BBC article (Sale of Goods Act)

Lanz

Lanz

Lanz

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SALE OF GOODS ACT
The Headline: You might not need that five-year extended warranty after all.

The Scenario: Your iconic white MP3 player, the totemic centre of your life, breaks down precisely 366 days after you bought it. The large electronics firm that sold you the MP3 player says that because the one-year guarantee had elapsed, there's nothing they can do to help you. You'll just have to buy another one.



Some items, like washing machines, are expected to last a long time
Tears drip disconsolately on to its lifeless grey screen as you ponder what to do.

But there's some good news. The operative who spoke to you didn't know what they were talking about

The Truth: The Sale of Goods Act says that your MP3 player must be fit for purpose.

"It must be as described. It must be of satisfactory quality, sufficiently durable, free from any defects," says Dr Christian Twigg-Flesner, a consumer law expert at the University of Hull.

If you've ignored the manufacturer's warnings and have been leaving the player out in direct sunshine and wearing it in the bath, then you probably haven't got much of a case.

But if the player has been lovingly treated and has still conked out that suggests something may have been wrong with it at the very beginning.

It works like this. For the first four-five weeks you have a "right of rejection" - if the item you've bought breaks down, you can demand a refund.

For the next six months, you are entitled to replacement or repair of the goods. It is up to the retailer to prove there was nothing wrong with it if they wish to get out of having to do the work. And then after six months, there is still a duty to replace or repair faulty goods, but the onus is on you, the consumer, to prove that there was something wrong.

And the key time span is six years. That's how long goods may be covered by the Sale of Goods Act. It all depends on what "sufficiently durable" means. If a light bulb goes after 13 months, the consumer is not going to be overly gutted. If their washing machine goes after the same time span they are going to be livid.

The government's guidelines say: "Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description."

And be aware that if you go to the washing machine repairer, spend money attempting to diagnose an inherent fault, and find out you have been using it the wrong way, then you are going to be out of pocket.

A key fact is that your relationship in the Sale of Goods Act is with the retailer, not the manufacturer.

"The retailer likes shepherding you off to the manufacturer," says Dr Twigg-Flesner.

And there are still reasons why you might want an extended warranty - they often include loan machines and ongoing technical support that you would otherwise miss out on. But they are not always good value, says Dr Twigg-Flesner.

"I've never bought one."

Where it applies: The law applies across the UK, but has numerous small differences as applied in Scotland.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8253915.stm

So if your graphics card packs up after 4 years, the retailer should replace it... Thoughts?
 
And be aware that if you go to the washing machine repairer, spend money attempting to diagnose an inherent fault, and find out you have been using it the wrong way, then you are going to be out of pocket.
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Not if you overclock it :p

Also a graphics card is a cheap (in relative terms) item, so no.
 
I have had this argument with many online retailers.

Especially "A key fact is that your relationship in the Sale of Goods Act is with the retailer, not the manufacturer. "
 
A useful read and reminder to us all of what our rights are!

I recently had a dispute and called Consumer Direct: http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

They were very helpful indeed, setup a case for me and offered to send the company involved letters on my behalf. An excellent service that is out there to help us the consumer!
 
Lanz said:
So if your graphics card packs up after 4 years, the retailer should replace it...
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They wouldn't, as you would have to prove that it was a fault at time of manufacture, not something that has occured due to your use of the card.

Perticularly in the pc enthusiast market, the likelyhood of consumer damage is probably higher, due to the end user stessing the card, OCing it or overvolting, which (in general) invalidates your g'tee and your rights under the SOGA. It would be up to you to prove that you had done none of the this, always used ESD protection, not dropped or shorted the card etc which would be impossible. So i dont think you'd have a leg to stand on beyond the scope of the warranty.

The legislation is more relevent to goods that you cant tamper with such as a TV or MP3, other than physical damage, you are far more likely to have a case as it is not really possible to push the device beyond its operating limits.
 
vertica said:
Perticularly in the pc enthusiast market, the likelyhood of consumer damage is probably higher, due to the end user stessing the card, OCing it or overvolting, which (in general) invalidates your g'tee and your rights under the SOGA.
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That is ridiculous. How can that be proved by either party?
 
I wonder where people buying laptops from the purple shirt place (or any major retailers out on the high street) as they really like to push their insurance schemes which can cost upwards of hundreds to cover your product for 2 years.

If this SOGA does cover up to 6 years, these schemes would be obsolete, not that I would pay for anyway.
 
Mr Jones said:
I wonder where people buying laptops from the purple shirt place (or any major retailers out on the high street) as they really like to push their insurance schemes which can cost upwards of hundreds to cover your product for 2 years.

If this SOGA does cover up to 6 years, these schemes would be obsolete, not that I would pay for anyway.
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Not obsolete I am sure, SOGA wouldn't cover for anything other than a manufactures defect surely. Their insurance schemes would probably more than a manufactures defect.
 
Fegruson said:
Not obsolete I am sure, SOGA wouldn't cover for anything other than a manufactures defect surely. Their insurance schemes would probably more than a manufactures defect.
Click to expand...

If the LCD screen suddenly burn out, the motherboard blown, the HDD failed, the body starts cracking or GPU died from over-heating even though you use it to perform functions the laptop was set to do (internet, gaming, software working), how are we to prove that we've been looking after it (apart from having say a notebook cooler on it 24/7)?
 
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