CAN WE CLEAR SOMETHING UP - what is classed as 'faulty' for monitors?

wunkley

wunkley

wunkley

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Sorry for shouting, but I'll keep this brief...

I'm looking to spend a lot of money on a new gaming monitor.

I consider any screen defects including stuck or dead pixels, or backlight bleed as unfit for purpose and 'faulty'.

However, what do retailers, such as ocuk, class as 'faulty' when it comes to monitors?

Why is there no clear definition, anywhere, on any retail site with regards to this?

--------------------

Dead pixels seems to be manufacturer specific, but it's still not made clear enough.

Let's take a few specific examples for a specific monitor, say the Acer x34 and some of it's widely reported problems as posted in this forum and many other places....

1. Back light bleed
I consider any to be bad and would not want a monitor if it had any. Is this classed as
-faulty?
-defective?
-unfit for purpose?
- all of the above?

2. Coil whine.
Again an issue that many users are reporting to be an issue when the panel is overclocked to 100HZ (one of the MAIN points of the panel). I've just built a new watercooled rig and silence for everything is a top priority.
I would therefore consider any coil whine to be intolerable, and is it therefore
-faulty?
-defective?
-unfit for purpose?
-all of the above?

These are just 2 examples. Where do we stand as consumers?
 
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I think its normally set by the manufacturer rather than the retailer, each manufacturer will set an "acceptable" amount of dead/stuck pixels until the panel should be replaced.

I don't know how this normally goes for things like backlight bleed as that is a bit harder to judge.

For example here is Dell's Policy.
 
As the above really. There are companies that take the monitor out the package and manually check for such defects prior to shipping, to ensure no dead pixels etc. Small charge of £20. OCUK unfortunately doesn't offer this service.
 
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All manufacturers have different policies.

If your unhappy with the product send it back as un-wanted.
 
Gibbo said:
All manufacturers have different policies.

If your unhappy with the product send it back as un-wanted.
Click to expand...

But Gibbo, if a product is faulty/ defective / unfit for purpose, why should we send it back as "un-wanted", at our own expense? We should return a monitor as faulty and the postage should be covered.

This is why we need to know what is classed as "faulty" when it comes to monitors. It needs to be made clear. If the retailer deems it not to be "faulty" it gets sent back to the customer, and we get charged for the privilege. It's ridiculous!

I consider coil whine on a monitor to be faulty and unacceptable. Do ocuk?

I consider backlight bleed on a monitor to be faulty and unacceptable. Do ocuk?

etc etc.

Where do we stand?
 
There is actually an ISO standard when it comes to defective pixels I think. Seems a strange thing for me to imagine reading about if not.
 
wunkley said:
But Gibbo, if a product is faulty/ defective / unfit for purpose, why should we send it back as "un-wanted", at our own expense? We should return a monitor as faulty and the postage should be covered.

This is why we need to know what is classed as "faulty" when it comes to monitors. It needs to be made clear. If the retailer deems it not to be "faulty" it gets sent back to the customer, and we get charged for the privilege. It's ridiculous!

I consider coil whine on a monitor to be faulty and unacceptable. Do ocuk?

I consider backlight bleed on a monitor to be faulty and unacceptable. Do ocuk?

etc etc.

Where do we stand?
Click to expand...


Its done case by case if you have a problem with your purchase and feel its faulty simply contact our returns department or drop a post in the CS sections. :)
 
This is why buying a high end monitor these days is a nightmare. Customers, retailers and manufacturers all have different opinions on what constitutes a fault. It doesn't help that less than premium quality panels are being sold at premium prices simply because they have some fancy features tacked on. It's a complete and utter mess if you ask me and people need to start holding back a bit and demanding premium build quality purely based on the price and nothing else.

It's absurd seeing second rate companies like Acer selling £700+ monitors that are built like £150 monitors. Yes, no one is forcing us to buy this stuff, but when getting one of these monitors is the only choice when you want a certain set of features, I think it's at least the retailers responsibility to ensure what they sell actually meets some basic standards at the price it is being sold at.

Also saying that we can just send it back as 'unwanted' isn't good enough, not when it costs upwards of £40 to send one of them back. It's not our fault that the manufacturer can't assemble the monitors consistently enough for backlight bleed to not be a problem.
 
You would return such an item to any retailer as faulty in the first 30days regardless of any process the retailer wishes to follow. If the retailer does not agree that the item is faulty then you are in dispute and require mediation through the retail/consumer ombudsman or need to seek legal recourse through small claims court. Always use a credit card (not a debit card or PayPal) to get Section 75 protection.

It is your responsibility to know your rights, conversely a retailer has the right to refuse a return for faulty goods if they believe that the reason for return is unwarranted. Good dialogue normally sorts these things out.
 
On the other end of the scale you have people returning perfectly acceptable panels that aren't any worse than the average one. Granted you might expect paying upwards of a grand for a new monitor it's going to be flawless but that won't be the case for a long, long time.

Dead pixels - return
Some minor BLB - either deal with it or spend the next month returning monitor after montior
IPS glow - Don't confuse this for BLB like a lot of people do, you're going to have it on pretty much every screen unless you use a crazy low brightness setting

I think I've seen one "perfect" Acer Predator X34 and even then it was probably shown off in the best possible circumstances to hide any IPS glow.
 
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Well it is going to be subjective just as it is for the consumer, there are no hard and fast rules/guidelines for these sorts of things.

The crucial point is that the retailer/trader does not get the final word on what is/is not faulty. What you have is the hassle of a dispute which applies to both parties and can happen for any goods or services. This is why most house insurance does not cover you for legal expenses against building works... because they know statistically the chances of a disagree/dispute with a builder is high because of the subjective views of both parties.

If it is a great concern your only real option is to travel to a retail store and inspect the goods in person. If that is not an option for you then there is no answer you have trapped yourself between wanting a zero hassle 100% protection service and the convenience of distance selling.
 
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