Faulty TV after 3 years

[hollal]

Hi

 

I bought a TV in October of 2012 and it developed a fault after just over 24 months. I emailed LG because on their site it says they guarantee TVs for that 24 months but they said it was just out of time. I ended up paying about £150 to get it repaired on the high street but after a month or so one of the two symptoms reappeared. It started exhibiting the symptom very infrequently but is now getting worse. The date of repair was some time in March or April I think, and we've never taken it back to get it looked at again. Can I go back to Currys/PCWorld with durability claims under the SOGA?

 

I should mention that the primary issue is that the screen goes black until the TV is power cycled. Sound continues ok.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi

 

I bought a TV in October of 2012 and it developed a fault after just over 24 months. I emailed LG because on their site it says they guarantee TVs for that 24 months but they said it was just out of time. I ended up paying about £150 to get it repaired on the high street but after a month or so one of the two symptoms reappeared. It started exhibiting the symptom very infrequently but is now getting worse. The date of repair was some time in March or April I think, and we've never taken it back to get it looked at again. Can I go back to Currys/PCWorld with durability claims under the SOGA?

 

I should mention that the primary issue is that the screen goes black until the TV is power cycled. Sound continues ok.

 

The warranty period has nothing to do with your rights under SOGA. Your rights are for a product that has no manufacturers faults for the reasonable lifespan of the product. However, if Currys did not agree to deal with the issue by inspecting the faults and dealing with it as appropriate, then you would have to obtain an independent inspection report to proceed. With a report detailing faulty parts, you would go back to Currys under SOGA. They should offer some compensation for loss of some of the reasonable lifespan lost, but they won't refund the original TV cost or replace it. You have had some enjoyment time of using tbe TV.

 

Speak to Currys customer services to report faults under SOGA and ask how they want to deal with it. If you look, there is another thread on CAG regarding a 4 year old Samsung TV bought from Currys. Have a read of that.

[unclebulgaria67]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?454662-4-year-old-Samsung-3D-TV-rights-to-repair-or-replacement(1-Viewing)-nbsp

 

Link to other thread to read

[fkofilee]

Ooooooooooooooooooooo wait for it.,.... ITttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttssssssssssssssssss Currys....

 

As UB67 said, an Idependent report might work. LG Should be pretty good. If you spoke to LG, what do they say now?

[unclebulgaria67]

Ooooooooooooooooooooo wait for it.,.... ITttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttssssssssssssssssss Currys....

 

As UB67 said, an Idependent report might work. LG Should be pretty good. If you spoke to LG, what do they say now?

 

I bought my Panasonic from Currys and it is 8 years old. Touch wood no problems. But i would never buy LG or Samsung products, as they are not reliable brands.

 

My families first colour TV lasted 20 years,as every time a part went, my Dad repaired. He was an electronics engineer, so had all the equipment and know how to repair. But a good quality TV that is looked after should last at least 6 years without any problems.

[hollal]

Thank you. I have contacted their customer services email.

[MaxxPower]

The issue you might have is that you had it repaired independently before contacting them last time, so they may argue that the substandard repair has caused the current issue and so they have no liability/responsibility.

[hollal]

They have replied asking for me to get a report from an independent repairer. They say if it shows that it's a manufacturing issue they will proceed to the next step. I didn't have my wits about me at the time as he was disarmingly pleasant about everything.

[MaxxPower]

That's the correct procedure. You'll need to get an independent engineers report at your own expense to demonstrate that it's a manufacturing fault. If the report does state that, then Currys will have to refund the cost of the report (but only if it shows a manufacturing fault. If it doesn't, then they are not obliged to refund the cost of the report or carry out a repair).

[Consumer dude]

Things dont seem to be made to last these days..

[hollal]

That's the correct procedure. You'll need to get an independent engineers report at your own expense to demonstrate that it's a manufacturing fault. If the report does state that, then Currys will have to refund the cost of the report (but only if it shows a manufacturing fault. If it doesn't, then they are not obliged to refund the cost of the report or carry out a repair).

 

Is it possible the report could conclude it was not a manufacturing fault? What I mean by that, is that it has not been used excessively or inappropriately, so if anything has developed a fault, it must necessarily be a manufacturing fault. Have I answered my own question?

[MaxxPower]

It's certainly possible that the report could conclude it was no a manufacturing fault, it could indicate normal wear and tear on something (though unlikely on a TV only 3 years old), mis-use, accidental damage, etc.

I think your biggest concern will be that your previous independent repair may have caused an issue and the report will conclude as such.

[hollal]

I see what you mean. I will be taking it back to the original repairer so if they have a record of what they did the first time and it turns out to be the same issue, would that be a negative thing for my case, or positive? Could I not argue that if something is consistently causing a malfunction, then it is not really fit for purpose? Would it matter that I had it repaired already if it fails in the same way again? Would they weight it on the balance of probability or would I have to categorically prove that the original repair was not sub-par?

[MaxxPower]

You'd probably be better taking it somewhere other than where you had it repaired last time to get the report. If the problem was down to a sub-par repair they're less likely to report on that. As for if it's the same thing failing, it depends on how they repaired it. Did they use genuine/approved parts? Did they repair it using an approved method? Are they even an authorised repairer for that brand?

[hollal]

Things seem to be getting more complicated. Does it have to be an authorised repairer? Can't it be assumed a trader making a living repairing TVs is sufficiently capable of doing a good job?

[MaxxPower]

It doesn't have to be an authorised repairer, but using one can just tend to bypass that argument if it comes up is all.

As has been said, get the independent report done, but preferably by someone other than the repairer you used last time. If you got them to do the report then it could possibly be considered as not independent as they already have some level of interest in the TV.

[hollal]

Good point, I'll use someone else.