Brother Printer will not switch on - purchase June 2014 - covered by EU Law?

[Geronimo1]

I bought a Brother printer in June 2014 which has been used to print fewer than 200 documents,

most of which were little more than single sheet text files.

I last printed a text document about four days ago.

 

 

The printer runs a self test and cleaning procedure once per week and it did this yesterday. Today, it won't switch on.

 

I checked the fuse and used a meter to make sure that there is power being delivered by the cable.

I found a procedure to supposedly fix this by unplugging it and reconnecting power with the power button pressed

but after three attempts, this has not worked.

 

It is outside its one year warranty

but I have often read about how consumer goods are covered by EU law

for longer than the stated warranty period under certain circumstances

and I am wondering if that might apply to this situation;

 

 

i.e. that a printer which has had light use ought to at least switch on.

[Conniff]

Have you changed the cartridges at all and if so were they oem or compatibles ?

 

Is it a printer that has a chip in the cartridge ?

[Geronimo1]

I have changed the ink cartridges and have used non-OEM replacements but I have been doing this for 18 months. The last time I changed a cartridge was about four months ago; the printer has never rejected the cartridges and I fail to see how the use of non-OEM cartridges could cause the printer to stop powering up unless it had been sabotaged to do so by the manufacturer.

 

The user manual states the following:

 

Brother multifunction machines are designed to work with ink of a particular specification and will work to a level of optimum performance and reliability when used with Brother Original ink cartridges. Brother cannot guarantee this optimum performance and reliability if ink or ink cartridges of other specifications are used. Brother does not therefore recommend the use of cartridges other than Brother Original cartridges or the refilling of used cartridges with ink from other sources. Damage to the product caused by the use of consumables manufactured by third parties may not be covered by the product warranty. Please refer to the terms of the product warranty.

 

So, they don't guarantee quality, fair enough. And the warranty is only affected if damage is caused by non-OEM cartridges. I would like to know how that would be possible as they occupy diagonally opposite corners of the printer to the power supply. This is used by printer manufacturers as a trap to sell their own ink rather than there being any genuine risk of damage.

 

Anyway, since posting, I have been busy and I am waiting for the supplier to get back in touch with me. Also, I have been reading that all electronics in the EU are covered by a two year warranty which must be honoured by the retailer - not the manufacturer. I just need to find a source document to use as a reference.

 

The UK six and five year periods are only time frames for the periods during which a complaint may be raised and are not periods covering product failure, as such. Everything is badly worded, vague and difficult to nail down for the average consumer and, it seems, supplier too.

 

At the moment, I am using this article as my guide:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/may/23/tesco-consumer-guarantee

[Geronimo1]

Here is the actual EU directive:

 

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumer_rights/rights-contracts/sales-guarantee/index_en.htm

[dx100uk]

why are you going down that route....

 

you are covered by the sale of goods act

which is now encompassed by the consumer right act.

against the retailer.

 

carts oem or otherwise wont stop the thing switching on...

[Geronimo1]

I just discovered that in the US,

it is actually illegal for a company to void a warranty for using non-OEM replacements

under a law called

Magnuson Moss Warranty Improvement Act United States Code Annotated Title 15 Commerce and Trade Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties 15 Sections 2302.

 

I realise that this would not apply to UK consumers, directly at least,

 

but I think it would apply in general to the manufacturing world.

 

I also read that HP specifically state that using non-OEM cartridges per se does not invalidate a warranty.

[dx100uk]

the sites and answers you are reading are OUT OF DATE.

 

 

go read up on the new consumer rights act

and take it back to the retailer.

 

 

dx

[Geronimo1]

As I mentioned in post #3, having read the relevant parts, the SoGA is a bit vague as it says that the period during which a complaint can be made is six years (five in Scotland, where I am) but that does not mean that the product has a six (or five) year warranty, as far as I understand it - there is too much scope for interpretation. The EU law is more specific and states:

 

Sellers of consumer goods within the EU are obliged to guarantee the conformity of the goods with a contract, for a period of two years after the delivery of the goods.

 

Certain standards exist for assessing when conformity can be assumed and when not. If the goods are not delivered in conformity with the sales contract, consumers can ask for the goods to be repaired, replaced, and reduced in price or for the contract to be rescinded.

 

The final seller, who is responsible to the consumer, can also hold the producer liable in their business relationship.

[dx100uk]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?440-The-Consumer-Rights-Act-2015

[dx100uk]

where did you purchase it from...

 

 

dx

[Geronimo1]

The Consumer Rights Act does not apply as I bought the printer before 1st October 2015.

[dx100uk]

but soga does.

 

 

p'haps better to not over complicate things

until the retailer says no?

 

 

a printer should last greater than 18mts

so soga covers you ok.

[Conniff]

I asked about the use of non oem cartridges as that might give them a point to argue against any responsibility.

[Geronimo1]

I just got a reply from Brother which said that I could send it for repair for £65 + VAT

and shipping but their warranty has expired so I'm focussing on the EU two year retailer warranty.

 

What has annoyed me about Brother's reply is that there is a fix for a similar problem (mentioned in the OP)

which seems to have solved the problem for many other people

(as I discovered by searching for the problem earlier today)

and they never even mentioned it.

 

 

I'm suspect that if it was under warranty, they may well have done.

 

 

And if I coughed up the £65+ repair fee, I bet it would be the first thing their technicians would try.

[dx100uk]

who was the retailer

where did you get it from?

 

 

dx

[Conniff]

We have the Sale of Goods Act which is for 6 years and says how long would a reasonable person expect it to last. You can bet your life that it's more than two years.

But, and there is always a but, as it is over six months since you bought it, it will be up to you to show there was an inherent fault with it.

 

Under EU rules you always have the right to a minimum 2-year guarantee at no cost.

 

But, after 6 months in most EU countries you need to prove that the defect already existed on receipt of the goods, for example, by showing that it is due to the poor quality of the materials used.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Conniff

[Geronimo1]

Viking.

[Geronimo1]

Yes, it is very problematic with each legislation making interpretation a complicated matter.

 

I think that the failure of a component is a a defect. As I mentioned, I doubt I have printed more than 200 documents but without being able to switch it on, that might be difficult to prove.

 

It has not moved from the position it was placed the day I bought it and it has definitely not been misused - it still has the plastic film on the c]screen.

 

Having had a text chat with somebody at Viking, I am expecting a phone call. One thing I have at the moment is a lot of time on my hands, another is tenacity, so I will follow The Guardian Tesco television example.

[dx100uk]

even better mail order

so the old DSR rules also apply

 

 

Viking are usually very good.

 

 

you have of course already contacted them?

[Geronimo1]

I thought I should post an update as there has been quite a bit of activity since my last post but the matter is still far from settled.

 

As mentioned previously, Brother refused to assist as the printer was no longer under the manufacturer's 12 month warranty. I had a web chat conversation with a representative from Viking and they took my details saying that somebody from the customer services manager's office would be phoning me.

 

The next morning, I was contacted by somebody from Viking's customer service who was very pleasant and seemed to understand the grounds of my complaint and said that they would be dealing with it personally. They said that they would send me a courtesy printer which I could use until the matter was settled and the next day, a similar but slightly lower specified model of Brother printer was delivered. I also received an e-mail from Brother saying that they would send a courier to collect the printer for an inspection.

 

Everything seemed to be going quite well until I received an e-mail from Brother with a quote for repair, total: £78.00. I informed them that I would not be paying for the repair under any circumstances as it had been Viking who had requested the inspection. They also said that the fault was due to power supply failure (surprise, surprise!) and that whilst it had failed for no apparent reason, it was not a manufacturing defect. I responded by saying that that was the exact opposite of the conclusion I would have drawn from the given evidence; if there is no apparent cause for a component to fail, a manufacturing defect sounds like the most likely reason.

 

Brother only responded by reducing the quote to £54.00 and I reiterated that I was not going to pay for the repair and asked why, if Viking had instigated the inspection, they were contacting me and not them.

 

I was just told that they were returning the printer to me and I will await contact from Viking. I am sure they will be in touch because I still have their courtesy printer.

 

I should insert that the printer I returned was in pretty much pristine condition; it was spotless and has actually been in the same place in a clean environment since the day it arrived and I have been extremely careful with it.

 

I have discussed this with an IT friend who rephrased my logic over and over again, that if there is no evidence to indicate that the problem had an external cause, it must have been a manufacturing defect; i.e. a defective component. Maybe I am wrong but I don't believe that I am and I think that if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was alive today, he would agree with me.

[dx100uk]

yes so now off to Viking

and that person you have contact with .

 

 

dx

[Geronimo1]

You are right but I discovered that I have lost their number and it was withheld when they phoned so I may have to wait until they contact me - which they are bound to do to retrieve their printer, I suppose.

 

yes so now off to Viking

and that person you have contact with .

 

 

dx