Shop refusing to comply with SOGA

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Hi,

I recently bought a PS3 from Sainsburys (3 months ago), which has now become faulty (graphics corruption, then refusing to output a video signal). I called Sainsburys to find out if they had any in stock so I could get it exchanged and they have now told me that their store policy is to not exchange consoles after 30 days as they could have user data on them, and that I have to deal directly with Sony.

Now 2 things don't make much sense with that statement, surely that is a direct violation of my consumer rights as the item is faulty within 1 year of purchase and is required to be replaced/refunded/fixed on the spot by the point of sale. The second thing is that surely after the first couple of hours of use a PS3 would still have user data on it??

Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
Tell them you don't want it exchanged under their policy, you want it replaced under your statutory rights as provided by the SoGA.
 
They're pushing their luck. Your contract is with Sainsbury's and they're therefore bound by the SoGA, regardless of what their 'policy' is.

You could fill out small claims paperwork for a refund and post a copy to them to give them a bit of a kick? If they still don't budge, just file it and get a ruling against them.
 
Take it into the store all boxed up and with receipt, explain that it's faulty and you want an exchange under the SOGA. If denied, escalate it to the management of that store.
 
According to What Consumer
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/returning-damaged-or-faulty-goods/
it is their responsibility in the first 6 months

The retailer’s obligations

If there is an obvious fault with the item at any time within the first 6 months and it has not been caused by wear and tear or misuse, your first port of call must be the shop you bought it from. They have the responsibility to put the matter right, and should not evade this responsibility by referring you to the manufacturer in the context of a guarantee or warranty.

In the first instance and if considered appropriate, the seller must offer to at least repair the goods. They must do this within reasonable time, at no additional cost to you and without causing any significant inconvenience. If any inconvenience is caused you should be given a replacement item on a ‘like for like’ basis (and not simply the cheapest and most basic model). Many consumer complaints relate to the length of time the item is away being repaired – and although you must allow reasonable time for repair, the law does not say what ‘reasonable time’ is. It very much depends on the item itself and the nature of the problem. For most things, shops would usually allow you to exchange the item or give you your money back straight away. However, if the damage is minor and can be repaired easily, then the shop can insist on this as a first option, although this will not stop you from taking it back if the repair is unsatisfactory or there is something else wrong with it.

If a repair is impossible or unfeasible, you must then be offered a replacement. Due to the emphasis on proportionality in this legislation, you must give the seller reasonable time to repair or replace before demanding your money back and you should be aware that any refund given may well take account of any use you have had of the goods since you took possession of them. If you do not want the seller to repair or replace, or they have told you they are unable to, you can then request they reduce the purchase price to an appropriate amount, although this does not affect your ability to take return the item if something else goes wrong
Click to expand...

I think you need to have a word with the manager and maybe print out the sale of goods act to wave under his/her nose.
 
Thanks for the quick replies, can they still try it on with the excuse of breaching data protection by my data being on the PS3?, also is it possible to use acronis to image the HDD and restore it to the new HDD so I don't lose saves have to redownload GBs of games, or are they console locked?
 
I don't know enough about the PS3 workings to comment on reimaging the drive (I only have a 360 and a wii) but the data protection thing is bull because they should send that console straight back to Sony so it's not like they're going to put it back on the shelf and sell it.
Besides, it would have data on it in the first 30 days and they'll replace it without a quibble then so they're just trying it on.
 
Each PS3 hard drive is 'keyed' to each PS3, so simply cloning it will not work, similarly removing the drive and putting it into a new PS3 won't work.

The PS3 has an excellent backup utility built in, so assuming you've a USB hard drive, or large enough USB stick available, just use that, which you can then restore on your replacement unit. This is assuming that the PS3 is in some kind of usable state of course.

Ultimately, Sainsbury's will just return the unit to Sony anyway, so I don't really see where the issue lies with them accepting it as a return.
 
When I worked for the purple shirt company we were told by the managers to not accept things back for refund after 7 days and if the item was faulty after 30 days to refuse to exchange it and tell them to contact the manufacturer.

Such bad practice.
 
Now 2 things don't make much sense with that statement, surely that is a direct violation of my consumer rights as the item is faulty within 1 year of purchase and is required to be replaced/refunded/fixed on the spot by the point of sale.
Click to expand...

They do not have to deal with it on the spot, they have a what is considered a reasonable period of time to sort it out (generally regarded as 28 days). What they are suggesting is that it would be quicker for you to get it sorted with Sony directly, now if you force the issue they have to deal with it but will probably only book it for repair with Sony as you would yourself so what they are suggesting could be a quicker resolution for you.
 
Isn't the whole data protection thing their problem? They should have a procedure for handling the return of data, lots of things have memory in them is every such item the same and non returnable.
 
nightmare99 said:
They do not have to deal with it on the spot, they have a what is considered a reasonable period of time to sort it out (generally regarded as 28 days). What they are suggesting is that it would be quicker for you to get it sorted with Sony directly, now if you force the issue they have to deal with it but will probably only book it for repair with Sony as you would yourself so what they are suggesting could be a quicker resolution for you.
Click to expand...

The SoGA also states that a consumer should not be inconvenienced by an exchange. Therefore, if the OP was to be left without the console for 3-4 weeks, this would be considered an inconvenience.
 
You are probably much better off dealing with sony anyway.

My PS3 died a few years back, I phoned sony and less then a day later they picked up my PS3 from my door and gave me a new one.
 
Just go do it via Sony, as far as I understand they'll actually come to your house, swap out your PS3 and be on their way.

Seems a much easier solution that hassling Sainsbury's to exchange your console who will then only be sending it back to Sony themselves.
 
Go via Sony then write a complaint to Sainsbury detailing how their staff were trying to mislead you regarding your statutory rights.
 
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