27th April 2007
To: ‘Paul’ (Manager Grainger Games MetroCentre)
Cc: David Burt (Grainger Games Head Office);
Trading Standards (Newcastle City Council)
Re: Faulty Console (15 months old)
Dear Paul
My name is Craig Green, I spoke to you today (27th April 2007) regarding my XBOX360 console becoming faulty. I informed you that I had bought it last January (the 11/01/06 to be precise) and that on the 27th April 2007 it became faulty and would not boot up.
Now when I popped into the shop I never got the chance to inform you of the problem I was actually having as you were too quick to tell me that you wouldn’t do anything.
After 15 months of happy gaming when I turned on my console on the morning of 27th April 2007 I was greeted with red lights on my console instead of the usual green. I followed the instructions in the manual and called Microsoft, they told me they wanted 150EUR to fix the console.
Realising that I was past the 12 months from purchase date, I contacted trading standards thinking that surely I shouldn’t have to pay to repair a 15 month old console. They told me that:-
“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.”
I interpret this as saying a product should last a reasonable amount of time based on cost and description, and if it doesn’t then the retailer should try and repair or replace the item.
I would hope that you would agree that 15 months and 11 days is not a ‘reasonable amount of time’ for a games console costing £280. I also saw on the DTI website1 that:-
“It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract”
At reading this I thought ‘great’ I’ll pop into the shop and get it all sorted out today. I was wrong. As you will know Paul, when I came in we had a brief chat about trading standards and when I told you that my console should have lasted more than 15 months and that trading standards have told me that it is the shops responsibility to repair or replace the item, you told me that ‘they were having me on’ and ‘lying to me’ and that you only have to give 1 months warranty in store, and the rest I should take up with Microsoft.
I find that you think I am stupid enough to believe that Trading Standards would lie to me (and the rest of the country) quite offensive. A product that I have purchased from your store, thus giving you business, has become faulty. Admittedly it is out of the 12 months warranty period but well within what I would call a ‘reasonable amount of time’ and yet you have just refused to do anything about it.
After doing some research and contacting trading standards I believe that it is indeed your responsibility as a retailer to repair or replace my console, even though it is outside of its 12 months warranty, as 15 months of use is not satisfactory.
I hope to hear you reply on this matter in a timely manner.
Thank you for your time
Craig Green
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