here are some links:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?143822-Grey-Import-Sale-of-Goods-Act

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?297793-Grey-Import-Hard-Disk-Drives-Demand-a-Refund

 

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/template-letters/

 

Send any letters Recorded.

[Biggles 266]

Those links were pretty useful, don't know how I missed the other thread about grey import disks. I wasn't aware of the CPUT regulations until now, seems that is a useful tact to take with them.

[Biggles 266]

Sorry for raising a thread from the dead, but I thought I would give some closure.

 

I repeatedly argued the case with the retailer and they finally issued an RMA. Initially they would give a replacement or a partial refund based on formula Price - (price/72 * months owned). This was enough to replace the drive with a similar spec one, so I accepted this. Then instead of having a turnaround time of 3 days as they state on their website, they took nearly 3 weeks to sort it all out. They issued an order for a replacement, which couldn't go through because it was out of stock permanently, so they cancelled that order and left me with a credit on my account for the full amount.

 

A lot of hassle, a lot of stress and a lot of lost data

 

But eventually they did the right thing, so I guess it shows persistence pays off. Thanks for the advice people.