JVC TV 20 months old and broken!

[UnhappyLucy]

Hello everybodyI sent this email to Comet this morning - just wondered if people think I might be able to have some success with this. I am not asking for a lot, just to have a working TV that lasts longer than 20 months! I can't afford to pay for the independent engineers report but do people think I might have to?Thanks in advance

 

WITHOUT PREJUDICEFor the attention of Bob DarkeDear SirI bought a JVC LT-40DG20J 40” on 18/08/2010 For £499.99 – receipt in hand. I have enclosed a copy of the receipt for you to check your records.On Thursday the 22nd of March 2012 it stopped working, we checked it wasn’t the fuse.My partner phoned the number on the back of the telly, which lead you to a Comet’s phone number, they told us that we’d have to pay for someone to look at it. Then we decided we’d call JVC themselves, when we got through, we were told that they only make that TV for Comet and don’t even have instructions for it, as Comet buy them in bulk with no guarantees on them.I have 2 small children and work during the week, so weekends are very precious to us. On Saturday the 24th March the last thing my Partner and I wanted to do was take the unfit for purpose TV to Comet in Slough. (This is where we bought it from) we spoke to the Store Manager called xxxxxxxxx, who was not cooperative at all, and wouldn’t even give me his Area Managers name. He said we had to pay £65 to check if it was a manufacturing fault or not. Whilst I understand that this fee applies to establish if the fault is that of the manufacturers - we’ve only had the TV 1 yr and 8 months and I believe that a Television should last longer than that. I was even told that day by a salesman that a TV should last for about 25 years! The TV has had ‘normal’ use, I would say no more than 5 hours per day maximum. It has been cared for without any risk to the internal workings at all.As a family, due to our expenditure exceeding our income, we cannot afford to pay for a fee when we don’t feel we should have to.I believe we should have been at the very least offered an out of warranty repair, or the cost of the TV as it stands, even if they could have given us a discount on a new one I’d have had some better feeling towards Comet’s reputation.I would now like to make a formal complaint and I expect an acknowledgement within 5 working days and a response within 4-8 weeks.Please can you forward me the details of your regulator. If I do not get an amicable response from you I will forward this complaint to the regulator and I will make a claim against Comet at the Small Claims Court for the full £499 – I understand this will cost an initial £25 which I will also claim as a further expense from Comet. I look forward to your response.

[rebel11]

Hi un

 

Welcome to CAG

 

You'll have to wait and see. You know in future to take your business elsewhere. Have a read of 10,12 and 13 in my signature. When they get back to you with an unsatisfactory response. It might be an idea to send a further e-mail, requesting the actual date that Comets tested the product you purchased,

explain that you need that information for your court claim, tell them if the product hasn't been tested by Comets then you also need that information for your claim. We know the manufacturer must of tested the product, but did Comets?

 

Let us know what they say.

[GorgieBoy]

Hi un ,

 

Always best to put in writing also with regards to your email sent.

 

COMET may respond by offering a FOC inspection but it is the norm to charge a fee in the first instance .

 

With regards to the product being tested by COMET before the sale that would not happen and never will .

 

Your JVC tv is nothing JVC only the logo on the front is . It was made for KESA (ex COMET parent company) by VESTEL hence the reason JVC is not interested.

 

As you do not wish to pay for an indepedent report or for a normal chargable inspection to be carried out by COMET (quite often refunded ) dependent on the nature of the fault the process could be long and drawn out with regards to your faulty Tv.

 

Hopefully COMET will offer a FOC inspection and your issue can be resolved quickly , good luck and please keep us informed of what happens next .

 

(I think the salesman stating a Tv should last 25 years is being rather optimistic he might have been on an extreme commission drive that day )

[UnhappyLucy]

This was my reply: What do I do now??? Subject: JVC TV stopped working OOG - no repair historyIf this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days.Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.Response (Lucy Heaton) 30/03/2012Dear Miss ClarkeI was disappointed to read your e-mail addressed to Bob Darke. I am responding on his behalf as this falls within my area of responsibility.I am sorry to learn that the JVC television that you bought from Comet on 18 August 2010 has recently developed a problem. However, while the retailer is responsible for faults present at the time of sale, as your appliance has been working for 19 months without no previous service history we would consider it to be fit for purpose when sold. Furthermore, after six months from purchase it falls on the consumer to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the lack of conformity existed at the time of sale. Taking this into consideration at present we are unable to agree to your request for a free of charge repair or exchange at this time. I can only refer you back to the advice provided by our store manager regarding our chargeable repair service.I note your comments regarding Comet’s governing body and can confirm that we do not have an organisation that regulates us, but can assure you that we always respond to issues in line with the Sales of Goods Act. In closing, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this matter may have caused.Yours sincerelyLucy HeatonOn Behalf of the Director’s Office

[GorgieBoy]

Hi un ,

 

Always best to put in writing also with regards to your email sent.

 

COMET may respond by offering a FOC inspection but it is the norm to charge a fee in the first instance .

 

With regards to the product being tested by COMET before the sale that would not happen and never will .

 

Your JVC tv is nothing JVC only the logo on the front is . It was made for KESA (ex COMET parent company) by VESTEL hence the reason JVC is not interested.

 

As you do not wish to pay for an indepedent report or for a normal chargable inspection to be carried out by COMET (quite often refunded ) dependent on the nature of the fault the process could be long and drawn out with regards to your faulty Tv.

 

Hopefully COMET will offer a FOC inspection and your issue can be resolved quickly , good luck and please keep us informed of what happens next .

 

(I think the salesman stating a Tv should last 25 years is being rather optimistic he might have been on an extreme commission drive that day )

 

 

Wow ,

 

" I note your comments regarding Comet’s governing body and can confirm that we do not have an organisation that regulates us, but can assure you that we always respond to issues in line with the Sales of Goods Act. In closing, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this matter may have caused.

Yours sincerely Lucy Heaton

On Behalf of the Director’s Office "

 

So in a nutshell COMET are stating they are a law unto themselves whilst adhering to THEIR version of SOGA .

 

I am sure the Site Team Guys will advise the next step with regards to COMETS poor response , not even offering a FOC inspection , poor very poor indeed.

 

(The Courts do regulate them and quite often at that !)

Edited April 3, 2012 by GorgieBoy

[UnhappyLucy]

Thank you all for your responces, please can one of the site organisers tell me what I need to do next??

[GorgieBoy]

Hi Site Team ,

 

Can anyone advise the next step for Un now ? as she has come up against a Brick Wall .

 

I think we knew that was going to happen unfortunately .

[GorgieBoy]

Hi Un ,

 

This response was from COMET regarding an Indesit washing machine over 12 months old which can be found on the COMET thread page .

 

This response would probably apply in your case also .

 

It does look like you will have to pay either COMET or an Independent Company for at least an inspection with regards to your faulty Tv which is 20 months old and has no repair History .

 

 

" Whilst I also note your comments regarding the Sales of Goods Act, it states that wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).

 

Goods cannot always be expected to work fault-free. They can break down through normal use. Buyers cannot, therefore, expect to hold the seller responsible for fair wear and tear. There needs to be a fault that was present on the day of sale even though it only became apparent later on, or a misdescription of the goods, or a lack of durability that suggests the goods were not of satisfactory quality to start with.

 

In your case there is no evidence to suggest that the fault has been caused by any manufacturing defect, we would consider the product to have been of satisfactory quality when sold. "

 

 

 

Whether this response is correct or not with regards to SOGA I do not know but it does seem you are going to have to pay someone to get your Tv repaired or Purchase a new one from elswhere it would appear or else you will have no Tv for sometime unfortunately .

[rebel11]

Hi lucy

 

Have you had the tv tested by an independent engineer? Where are you with this?

Also, I'd like to know what date Comets tested the product before selling it to you and why they want it inspected now.

 

Thank you all for your responces, please can one of the site organisers tell me what I need to do next??

[cbram71]

Be interesting for an independent repair company to check JVC Televisions as they are Comet exclusives. I represented JVC customer services, and can tell you even when I represented them, we couldn't get access to service manuals so how would anyone else? Customers just think oh JVC badge on the front, I will be ok.... Personally look at other brands where service is available from the manufacturers, cause JVC UK are unable to assist you when it all goes wrong.

[GorgieBoy]

Hi un ,

 

Always best to put in writing also with regards to your email sent.

 

COMET may respond by offering a FOC inspection but it is the norm to charge a fee in the first instance .

 

With regards to the product being tested by COMET before the sale that would not happen and never will .

 

Your JVC tv is nothing JVC only the logo on the front is . It was made for KESA (ex COMET parent company) by VESTEL hence the reason JVC is not interested.

 

As you do not wish to pay for an indepedent report or for a normal chargable inspection to be carried out by COMET (quite often refunded ) dependent on the nature of the fault the process could be long and drawn out with regards to your faulty Tv.

 

Hopefully COMET will offer a FOC inspection and your issue can be resolved quickly , good luck and please keep us informed of what happens next .

 

(I think the salesman stating a Tv should last 25 years is being rather optimistic he might have been on an extreme commission drive that day )

 

 

I am sure many Independents are familiar with the VESTEL Chassis as used in this Model with regards to a report .

 

That said it looks like Lucy will have to pay something to somebody for any further progress regarding her Faulty Tv .

 

 

Have a read at these posts regarding a faulty 14 month old Tv from CURRYS to see how bad it is when dealing with another Big Boy of Retailing .

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?347581-Not-sure-where-i-stand-on-TV-return-repair

Edited May 5, 2012 by GorgieBoy

[GorgieBoy]

What Law is that please ?

 

So what you are saying any Tv or white Goods Appliance that breaks down after the initial Warranty period of 12 months expires the Retailer has the right to Charge nearly £100.00 up front to inspect the product and unless the Product has an inherent manufacturing fault the customer has no case for redress.

 

So therefore the customer is liable to pay for any costs of repairs .

 

The Courts decide on the time scale if the issue is taken to court and I think most courts would agree that a Tv or other Appliance costing for example £500.00

would be expected to last for more that 12 months before a customer would be expected to fork out hundreds of pounds for a repair if a major component fails.

 

These retailers have the authority to offer FOC inspections and FOC repairs dependent on individual cases but as we find more and more once the money is in the till they are not interested unless they are pushed really hard .

 

This is where CAG helps many of these customers to get some kind of redress when things go wrong and points them in the right direction where possible.

[GorgieBoy]

Correct ,

 

It also states that goods such as what we are discussing "should last a reasonable length of time" .

 

Which is outwith goods that are inherently faulty .

 

We both know a product can become faulty without it having an inherent fault .

 

A Retailer wanting £95.00 up front to inspect a product that is 8 weeks out of warranty is in my opinion out of order .

 

Their Delivery Installer drivers are now also doubling up as their in house engineers just to add , with both of them .

[GorgieBoy]

So you think people pay to have someone come to their home to inspect the item? I know that's not true of Currys/PCW. From the correspondence that Comet has sent, it looks to be that they want to take it away. So I doubt it's true for them either.

 

I agree regarding the reasonable time stuff etc but for that you need an engineers report to show the nature of the fault to estabish whether it's reasonable or not.

 

Sorry CCM ,

 

I do not understand your last post as it is totally gobbledygook I hope the site team guys respond as required .

 

"I Know that it is not true of Currys/PCWORLD" ! (as long as the customer pays £95.00 up front)

Edited May 6, 2012 by GorgieBoy

[GorgieBoy]

Yes indeed CCM slightly tongue in cheek about the Drivers this refers to the FACT that COMET are in the process of making ALL their Skilled Field Service Engineers for both Brown and White Goods redundant throughout the UK in the coming months .

 

They have not repaired Laptops or Pc`s inhouse for nearly 2 years they also made these guys redundant .

 

Just like they have no Local Service Centres left either as they made all these guys redundant.

 

Soon they will only have one Service Hub left based in Skelmsdale (They did have 2) much of a muchness as DSG did exactly the same a couple of years ago .

Edited May 6, 2012 by GorgieBoy