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anyone seen this little gem?
Shoppers are being sold short when expensive electrical goods break down. If a TV or fridge packs up just one day after an initial one-year guarantee, customers are told they have to pay for the repair – but the truth is that retailers may be liable for up to six years.
Consumer experts say retailers are exploiting ambiguous legislation to wriggle out of their responsibilities. Ministers, however, claim the law is quite clear. The Sale of Goods Act offers protection against faulty goods even when the manufacturer’s guarantee has run out. The act says goods must last a reasonable time – and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase.
The steps you can take
1. Contact the retailer’s head office: You won’t get any joy from youthful shop staff or call centres. Be firm and explain you think your product hasn’t lasted a reasonable amount time. You want it to be investigated and repaired, or replaced if it turns out to be faulty.
2. Get an independent report: A major retailer is likely to have its own repairs centre or an arrangement with the manufacturer, but this may result in sky-high call out charges. Contact an independent repairer and ask it to produce a report. Most of the independents we contacted charged between £30 and £40 to visit and many would write a short report as part of the cost. You can claim back up to £200 for the costs of the repairer’s bill.
3. Commission a repair: Ask the retailer to repair or replace the goods. If the repair cost is disproportionate the retailer can offer a refund of the original purchase price, though probably not a full refund. If the shop makes life difficult you can ask go to an independent repairer and reclaim the whole cost. Make sure they provide evidence of the fault.
4. Be prepared to battle: The company could refuse to refund the repair cost, leaving you to chase them through the small claims court. A judge can order the retailer to settle the claim – up to £5,000 – and pay legal costs. For information on taking a case to the small claims court, read our guide published last week (guardian.co.uk/money). Consumer Direct is the government’s new online and telephone advice line. Call an adviser on 08454 04 05 06.
The Department of Trade & Industry says the rules are clear and as long as you have evidence of a fault the judge will be sympathetic. But David Oughton, professor of consumer law at De Montfort University in Leicester, says an EU Directive has muddied the waters. “The presumption underlying the new rules is that you have two years to make a case.” He says judges may override the old rules giving protection up to six years.
A spokeswoman for the DTI says: “There is a common misunderstanding that the EU Directive requires a two-year guarantee to be given, but that is not the case. UK law in practice provides better protection for consumers than the two-year minimum required by the EU – consumers are able to pursue relevant claims for up to six years (five in Scotland).”Frightening for those of us that sell products.
Any comments would be appreciated.Re: Six Year Guarantee
The origin of the clip you have posted would be interesting as a starter. Daily paper, trade mag etc?
The ‘reasonable period of time’ has been around for many, many years now.Re: Six Year Guarantee
sorry should have said…..orginated in “The Guardian” and reproduced in ” The Week”.
With information originall quoted from Which.you can read the article here:
Re: Six Year Guarantee
This was first raised by “Which” magazine back in Feb 2001 or 2002 cant remember off hand (have copy in my office)
It was more concerned at that time with customers being sold unrequired extended warranty, and being given mis-information by the retailer.It is not something new. However what I can not understand is
” The act says goods must last a reasonable time – and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase.”Which in England is 6 years but in Scotland is 5 years 🙄
Re: Six Year Guarantee
It goes back a little further than that.
This is really just the Groaniad 😉 rehashing old news.( 1979 updated in 2002)
http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/facts … odsact.htm
It really depends on how loud you shout, and for how long.
Re: Six Year Guarantee
‘reasonable period of time’
Hmmmm! 😕 That’s kinda open to interpertation.
I thought I once heard that washing machines were designed to last 500 washes. If you wash everyday, that’s 18 months! Sound familiar?
Re: Six Year Guarantee
It is ambiguous IMO.
Yes there is greater consumer protection in the UK as opposed to Europe, that is correct but the implication of the article is that you have a six year warranty on every bit of electrical equipment which is clearly wrong and could not be supported by retailers or manufacturers. The law states that the goods have to last a “reasonable period”, now you have to also consider the cost of the goods as well as the use to which it was put.
For example, take a bog standard cheapo Indesit washer. Wash in that two times a day for a family of five for five days a week. That’s (as GB was getting at) 260 washes per year so if it fails at 18 months it’s done about 390 washes and been running for about 741 hours. That equates to a cost of about £0.24 per hour or £0.46 per wash in machine use terms based on a purchase price of £180. By most people’s standards that’s pretty cheap and, inline with the purchase price.
When you work out say a Bosch or ISE the cost of ownership will drop still further as they last longer but, if it came to defending a failure after a couple of years, it’s not actually that hard once things are put into perspective.
I think the Gaurdian was struggling for a story this time around as this is old news and I’ve not heard of many cases being taken to court on this part of the legislation.
My understanding is that this is to protect against consumers being expected to pay for what is a design flaw from manufacture, not to insulate them from the cost of fair wear and tear as well as the occasional component failure.
K.
Re: Six Year Guarantee
OK Chaps that covers the problem of explaining to past customers who may pick up on this sort of thing.
But it would be great if these articles actually explained things as KWATT has.
Instead they just get headline grabbing stories which at the least are misleading….I guess that is the way all news in general is reported though!!!!!still intersting too see it is basically a re-hash of old news.
many thanks for your comments
Dave
Re: Six Year Guarantee
I’ve just spend 2 weeks researching this. The 6 years (5 in Scotland) refers to the length of time you have from the date of purchase to take the seller to court. In other words, if you want to take the seller to court, and 6 (or 5) years have passed it’s too late.
You still have to prove that the product was not fit for its purpose, or was inherently faulty such as with a design fault that caused a failure (even) years after purchase. In practice, a very small percentage of people are prepared to go to court.
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It’s worth remembering also that the seller has rights against where they bought it from too so in the case of an adjudged faulty design, the trader has a cast iron case against the manufacturer (or wholesaler) too.
Also, I wonder if product liability insurance covers claims like this? I would not sell washing machines without being covered by product liability insurance – which is different to public liability insurance.
Re: Six Year Guarantee
It is amazing what gets thrown up in the course of discussions on this forum. I had never considered Product Liability Insurance for the retail side of our business!!!
Perhaps it is already included in our all in policy??
I will check with my insurers
Perhaps anyone else reading this who retails appliances can confirm if they have this type of cover?
I presume this would cover us for damages etc caused by the actual product we had supplied?Re: Six Year Guarantee
Yes, it covers you for damge or injury caused by a product you manufacture or sell.
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