BBc's The One show - sale of Goods Act.

[nara]

This is why when I get people approaching me saying this electrical item is no longer working I clearly state its the manufacturer that will repair or replace it for you and you have to contact them directly yourself.

So you lie to them?

 

[thebigman]

I had a customer who brought a dell laptop, almost 2 years old and she insisted to my fellow worker to fix her laptop for her free or replace it, he just told her we dont even repair laptops in the store and you would have to contact dell.... turns out she did but dell said its gone over 12 months so no can do/ ended up going to watchdog/consumer affairs etc etc and she got it replaced from our store and I was like wtf ! irony is she dropped the laptop and cracked the screen herself.

The point is after 6 months the onus is on the customer to prove that the product was defective. Her contract was with your store not dell. The 12 month manufacturer gaurentee is in addition to her statutoty rights not in place of them. Your store must have taken a business decision that it was easier and cheaper to replace hear laptop rather than defend a court action. in all likelyhood she would have lost her court case if she'd taken it that far but it would still have cost more to defend even as a small claim than to give her a new laptop.

Lying to customers may land you in trouble if it ever did end up in court.

thebigman

 

[RP4X]

So you lie to them?

Thats not a lie tough since we dont repair/replace it in the store ?

Even our stores internal help system states customer to ring manufacter on 0870 etc etc..... if customer complains we tell them just ring them theres the phone.

Any item you purchase is covered by the manufacturers warranty not the store, do you expect the 19 year old spotty guy in argos customer services to repair your xbox360 in front of you and give it back to you ?! No this isnt the case you ring MS and they fix it for you.

This is the issue, yes we do sell items but customers never listen or understand that we dont repair the actual item in the store, they too belive were lying or simply want it replaced.

But this is why stores small and big are taking such losses with returns and thats why were in such an economical state were in, obviously theres other more serious issues effecting too but its just one of them imo.

 

[RP4X]

The point is after 6 months the onus is on the customer to prove that the product was defective. Her contract was with your store not dell. The 12 month manufacturer gaurentee is in addition to her statutoty rights not in place of them. Your store must have taken a business decision that it was easier and cheaper to replace hear laptop rather than defend a court action. in all likelyhood she would have lost her court case if she'd taken it that far but it would still have cost more to defend even as a small claim than to give her a new laptop.

Lying to customers may land you in trouble if it ever did end up in court.

thebigman

Yes her contracts with the store and this is my dispute the law should be changed making it the manufacturers sole responsibility to repair/replace the unit if deemed unfit for its purpose, why should a store take responsibility if they cant repair the item.... let alone have any space or time to allocate on sorting it out?

How many pointless arguments have I seen where our customer service team are telling the customer we dont repair laptops....

Even I know all the customer wants is a shiny new model thats now got bluray and is cheaper and faster then there older model. 6 months after purchase.

Imo the laws need to be tighter and tougher so it protects the retailer more since in the case of our dell customer the customer has broken her laptop screen and 2 years later still managed to get a replacement, our manager then had to take a £800 loss to the company simply since the Law protects the customers rights or that we didnt want our name tarnished or to go thru courts, she could have been bluffing but then again every customer is now using this method and its killing us as a store.

Having said all of this even I can see nothing will change so its fine, am just gonna go along with the recession till theres no companies left and the price of a loaf is £15 lol

 

[nara]

Thats not a lie tough since we dont repair/replace it in the store

Sorry, but as thebigman and myself have pointed out, it is a lie.

You are trying to evade your responsiblities under the Sale of Goods act. The contract is between the retailer and the customer. It is the retailers's responsibility to liase with the manufacturer.

Do you really not realise that what you are telling customers could land you in legal trouble?

 

[RP4X]

Sorry, but as thebigman and myself have pointed out, it is a lie.

You are trying to evade your responsiblities under the Sale of Goods act. The contract is between you and the customer. It is your responsibility to liase with the manufacturer.

Do you really not realise that what you are telling customers could land you in legal trouble?

Well I disagree its not a lie since we dont repair the item in the store, sure we can provide assistance over the phone and give them all the details to get it repaired/replaced but thats as much as any human being can do.

Can you imagine if we did things by Sales of goods act/Law and every customer that returned to our customer services desk with there electrical item we would be booking it in every 5 minutes of the day lol its just not possible, and its not my store that does things this way....

Every electrical item will have a warranty and any warranty paperwork on the 1st or last page will detail what happens if my item no longer works followed by a phone number.

Did the same too my hotpoint washing machine, It was playing up so phoned the number which was printed on the front of it and wallah guy came round and sorted it out, theres no way Im gonna attempt to return that to Argos like most of the Joe public does lol

Dont get me wrong its nice to say right I have a warranty ill just go back to the store and let them sort it out.... but thats the wrong attitude and yes the Sale of Goods act allows one to do this but imo needs to be changed big time to protect companies also it should be the customers taking responsibility to contact the manufacter/repairer not the Store after all if they break there item or download 500 viruses on there laptop or they dont know how to use there item, why should it be the stores responsibility to deal with there mess ?

Ive very rarely taken an item thats faulty back to the store, ive always contacted the manufacturer or the number on the reciept if they say only store can exchange/repair it I make sure I take there name/department or Ref number down, the way I see it I doubt very much the 17 year old girl at Currys Customer services is going to repair my Sweeper with a screwdriver/spare parts ready so why should I make it her responsibility or give her headache no thankyou !

 

[Kruger]

But this is why stores small and big are taking such losses with returns and thats why were in such an economical state were in, obviously theres other more serious issues effecting too but its just one of them imo.

No way, let me get this correct, and correct me if i am wrong here,

You think that ppl returning faulty goods is the reason why we are in a recession?

m8 dont take this as an insult, this aint me trying to be cheeky, but if you really think that, you must be one of those spotty teenagers you refer to in your post.

so what protection would you give the consumer?

so any retailer can sell anything what they want at any price without fear of a comeback?

Allthough your work in retail m8, you are most defiantly also a customer, so its there to protect you also.

if companies sold items at reasonable prices instead of trying to wrip every penny off the consumer maybe things would have been different.

 

[thebigman]

Any item you purchase is covered by the manufacturers warranty not the store, do you expect the 19 year old spotty guy in argos customer services to repair your xbox360 in front of you and give it back to you ?! No this isnt the case you ring MS and they fix it for you.

This sort of poor customer service is why the consumer needs protection. As i have already said the manufacturers warranty is in addition to their protection under the sale of goods act, it does not replace it. It is the stores resposability to put processes into place to handle repairs, a fact most of the big chains choose to ignore and fob people off.

thebigman

 

[RP4X]

No way, let me get this correct, and correct me if i am wrong here,

You think that ppl returning faulty goods is the reason why we are in a recession?

m8 dont take this as an insult, this aint me trying to be cheeky, but if you really think that, you must be one of those spotty teenagers you refer to in your post.

so what protection would you give the consumer?

so any retailer can sell anything what they want at any price without fear of a comeback?

Allthough your work in retail m8, you are most defiantly also a customer, so its there to protect you also.

if companies sold items at reasonable prices instead of trying to wrip every penny off the consumer maybe things would have been different.

oh its not due too faulty goods its cover letters and customers taking advantage of consumer rights/Sale of goods act thats crippling companies.

Just like a previous member on here said hes with a small company and this is gonna effect his business, I was just saying this also effects all businesses small and large, you see its the store that takes this hit and money loss.

Protection I would give to customer is the usual 12 months manufacturer warranty but that is as standard with any item brought....

Lucky for myself if people belive im wrong thats the way it is and only till your yourself working behind the desk of customer services be it in Argos or Currys then you too will belive in exactly what I say, Im not in anyway saying if somethings faulty dont return it that would be silly... im just saying they should follow the manufacturers return policy and contact the stores "support line" to find out what can be done 1st. It should never be the case where a customer needs to go back to the store, perhaps if only for advise or if they have told to go back for a specific reason.

The Law definatly aint protecting myself or the store.... just in the case of customers getting what they want, the coverletters on here proove just that lol

If somethings overpriced you can easily shop else where, and I think our prices are good considering in our store its no different to currys prices/

 

[RP4X]

This sort of poor customer service is why the consumer needs protection. As i have already said the manufacturers warranty is in addition to their protection under the sale of goods act, it does not replace it. It is the stores resposability to put processes into place to handle repairs, a fact most of the big chains choose to ignore and fob people off.

thebigman

Well whichever way its seen upon I dont belive its a lye or poor customer services, how could it ever be if we dont repair the item in the store ?

Just like comet or currys our store too simply gives a help line and for our own dedicated hardware we offer a 24 hr help line service, hows that for quality customer services. If they cant fix it over the phone they simply collect it and offer a free repair services.

Regardless of this debate, even I know its gonna be the same outcome we will always have people that will go the distance use an item for 9 months, claim its not working and fit for its "purpose" only took them 9 months to figure that out lol they will come back quote a few rules and get consumer protections or give us this lovely cover letter and blah blah there way till they get a new item even if its simply due to them seeing a newer "model" on the store lol

 

[mmg]

Cheers for this, useful for my 1 and a bit month old xbox which has died

 

[Mick]

We have been contacted by the BBC about the rights over there letters and from now on you will need to use the BBC site to download these letters.... They was very polite and gave me a link to use as direct replacement for the letters that have been uploaded.

So I will adjust the first post and place the link instead of the letters.

BBC - Consumer: Don't be fobbed off: Sale of Goods Act - letter download

Above is the link that I have been given to use.

Regards
Mickie D

 

[Kruger]

As long as peeps still get the info

 

[Auldtam]

I used this letter last week but I dont think it will work...I bought an LG freeview portable tv for my elderly mother less than 6 months ago.. last week the screen just went grey all of a sudden but the sound still works...(she has dementia so I had to go and buy a replacement immediatley)...I then took the broken set back to the Comet shop I bought it from and they tried to fob me off with all the jargon...I asked for the manager but it was her day off...I handed over the letter but they refused to take the tv...I received a phone call the next day from the manager and she told me I would need to bring in the tv (AGAIN) as they were entitled to have their engineer inspect the tv before taking it any further...I took it back a couple of days later and ODDLY enough it was the managers day off again...they took the tv and said they would contact me on 2nd August as that was the first date their engineer could look at it...(this would take it over the 6 months by a few days)...so now im waiting on the phone call...I'll let you know what happens...

Regarding some of the posts above...The Law is the Law and we all have to abide by it nomatter how unfair we think it is...I paid £200 for a portable tv to use for an hour or so each evening in a bedroom so I expect it to last more than 6 months!!

If retailers think they are being treated unfairly why are they not doing something about it...Im sure Comet, PC World and the like can jointly afford to challenge it if small retailers cant...

 

[nara]

...I asked for the manager but it was her day off...I handed over the letter but they refused to take the tv..

You just need the manager's name. You then send the letter, recorded delivery, to the manager. You then have proof and date of posting, and delivery is recorded also. If they then refuse to act, you have them by the legal short and curlies.

 

[Kruger]

You just need the manager's name. You then send the letter, recorded delivery, to the manager. You then have proof and date of posting, and delivery is recorded also. If they then refuse to act, you have them by the legal short and curlies.

i wouldnt send it recorded m8, aint worth the paper it written on, even royal mail will tell you that.

it only signd at the end and sometime not even signd, Send it special delivery, each person who take control of the letter has to sign for it, so it royal gurentee them.

 

[shuggabug1]

just been reading a few of these post,,,ive recently witnessed the death of my ps3 60GB model (YLOD) It was out of warranty,, the only help sony wanted to give me was was refurbing it for a charge of £150,, i was adament that i didnt have to pay this due to the fact that this was a commen prob with these older models ..the power units consumed more power and caused them to overheat quicker than the 40 and 80 GB models.

I explained to the unhelpful guy that microsoft had great customer services when this happened with the 360 (RLOD). They extended all consoles warrantys to 3 years. he didint want to know.

I was left with a big paper weight that was supposed to be next generation, sony announced that it was a ten year machine,, ha i only got 2 years out of it, i wasnt going to pay a further £150 on top of the £425 i payed for it, £575 for a two year machine.

i was told about the (sales of goods act) i sent a letter to gamesation
the guy phoned me straight away and said he would replace it with the 80GB model plus exchange my old six axis for a shiny new dual shock

only prob was i didnt have my reciept,,,he tried to track my sale by looking for the bundle i bought but becuase i couldnt remember the exact games he wasnt going to do the exchange..

he then said if i scratch his back he will scratch mines..
he explained that he gets monitored and has to make up 30% of warranty sales
if i buy two off him then that would tie my console to tha store and then we could do the exchange..

40 quid and 10mins later i was walking out the shop with a new playstation.

thats what i call customer service!! cheers gamestation guy

 

[Firemouth]

as already pointed out whilst the sales of goods act is good for the consumer, i suspect it is another story for the retailer. The sales of good act should have something in place where the company that produced the goods have to make good the item in question, or accept it back through the retailer.

Speaking to someone who owns a small electrical outlet they said that it is near impossible getting the companies to take back faulty stock out of Waranty. which would mean in this case they would have to burden the cost.

if the cost of running your business, and that includes, following the Sale of Goods act, is too much, then your business should fold! or, perhaps the owner should drive a Fiesta, rather than a Audi or BMW.

While its a great idea, and considering I work for for a major retailer superstore its gonna make my job 10x harder due to this letter !

And I hate to say it considering the Credit crunch were in proberly will end up closing it down.

Its a nice idea that if your product is not working or fit for its purpose to simply go back to the place and get a new one or full refund but its the company that takes that direct hit, not the manufacturer and we dont even get our money back in most cases or times !

This is why when I get people approaching me saying this electrical item is no longer working I clearly state its the manufacturer that will repair or replace it for you and you have to contact them directly yourself, this obviously leeds to a petty debate/argument since the customer never wants to do this.

The point im making is this letter only makes matters worser not only for smaller businesses but for bigger as well !
imagine someone buys a laptop and crashes it since they download a virus are they now entitled to come back to the store 11 months later and get a refund of £499 when there laptop only now cost £399.99 ?

Theres a new law apparantly passed which I need to double check on but the sale of goods act may apply to items within 2 years purchase not just 12 months.

I had a customer who brought a dell laptop, almost 2 years old and she insisted to my fellow worker to fix her laptop for her free or replace it, he just told her we dont even repair laptops in the store and you would have to contact dell.... turns out she did but dell said its gone over 12 months so no can do/ ended up going to watchdog/consumer affairs etc etc and she got it replaced from our store and I was like wtf ! irony is she dropped the laptop and cracked the screen herself.

This is why were in a recession and why so many companies small and big are closing down....

Soz about the rant lol

roud:

its not a new law! first part dates ack to the late 70's and the rest came in late 80's. the only change recently is the SIX month rule. this too retailers are lying about, claiming you need to prove an, existing, fault. if an item goes faulty in the first six month. it is "assumed" it was faulty on sale. Currys digital also claim their responsibility for goods sold is only 28 days!

Well whichever way its seen upon I dont belive its a lye or poor customer services, how could it ever be if we dont repair the item in the store ?

Just like comet or currys our store too simply gives a help line and for our own dedicated hardware we offer a 24 hr help line service, hows that for quality customer services. If they cant fix it over the phone they simply collect it and offer a free repair services.

Regardless of this debate, even I know its gonna be the same outcome we will always have people that will go the distance use an item for 9 months, claim its not working and fit for its "purpose" only took them 9 months to figure that out lol they will come back quote a few rules and get consumer protections or give us this lovely cover letter and blah blah there way till they get a new item even if its simply due to them seeing a newer "model" on the store lol

so you lie. that's why these rules are made. your "people will always try to rip the retailer off" is lame, at best. what you are saying is "stuff" the law, we will do it this way. shame that wont work. perhaps you should read the sale of good act, before you state its implementation is wrong. understanding the truth, not what currys/dixons/pcworld say, might help you.

 

[shuggabug1]

although i had to take the road of the sales of good act and claim from gamstation and im happy with the results..

I do however agree that this isnt fair for the retailers..there should b a law added so that retailers can use the sales of goods act on the manufacturers as its there fucking fault people have to do this(genuine ppl) anyway..

due to the law being for consumers and not retailers they have the money and power to stop little companys cliaming from them,,,its there stupid fualts that these wee companys lose thousands of pounds every year

 

[ollieking]

awesome far too many people are fobbed off by companies, sony spring to mind, with ps3's faulty at 13 months, something that expensive should be replaced or repaired free of charge imo!!

Heya - I do believe yeah that there is some sort of reasonable expectancy terms in things that are sold - but people just don't know about it, and companies of course don't mention it. So if you do buy something expensive that goes wrong, then I would always suggest asking the company, and quoting the suitable act