quick question on a warranty return

spudbynight · 6 Oct 2011 at 09:31

I have a set of headphones that I got as part of a magazine sub deal.

They died after about 9 months so I got in touch with the manufacturer. They put me in touch with the UK distributor.

I was told I had to ship back at my own expense using a tracked service. I did this and now they want me to pay them £8 to cover postage of the replacements out to me. Is this the norm and should I just pay up?

spudbynight · 6 Oct 2011 at 09:33

I think what bothers me is them not making me aware of the £8 up front.

spudbynight · 6 Oct 2011 at 14:28

Any thoughts on this from anyone?

TommyV · 6 Oct 2011 at 14:33

punch them in the head

boxman2000 · 6 Oct 2011 at 14:41

For the sake of £8 I would just pay, hardly worth arguing about. If they're not worth the money then don't pay.

Life lesson - you gets what you pays for!

GravyMonster · 6 Oct 2011 at 14:42

How much did you pay to post the headphones to them? Offer them that amount.

Then punch them in the head.

Amleto · 6 Oct 2011 at 14:48

no. I'm fairly sure that for faulty things, the consumer shouldnt get put out of pocket. Therefore <someone> should be paying your postage.

Although not sure what kind of contract you have with magazine about your item as it was 'free'.

spudbynight · 6 Oct 2011 at 15:25

If I had paid for them directly I would be within my rights to demand that they cover postage. I didn't directly pay for them so I don't think I have any rights per se.

I paid £6 to post them. Another £8 brings that to £14 which is pretty hefty.

Participant · 6 Oct 2011 at 15:31

Seems very poor to me, what's the company?

Not sure whether the fact that they were a freebie changes anything as far as your rights go.

Scrutinize · 6 Oct 2011 at 15:46

As this is a direct manufacturer/distributor return organised by you, it is fair for them to charge you unfortunately. Your contract is ultimately with the magazine distributor not the manufacturer/distributor? It is always a grey area on free goods like this.

I am however surprised they are charging you that much for return postage. What headphones and what is their value?

How come you didn’t contact the magazine as they would have probably sorted a swap out?

spudbynight · 10 Oct 2011 at 00:08

Sorry - been away for the last week and just back now.

I asked them about paying for shipping both ways and they pointed me to article 4 of the RMA form.

The Buyer will pay all carriage costs, including import duty and charges if applicable, of alleged faulty units returned to CompanyX and will arrange for collection from the company or pay for return shipping.

Now I read that as referring to goods that were alleged to be faulty rather than simply faulty goods. It still reads that way to me.

As to why I didn't contact the magazine publisher - well I thought they would just direct me to the manufacturer anyway.