Returning faulty goods

[MrPahoehoe]

Hello guys. I've got a question about returning a faulty purchase.

I bought a Creative Zen Vision:M in May and it started playing up in July. I've been in contact with Creative quite a bit and after following all the steps they suggested, which failed to resolve the issue, they asked me to send it back to them, which I duly did. A few days ago they sent me an email saying a replacement unit had been dispatched, which I received on Tuesday. I'm just listening to it at the minute and it seems like it is skipping a bit, which is the same problem the original one had, only it got progressively worse over time. I don't really have a problem with the company, other than a couple of things: the unit I got in return was not in comparable condition to the first, it looked dirty and had several large scratches (however this was only on the cover of the screen, so not really a major problem), it sort of looked like I might have been sent a device that they had received back from someone else and had repaired. The other problem was that I had to pay approximately a �5 to send it back to Creative. If this new device starts playing up properly, like the other one am I within my rights to ask for my money back rather than a replacement? The problem now is that I've lost faith in the device. Cheers!

[chijiki]

You may have one problem.
Did you purchase the item directly from Creative?
I'm guessing not.

Your contract, and rights, are with the seller of the item.
So if, for instance, you purchased the item from Tesco, then it is there that you should return if it turns out to be faulty.

[yummymummy]

Very true chijiki, but the problem is, the replacement has been supplied by the manufacturer directly, so he now has to deal with them because the original player that was bought from the retailer is not the item in question.

You can certainly try for a refund from Creative, and you could also try for refund from retailer. If you don't get anywhere I would suggest logging a case with Consumer Direct to get some advice and the possibility of Trading Standards helping you out if necessary.

[Eve]

Tr this...http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/guides_to/goods_ index.shtml

[MrPahoehoe]

Thanks for the replies

Ah right, so I�ve sort of shot myself in the foot there. The problem is Ebuyer is generally quite good although their returns process is awful, so I figured I�d get a new one from Creative. I can�t see Creative giving me a refund especially since they money they sold the player to Ebuyer for will be less than I�ve paid for it�.they�d actually loose money out of their own pocket by refunding me. Will Ebuyer have kept a record of the serial number of the player they sent to me do you think? I could just return it to Ebuyer and not mention that it�s a replacement player from Creative. I suppose that is a bit immoral, but Ebuyer did send me a faulty player in the first place & I�d be prepared to accept credit from Ebuyer rather than my money back, which I�d imagine might make them more likely to accept. What do you think?