Problems with Richer Sounds Guarantee

dazz25

dazz25

dazz25

Associate
Joined
23 Jul 2007
Posts
1,422
Hi all,

I got a TV for my in-laws a couple of years ago from Richer Sounds and there's currently an issue with the screen - one half is darker than the other.

I've been talking to customer service who had arranged for a repair to take place but unfortunately this couldn't happen as the part needed can no longer be sourced.

Because of this they have offered to collect the TV and arrange for a credit of the original purchase amount to be added to the account to put against a new TV.

I'm not happy about this as the 6 year guarantee states that the TV will be replaced with a similar model if it cannot be repaired. Also, the TVs on the website are now more expensive than they were when this was purchased meaning that to get a similar TV they would have to pay extra towards it or go for a smaller TV to stay within the price range.

What are your thoughts on this? I've always heard good things about RS and the guarantee was one of the main reasons for purchasing from them knowing that the in-laws wouldn't have to worry for a few years.
 
dazz25 said:
Also, the TVs on the website are now more expensive than they were when this was purchased meaning that to get a similar TV they would have to pay extra towards it or go for a smaller TV to stay within the price range.
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Whaaa???

That kind of bucks the trend. Unless we're talking about an end-of-life 1080p TV, or TVs with Freesat built in - because there are now far fewer of those so you might have to step up a few models higher to find something - in which case you might not find an equivalent, which model was the old TV and what new models are you looking at as a potential replacement?
 
This is bad timing. RS did have an equivalent set with Freesat HD. It's the LG 49UM7050. Here's a link to the RS page for it. LINK. Here's a link for the remaining stocks at Currys. It is listed at £349. LINK.

If RS can't get that set from LG for you then I think you're going to have to be a little bit pragmatic about the situation.

Presumably two significant reasons you decided to shop at RS is because they offer some of the lowest prices in the market, and on top of that, they offer a 6 year warranty free - gratis - for nothing. You're now enjoying the benefit of this backup. This is something you wouldn't have had in the price had you shopped at most other electrical retailers unless you purchased a new-for-old policy at an additional cost.

When you bought it, the 6300 was pretty-much the lowest spec Freesat HD set that LG made. Since then the normal trends of things have been somewhat disrupted. Business- and political changes afoot with Freesat mean it's a less attractive option for TV manufacturers to include free in their sets, hence far fewer competing brands now feature it. On top of that a world pandemic and the exit of Britain from the EU and the trade chaos that is causing. None of these events are your fault, but at the same time they're not the fault of RS either.

By the sound of it they've offered to give you your money back. All of it. Not part of it reflecting some used portion of the TV's life. They're giving you everything. I'm actually surprised at that, because their Ts and Cs state that if they make a different offer than replacing like-for-like then there's a reduction in the value the older the set gets.

Current value will be calculated taking into consideration the usage, condition, age and packaging of the product. If the item is in perfect condition with all packaging as new, having had reasonable use we suggest the value as follows:

During year One – full value
During year 2 – Original retail less 20%
During year 3 – Original retail less 30%
During year 4 – Original retail less 40%
During year 5 – Original retail less 50%
During year 6 - Original retail less 60%

The only stipulation is that you spend it instore. That's reasonable. They're now making a loss on the gamble of your TV warranty. Meanwhile you paid nothing for the guarantee and you're better off than you would be had you just relied on the manufacturer's warranty. You're also in-pocket compared to buying a 3rd party warranty.

I wonder, had this situation not occurred, and today was the first time you were considering buying a TV for the 'rents, would you choose to shop somewhere else? Be honest, I'll bet you wouldn't. You'd weigh up the pros and cons. If you are a canny shopper then it's a toss-up between RS and John Lewis because they both offer a 'free' extended warranty. JLP's is 5 years. RS is 6.

Perhaps go back to RS and ask if it's possible for them to get hold of the 7050 model. They did list it previously, so its not like it's some Currys exclusive.

Failing that, take the hit on the cash equivalent reduction and go shop elsewhere. Bear in mind though that budget LGs are getting themselves a bad reputation for backlight failures. Don't leave yourself exposed or you could be footing the whole bill in another two years.

Maybe though you just take the view that if you were buying today, and you wanted a combination of 49" or larger and Freesat HD, then today's cheapest LG model is the 50UN73006LA and it's £429 with a free 6 yr warranty. LINK You already have £350 in your wallet, and as a little deal sweetener, someone lent you a TV for free for the last two years. Not many of us get that.
 
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Ping richer sounds customer service a message asking if they can accommodate a 49 inch with free sat regardless of brand see what they come back with

never had a bad experience with Richer sounds in nearly 20 years and their customer care is top drawer I’m sure they will find you something
 
Sorry to bump this @dazz25 but I'm interested in how you got on in the end?

I have a Samsing UE48H6400 that I purchased in 2016 that now has a large blue smear eminating from the bottom. I was ready to start trying to figure out what to replace it with before realising I have a 6 year guarantee with RS that expires in May.

I doubt there's a stockpile of 1080p panels for repair, as I assume they only bother to swap parts, so I'm hoping I get the full £449 credit towards a new TV. After 6 years I could be in for a decent upgrade!
 
Dup said:
Sorry to bump this @dazz25 but I'm interested in how you got on in the end?

I have a Samsing UE48H6400 that I purchased in 2016 that now has a large blue smear eminating from the bottom. I was ready to start trying to figure out what to replace it with before realising I have a 6 year guarantee with RS that expires in May.

I doubt there's a stockpile of 1080p panels for repair, as I assume they only bother to swap parts, so I'm hoping I get the full £449 credit towards a new TV. After 6 years I could be in for a decent upgrade!
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It's very unlikely to be the LCD panel itself. The far more common issue is the LED backlights starting to fail. The colour goes distinctly purple or blue depending on which of the primary colour combo dies.
 
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We had the back-light changed on our 60 inch Samsung ju6800 a year or 2 ago. I was annoyed as I thought it being an old TV they'd just write it off and give me a new one:cry:.
 
Dup said:
Sorry to bump this @dazz25 but I'm interested in how you got on in the end?

I have a Samsing UE48H6400 that I purchased in 2016 that now has a large blue smear eminating from the bottom. I was ready to start trying to figure out what to replace it with before realising I have a 6 year guarantee with RS that expires in May.

I doubt there's a stockpile of 1080p panels for repair, as I assume they only bother to swap parts, so I'm hoping I get the full £449 credit towards a new TV. After 6 years I could be in for a decent upgrade!
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They gave me full credit towards a new one in the end. A bit annoying as the TV was only 2 years old and I had to pay extra to get a new one as the model and size they originally had was no longer available. But anyway...they got a new bigger TV out of it so they're happy.

The 6 year warranty is good and if they give you the full amount back after a few years then it makes an upgrade much cheaper. It was all pretty straightforward apart from them wanting to collect the old TV before delivering the new one. I argued the point that they'd be without a TV for a few days which wasn't acceptable so they arranged for the delivery driver to box and collect the old one at the same time.
 
Just going through a repair with R/S for our OLED purchased in 2017. R/S currently have in for repairs but are telling me they cannot find a fault. I do have a video though that has been provided.

In all honesty, I’m been very happy with the TV and would welcome it back repaired versus a new set.

They have asked that I call them tomorrow to discuss the situation. Wonder that they will say.
 
So update from my end.

RS have said that their repairers cannot find a fault but agree that the video provided does. Bit of a contradiction. They went as far to suggest that the problem was created by me. The suggestion was that changing any setting from shipping default is the problem and implied that we should leave the TV alone. Never heard such rubbish.

I’ve now collected the TV as they could not deliver it back until mid next week. The girls are watching Harry Potter and I’m sure they will tell me if the blacks do anything funky.

I’ve always purchased TVs from RS and thought that their CS would be top notch. Having never needing to test that till now my advise speaking from this experience would be to avoid them and go to JL.
 
Awahwah said:
So update from my end.

RS have said that their repairers cannot find a fault but agree that the video provided does. Bit of a contradiction. They went as far to suggest that the problem was created by me. The suggestion was that changing any setting from shipping default is the problem and implied that we should leave the TV alone. Never heard such rubbish.

I’ve now collected the TV as they could not deliver it back until mid next week. The girls are watching Harry Potter and I’m sure they will tell me if the blacks do anything funky.

I’ve always purchased TVs from RS and thought that their CS would be top notch. Having never needing to test that till now my advise speaking from this experience would be to avoid them and go to JL.
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What is the actual problem? I'm wondering if you could get a problem video on a USB stick that you could give to them to have something to work with (although I agree complaining that settings shouldn't be changed is moronic), thinking about it as well the oled I've got (c9) brings up different video settings based on whether it's sdr/hdr/dv and I've not found a way to change settings of a mode that I'm not actively using I.e. if I want to adjust anything on dv I'd have to watch a dv source to be able to access those settings.
 
theone8181 said:
What is the actual problem? I'm wondering if you could get a problem video on a USB stick that you could give to them to have something to work with (although I agree complaining that settings shouldn't be changed is moronic), thinking about it as well the oled I've got (c9) brings up different video settings based on whether it's sdr/hdr/dv and I've not found a way to change settings of a mode that I'm not actively using I.e. if I want to adjust anything on dv I'd have to watch a dv source to be able to access those settings.
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The video was small enough to send to RS and their repair firm. There’s a chap called Tom Griffiths who agrees that the video shows a fault but he explained tonight that he has to back their repair firm. So no action to be taken but feel free to report the problem again as you see it, which is a complete waste of time.

The fault. Blacks, be that letter box or full screen (think credits at the end of a movie) flash. In the video I provided, you can clearly see the screen quartered and each quarter flashing in its own random fashion. In letter box, you can see the top if the screen doing its own flashing random and the bottom doing the same.

Watching normal full screen to, you don’t notice it.

Ours also has different options displayed depend on sdr etc. Ours is a B6.
 
Awahwah said:
The video was small enough to send to RS and their repair firm. There’s a chap called Tom Griffiths who agrees that the video shows a fault but he explained tonight that he has to back their repair firm. So no action to be taken but feel free to report the problem again as you see it, which is a complete waste of time.

The fault. Blacks, be that letter box or full screen (think credits at the end of a movie) flash. In the video I provided, you can clearly see the screen quartered and each quarter flashing in its own random fashion. In letter box, you can see the top if the screen doing its own flashing random and the bottom doing the same.

Watching normal full screen to, you don’t notice it.

Ours also has different options displayed depend on sdr etc. Ours is a B6.
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Assuming it did it everything on a video like that (even if random), makes me think they've not bothered. What an odd issue, you could understand some sort of flashing if it was a fully back-lit led (my think being an issue with zones turning or or off), but with and old it's odd. As the pixels are actually off, somethings telling them to come on, surely (I say this as a layman), can't the just swap out the cpu/soc?
 
theone8181 said:
Assuming it did it everything on a video like that (even if random), makes me think they've not bothered. What an odd issue, you could understand some sort of flashing if it was a fully back-lit led (my think being an issue with zones turning or or off), but with and old it's odd. As the pixels are actually off, somethings telling them to come on, surely (I say this as a layman), can't the just swap out the cpu/soc?
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They said, we do not want to start swapping parts. Basically I think that replacement parts for a B6 are hard to come by and if they could get them they would be expensive. They also do not want to walk down the gift voucher route as that is pretty much a replacement TV for free (699). So to protect the business they are walking away from the fault.

if anyone is interested in seeing the video, it is currently on the LG Global Facebook page.

In my humble opinion, Richer Sounds can now take a long run and jump if they think they will see any more of my hard earned cash.
 
Awahwah said:
They said, we do not want to start swapping parts. Basically I think that replacement parts for a B6 are hard to come by and if they could get them they would be expensive. They also do not want to walk down the gift voucher route as that is pretty much a replacement TV for free (699). So to protect the business they are walking away from the fault.

if anyone is interested in seeing the video, it is currently on the LG Global Facebook page.

In my humble opinion, Richer Sounds can now take a long run and jump if they think they will see any more of my hard earned cash.
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What type of content are you using the issue on?
I'm assuming you've got a 4K OLED.

If the source is crap, I wouldn't be surprised to see the "off" pixels turn on because they're being fed duff information and trying to extrapolate (Like when everyone was complaining about Game of Thrones night episodes on OLED's and no one could see anything)
 
Martini1991 said:
What type of content are you using the issue on?
I'm assuming you've got a 4K OLED.

If the source is crap, I wouldn't be surprised to see the "off" pixels turn on because they're being fed duff information and trying to extrapolate (Like when everyone was complaining about Game of Thrones night episodes on OLED's and no one could see anything)
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It is a 4k screen. Various sources demonstrate the problem. Sky Q, built in Netflix, built in Disney+ and 4k Blueray (1917).

Im no TV engineer but I’d put my money on the scaler - if tvs have those.

Either way RS have washed their hands of it and left us with a broken TV.
 
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