TV out of warranty

[ELVIS68]

Last year I had an insurance claim on my TV and was offered a replacement or an upgrade so I opted for an upgrade and paid �380 towards it.

I got a 37" LG lcd which came with a years warranty, 2 months after the warranty ran out the set packed up, I contacted my insurers and they said it`s down to the suppliers who in turn said it`s down to LG

I had an engineer inspect the set and he said the fault was caused by a power surge and is uneconomical to repair and that I can claim from the insurance

I put in a claim and the insurers had their engineers inspect the set and they said the fault was caused by "Natural causes by an electrical component failure through usage and age" and therefore comes under wear and tear and is not covered

I sent a letter to LG with the 2 engineers reports but they said it`s nothing to do with them, I then contacted Trading Standards who told me that although the set is out of warranty it is down to the suppliers of the set to either repair or replace the set under the Sales Of Goods Act 1979

I`ve now sent the suppliers a letter which Trading Standards emailed me and I`m now awaiting their reply

Anyone else had this happen or anything similar?

[know-noknow]

i wish my tv was outta the room at the minute !

[romko]

these sets die like flies, you'd bet better off cutting your losses and getting a decent CRT set by the likes of Toshiba, hitachi, Mitsubishi or Panasonic second hand for peanuts! Far more reliable and repairable in my experience. I know this doesn't help your present situation though. Personally I WOULD EXPECT A NEW SET TO LAST AT LEAST 5 YEARS, (oops caps lock stayed on!) ...get on LG's back. sale of goods act?

[Buenchico]

Don't bother 'getting on LG's back', as Romko suggests.

It's the retailer (not the manufacturer) who is legally responsible for remedying any product failure which is due to an inherent fault. (i.e. something which was wrong with the product at the time of purchase, such as the use of poor quality components or poor manufacturing standards).

The retailer remains responsible for remedying any such problems for a minimum of 6 years after the sale of the product. During the first 6 months after purchase, there's an automatic assumption (unless there's clear evidence to the contrary) that any problem must be due to an inherent fault. Thereafter, it's up to the purchaser to show that (based upon the balance of probabilities) an inherent fault is the most likely cause of the problem. So you should use the second technical report to show that the TV was sold to you with poor quality components inside it and demand a repair or replacement from the retailer.

Chris

[ELVIS68]

Thanks Chris, I nearly gave up hope until I contacted Trading Standards and they said no-one would take the blame, but as you said it`s down to the suppliers

I`m just p!ssed off that my TV packed up after 14 months and although it only cost me �380..it was supposedly worth over �800

Will they act now that Trading Standards are aware of this?

[Buenchico]

Just keep hassling.

Keep on using the phrase 'inherent fault'.

Keep on saying 'I'm sure that a court would rule in my favour . . ."

Keep on mentioning Trading Standards.

Make lots of references to the media. (e.g. "I know a guy at the Bogsrown News who'd be interested in this" and/or "There's a programme on Radio 4 called 'You and Yours'. I wonder what they'd say about this?".

He who hassles usually wins. He who stands back usually loses.

Chris

[ELVIS68]

I`ll wait and see what reply they give to my letter, I gave them 10 days to reply so fingers crossed they might act now that Trading Standards are aware

When I spoke to the suppliers on the phone proir to Trading Standards being involved they just said because it`s out of warranty it`s out of their hands

I`ll let you know the outcome, thanks again

[ELVIS68]

Chris, latest update is they never replied to my letter so I contacted Trading Standards again and they told me to write to the insurance company and the suppliers saying that if they cannot sort something out amicably then I`ll take legal action against them both jointly and severally