ChatterBank1 min ago
faulty camera?
Hi all..... just wondering if anyone knows where we stand here...
bought a camera just over a month ago... havent used it much but noticed there were a few lights flashing from the very beginning but didnt know what they were.
We are going to see a football match this week and were trying to fix the flashing lights which we couldnt do, so we took it back to the store where the guy who looked at it said that it was a fault and had been there since we bought it, we were then told that because our 30 days was up wew were not due a refund and that it had to be sent back under the manufacturers warrenty...
We think that we should be due a refund as we took the contract of sale out with the shop and not the manufacturer and were sold faulty goods... can anyone clear this up for us as we would really like the camera for this week..... Thanks
bought a camera just over a month ago... havent used it much but noticed there were a few lights flashing from the very beginning but didnt know what they were.
We are going to see a football match this week and were trying to fix the flashing lights which we couldnt do, so we took it back to the store where the guy who looked at it said that it was a fault and had been there since we bought it, we were then told that because our 30 days was up wew were not due a refund and that it had to be sent back under the manufacturers warrenty...
We think that we should be due a refund as we took the contract of sale out with the shop and not the manufacturer and were sold faulty goods... can anyone clear this up for us as we would really like the camera for this week..... Thanks
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Haven't got my text books with me but google 'Sale of Goods Act 1979' sections 13 and 14 I think......
A product or 'good' has to:
1) match its description
2) be fit for the purpose intended for it
3)be of merchantable quality
It is assumed that after a period which is nowhere actually specified that you have 'accepted' the goods and have no recourse to the law. Nowhere is 'thirty days' specified in the law. One could also successfully argue that the period varies between products.
Further, it is impled in the third condition above that goods will have a certain durability: this too will vary. Whereas (I think) a camera might be expected to last five years or so at least, a pair of socks would not be expected to.
The thirty days that your vendor refers to is totally arbitrary and I think you would have a good case at the small claims court. Try again with him and quote the Sale of Goods Act, and lightly threaten him with court action. This may wake him up a little bit. You may have your camera within the week.... you never know. The small claims procedure has expressly been set up for Joe Public so don't be daunted by the thought of it. Go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau for help with starting small claims actions. Trust me, I'm a lawyer.
Espiegle
A product or 'good' has to:
1) match its description
2) be fit for the purpose intended for it
3)be of merchantable quality
It is assumed that after a period which is nowhere actually specified that you have 'accepted' the goods and have no recourse to the law. Nowhere is 'thirty days' specified in the law. One could also successfully argue that the period varies between products.
Further, it is impled in the third condition above that goods will have a certain durability: this too will vary. Whereas (I think) a camera might be expected to last five years or so at least, a pair of socks would not be expected to.
The thirty days that your vendor refers to is totally arbitrary and I think you would have a good case at the small claims court. Try again with him and quote the Sale of Goods Act, and lightly threaten him with court action. This may wake him up a little bit. You may have your camera within the week.... you never know. The small claims procedure has expressly been set up for Joe Public so don't be daunted by the thought of it. Go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau for help with starting small claims actions. Trust me, I'm a lawyer.
Espiegle
We got a digital camcorder off Jessops one time and it messed up after less than a month and they said the same. They took it away and ended up losing it. It took me 3 months to get it sorted, eventually I ended up ringing their complaints dept. and insisted on a refund including the insurance.
My advice to anyone since would be to use Argos because they are cheaper and they will give a stright swap new for old on faulty goods within the first year, usually no questions asked.
My advice to anyone since would be to use Argos because they are cheaper and they will give a stright swap new for old on faulty goods within the first year, usually no questions asked.
You're correct in stating that your rights are with the retailer, not the manufacturer.
Your right to a refund (rather than to a repair or replacement) only lasts until the point when you've legally 'accepted' the goods. This period isn't defined in law but, for something like a camera, it might normally only be a few days. (i.e. long enough to get the camera home and to check that everything seems to be in order).
Thereafter, the retailer is obliged to repair or replace the item for 6 years after purchase, if a defect occurs which is due to an inherent fault. (i.e. something which was actually wrong with the item at the time of purchase, such as poor quality components or workmanship). For the first 6 months after purchase, there's an automatic assumption (unless there is clear evidence to the contrary) that any defect is due to an inherent fault. (Thereafter, the purchaser has to show, based upon the balance of probabilities, that an inherent fault is the most likely cause of the defect).
Many retailers choose to define the 'pre-acceptance period' as 30 days because it lays down clear guidelines for their staff and, in most cases, is far longer than the few days that the law would normally require. (So the retailer can truthfully say that 'your statutory rights are not affected').
However, the fact that a member of staff has agreed that the fault has been present since purchase would seem to be an admission that you were never in a position to 'accept' the goods as meeting the required standard. If so, irrespective of the time which has elapsed, your right to a refund remains in place.
Chris
Your right to a refund (rather than to a repair or replacement) only lasts until the point when you've legally 'accepted' the goods. This period isn't defined in law but, for something like a camera, it might normally only be a few days. (i.e. long enough to get the camera home and to check that everything seems to be in order).
Thereafter, the retailer is obliged to repair or replace the item for 6 years after purchase, if a defect occurs which is due to an inherent fault. (i.e. something which was actually wrong with the item at the time of purchase, such as poor quality components or workmanship). For the first 6 months after purchase, there's an automatic assumption (unless there is clear evidence to the contrary) that any defect is due to an inherent fault. (Thereafter, the purchaser has to show, based upon the balance of probabilities, that an inherent fault is the most likely cause of the defect).
Many retailers choose to define the 'pre-acceptance period' as 30 days because it lays down clear guidelines for their staff and, in most cases, is far longer than the few days that the law would normally require. (So the retailer can truthfully say that 'your statutory rights are not affected').
However, the fact that a member of staff has agreed that the fault has been present since purchase would seem to be an admission that you were never in a position to 'accept' the goods as meeting the required standard. If so, irrespective of the time which has elapsed, your right to a refund remains in place.
Chris
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