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Our Sony TV which we bought at the beginning of the year went phut today. So tonight I took it back to the shop we bought it from. The lady at the desk was very helpful but warned me that as it was a Sony TV they might insist on dealing directly with me rather than the retailer. Has anybody else experienced this? She is going to try and return it for repair tomorrow but wanted to give me the heads up. Can this be right? Can Sony insist on dealing with me rather than the shop? She thought it might mean me having to go into the shop and taking the TV home so Sony can collect it from us. Surely this is more trouble for them as well as being more inconvenient for us. I thought my contract was with the retailer?
It is with the shop
I would just remind Sony of this if they contact you
Then again being arsey [ though you do have a point and i dont mean it to sound harsh ]with them is unlikely to help or speed up the process
A manufacturer insisting on dealing with a customer direct - that sounds pretty decent to me ..
It would be if I hadn't already taken the TV back to the shop.
Your contract is with the shop not Sony. It might be preferable to deal direct and cut out the middle man, but legally they can't [i]insist[/i] on anything of the sort.
Is it inside six months old? You have more rights if so.
Repair? I'd want a replacement or refund.
Isn't it: Sale of goods lies with the shop, warranty is manufacturer (though often the shop acts as intermediary)
My understanding of soga is that if you're beyond 6 months, then I think you have to demonstrate that there's an inherent fault (and I guess manufacturer may be allowed it back to try to show that you or your expert are wrong).
If you're before then, the shop would have to either show that there's no inherent fault or that you misused it.
Course, in either case the shop may choose to do that by relying on the manufacturer's experts to examine it, and you may just save a bit of time by going direct
Warranty is goodwill/PR on behalf of the manufacturer, though a shop which has good relations with them might give an immediate exchange and then go back to the manufacturer for a restock
Repair? I'd want a replacement or refund.
What you want has no bearing on what you're entitled to, sadly.
We had a laptop fail, the (internet) supplier put us in touch with Samsung's authorised repair company, who dealt with us direct. I would imagine something similar will probably happen with your TV - the shop starts the process but then you deal direct with the repair company. They'll probably arrange to collect it from you.
Infact, we just did it all through Samsung's website - registered the product there then claimed for a warranty repair (twice!).
Note that you have up to 6 years warranty right under UK rules also. Doesn't mean you'll get it, but if there is an inherent fault and not something that's accepted to typically break within that time then you have a right to get it repaired or replaced under warranty.
You have to fight it though and many shops and manufacturers will attempt to fob you off or deny the law exists.
Your rights override the manufacturer's warranty which will be a 1 year or something like that and usually someone will try to make you pay for more. Don't get fobbed off either by "you didn't register the warranty, we can't help you". Your rights are not affected by registering or not.
But end of the day, yes the contract is with the retailer. If you are passed onto the manufacturer they can happily refuse this and that and you have no leg to stand on with them as there's no consumer law to back you up. The retailer yes.
If it's within the manufacturer warranty period though I'd be okay with dealing with them.
I had something similar with one of them floor steamers from Curries. Item was about 6mths old and went caput. I stood in front of the assistant whilst she tried to fob me off with the number for Vax to report the fault. I refused and said I didn't buy the item off Vax, I bought it off you. She refused to do anything so I asked for the manager. He gave the same line and still refused to take it back. I then mentioned I bought it with credit card and my next call was to get a refund through that channel. They then suggested they would call Vax on my behalf while I was there. Again they tried to pass the phone to me which I refused. Evenetually they got to the point where Vax asked for the item to be sent back to them. I again refused and said that they can have the item, my phone number and let me know when they have my floor steamer ready to collect and walked out. 3wks later they called and asked me to come and collect a brand new floor steamer. I think they had lost mine tbh.
At the end of the day if something is so new, I refuse to have to deal with anyone other than the person I purchased from. I use credit card specifically for the purpose of being able to get my money back easier.
When my son had problem's with his Ps3 all the warranty stuff was done directly with Sony not the shop.
if the shop handled it you'd still have to pick it up, wouldn't you?
Yes. They'd call me to let me know and I'd pick it up when I could. The shop is open til 8pm most nights, they don't have to stay open for me. If I have to take time off work to stay at home and wait for somebody to collect/deliver it then that is a lot more hassle than the half hour round trip to the shop.