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BFG Manufacturer's Warranty RMA Service... Those cheeky ****s
- Thread starter Heofz
- Start date
Nice of you to run to the internet before giving BFG the chance to reply!
As long as he's just as quick reporting when they fix it.
The problem is, he now has absolutely no legal rights at all, because rather than sending the card back to the place he bought it from (the place he has the UK legally binding contract with) he sent it to the manufacturer in the USA and therefore let the original retailer off the hook unless they explicitly told him to send it to the USA as part of their RMA process.
So he's now totally at the mercy of BFG. Clever retailers eh? Shift all your warranty issues off onto the purchaser and the original manufacturer. Maximise profits and reduce staff workload.
Unless you bought something over 12 months ago, or second hand, you should never, ever, RMA anything directly back to the manufacturer.
BFG can now blow the OP a complete raspberry and all he can do is wipe the spit off his face.
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Nov 2007
- Posts
- 5,581
- Location
- London
go outside, find some annoying person and kill him, it will make you feel better
What could their possible replies be? I have the proof right here of their bad deeds. What are they going to do, deny they reduced the clock speed despite me having proof? The only way they can attempt to save face is by apologising and offering to fix the problem in a rapid manner.
If I wasn't this vigilant they would've got away with it, so they already did the unforgivable, hence my "running to the internet".
Sorry mate, but this is simply not true. The very box that the graphics card came with explicitly offers a 10 year manufacturer's warranty, providing I register the card with BFG, which I did. So I'm not at the mercy of anybody; I have the full power of consumer law behind me, should BFG refuse to co-operate. And like N19h7m4r3 said, I'm dealing with the BFG office in Wales, not the US.
lol @ this. Sorry but this is also totally wrong
They might claim not to, but consumer law dictates that they must, as the contract exists solely between the customer and OcUK. If there is a manufacturer's warranty, that is simply an added bonus and it is up to the customer to choose who deals with the RMA. OCUK has no legal rights whatsoever to force the customer to deal only with the manufacturer. This is 100% illegal, but unfortunately many e-tailers try it anyway.
Actually, you have given up your legal rights and you are now reliant on the terms of the BFG warranty, which is offered at BFG's discretion, in addition to your legal rights ie. for the first 12 months, take it back where you bought it. BFG do not assume the part of the retailer in this. Your legal rights under the CPA apply only to your contract with the retailer. If you're now not happy with BFG, what can you do? I have a solicitor and she's reasonably certain that if BFG now decline to offer you anything better, you don't have any choice but to sue in the small claims court to get recompense. If you had gone through the retailer you would have been able to bring a TSO in to apply pressure to the retailer.
lol @ this. Sorry but this is also totally wrong
No, it's correct. Your legal rights are based on the Consumer Protection Act and the amendments to it, but you have voluntarily stepped outside that and you're dealing with a manufacturer's own warranty. If you're not happy with the response under their warranty claim, what aspect of the CPA will you be relying on? The CPA applies only to the contract between you and the retailer. If the manufacturer's warranty isn't as good as the protection the CPA would have given you, you will not be able to do anything about it, as you have chosen to take the manufacturer's warranty rather than the cover offered by the retailer under their legal obligations.
Yes, and the manufacturer is not legally bound to meet the terms of the CPA if they have voluntarily extended the contract. Your RMA with BFG is not covered by the CPA. What does it say in the small print of the BFG contract? My betting is there's an F-off clause in there somewhere.
Maybe under Irish consumer legislation, but not in the UK (including NI).
I will be relying on the sales of goods act 1979:
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 said:
Note the words "addition" and "extension" are used, as opposed to "substitute". I have not forfeited anything by going directly to BFG.
Also with regards to this:
Firstly there is no "contract" per se. The 10 year warranty is implicit with ownership of the graphics card, subject to registration of the product (the process of which involves no signing of any terms or contracts). And secondly, let's say for argument's sake there was a contract, such an "F-off clause" would be an unfair term in this contract and therefore would not be recognised by any authority anyway. Surely your lawyer friend would know this?
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I have done this many times before so this is not a problem for me, should it come to that. So I've hardly "given up" my legal rights have I?
So either way I could end up contacting an authority and forcing the company to sort my stuff out? This is hardly a case of "BFG can now blow me a complete raspberry and all I can do is wipe the spit off my face", is it?
What you wheel her out for such hotly debated moments such as this...
Sorry just had to lighten the mood. 
My understanding is your first point of call should be the retailer unless their website/receipt or email states otherwise, only then should your next point of call be the manufacturer. Although the fact it’s under clocked and not as advertised does weigh heavy in OP’s favour when dealing with BFG.
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The thing is, I bought the card from OcUK. I knew they'd just try to refer me to the manufacturer instead of deal with it themselves, and while I know that OcUK are legally responsible as the retailer, I couldn't be bothered to argue with them, plus they don't have any in stock so I'd have to either wait or accept an inferior substitute. Because of these reasons I decided to use the "quick and painless" RMA method.
For anyone to claim that by doing so I have forfeited all my rights as a consumer obviously doesn't know the law very well. After decades of legislation and amendments, does anyone honestly expect such a big legal loophole like that to still exist? Of course not
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I'm only going to say this one more time. By not going through the retailer in the first 12 months after purchase, you have released them from their obligations under the CPA/SoGA as it was in 1979. Sorry, but it's true and it's been tested.
Now, if BFG don't play ball then the fact that they have extended your original warranty is irrelevant, you cannot now go back to the retailer and ask for anything.
I'm not going to post again on this, all I wanted to point out was that you should always go through the retailer in the first 12 months of ownership as that maintains 100% of your rights.
There's not much point in having a solicitor on 24/7 retainer if you don't use the facility. Whether I ask her about a graphics card or to find me a QC to defend me from being sued, or even nothing at all, she still gets paid the same.
And yes, the mood does need lightening
When you register the card, you agree to their terms and conditions and you tick a checkbox to say you agree. There is no possibility you missed that out. By ticking the box, you 'signed' a contract.
If BFG don't play ball then I will pursue the matter with BFG, I'm not running back to the retailer, regardless; I won't ever have any need to do this.
What you don't seem to understand is this: there is actually no such thing as a "12 month retailer warranty". This is how it works:
- 99.9% of manufacturers offer a 12 month manufacturer's warranty as standard, and usually have an agreement with retailers to exchange faulty hardware for new replacements free of charge. This allows retailers to then in turn offer the "1 year warranty" to their customers. The retailer merely acts as the middle man in this situation. Because this is so common, it is now a very widely conceived (but still very wrong) public view that retailers are only responsible for faulty goods for 12 months. This is simply incorrect, but retailers have taken advantage of this misconception to misinform their customers that after 12 months they must go to the manufacturer. Often this is a result of poor staff training, and there many documented examples of this.
- The sales of goods act 1979 clearly states that products must be fit for purpose for a reasonable lifetime, for up to 6 years (5 years in Scotland).
- If a manufacturer *happened* to not offer a 12 month warranty (which is rare, but still possible), the responsibility would be only with the retailer, and as per the 2001 amendment of the SGA 1979, if a faulty product is returned within 6 months of purchase, the retailer must accept that the product was inherantly faulty at the time of purchase, unless they can prove otherwise.
- After 6 months, it is up to the customer to prove to the retailer that there was an inherant fault with the product at the time of purchase. This is called the reversed burden of proof. The only reason this situation is not known to people is because 99.9% of the time, a 12 month manufacturer's warranty covers the other 6 months.
So in essence, this magical "12 month" safety period retailers offer only exists due to the manufacturer's warranty operating behind the scenes.
The fact that you seem to think that all retailers have to deal with faulty products within 12 months regardless only shows you need to learn more about consumer law.
There was no such box to tick. And like I already said, such an "F-Off" term would be an unfair one, and holds no weight in the eyes of the law, regardless of whether I "agreed to it" or not. This is a simple fact and you can ask your 24/7 lawyer about this if you want.
This "12 months" you're talking about is only when entirely supported by the manufacturer's warranty, and without it, OcUK would only be legally obliged to help me within 6 months of my product going wrong. For the next 5.5 years for which they are still meant to be responsible, they can make it very difficult for me to claim against them by invoking the reversed burden of proof, outlined above.
Associate
- Joined
- 25 Mar 2007
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- 613
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- NORN IRON
Have BFG got back to you yet ?
Nope, but it is the weekend to be fair...