Rights as a Buyer/Consumer

Unicorn · 29 May 2016 at 20:16

Im looking to know what my rights are on what may be quite a tricky situation to gain a refund/replacement out of. Its a small ammount but i just want to know if im in the right more than anything here

In march i bought a co2 kit and some extra glass+ceramic diffusers for my aquarium
Come yesterday it was time to clean the diffusers in Hydrogen peroxide and soak overnight in dechlorinator to make them safe for the aquariums again. Pulled them out this morning both have broke at the stem were to co2 line connects.

Iv contacted the store in question who stated there is nothing they can do due to the nature of the product being glass that they can only advise you take the best precautions when handling the item and coupling and uncoupling hoses

I can understand that but under Soga am i technically not entitled to a repair or replacement under 6 months with no cost to myself? Or would this fall out of the spectrum somehow.

I have paid via paypal incase it comes to fighting against them about it the whole transaction came to 120 pounds and the 2 broken items are worth 20 alone.

Any advice on what i can do here?

Monkeh · 29 May 2016 at 21:51

They would argue user error as you already told the store they've broken while you carried out maintenance which isn't covered under the SOGA, sorry. Glassware in aquariums has always been very easy to break - better off with the silicone/plastic/ceramic alternatives and keep the glass stuff for taking photos of the aquascape without gear because the risk of breaking is that great.

Also no need to soak in dechlorinator to get rid of the peroxide, there isn't any chlorine in it, just rinse with normal water and it will dissipate into water and oxygen.

Unicorn · 29 May 2016 at 22:07

Monkeh said:
They would argue user error as you already told the store they've broken while you carried out maintenance which isn't covered under the SOGA, sorry. Glassware in aquariums has always been very easy to break - better off with the silicone/plastic/ceramic alternatives and keep the glass stuff for taking photos of the aquascape without gear because the risk of breaking is that great.

Also no need to soak in dechlorinator to get rid of the peroxide, there isn't any chlorine in it, just rinse with normal water and it will dissipate into water and oxygen.

Thought that would be the answer but best to check, Thanks

Interesting about the no dechlorinator also, Double dose prime is something iv always done after cleaning anything with hydrogen peroxide which is aquarium based (including scaping tools, impellers etc as it rids slime and algae best)

Nikias · 29 May 2016 at 23:22

It's really a question of whether the glass was strong enough to withstand the use for which it was intended or not. Did it break because it was too brittle because of a latent manufacturing defect, or was the glass perfectly fine and you broke it by accident?

If the former, you would be entitled to your usual consumer remedies under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (note that the Sale of Goods Act has been largely repealed in respect of consumers). If the latter, you are not entitled to any remedy.

Personally, if I felt strongly that it was not my fault and had sufficient time given the value of the item, I would: 1) call the retailer to complain, as you have done; 2) if no success, write a short letter of claim; and 3) if still no positive response, issue proceedings in the county court. A lot of businesses will find that it costs more to defend the claim than it is worth and will settle it after you issue before it gets to court anyway. If it were to reach court, it would be mostly a question of evidence and which story makes more sense to the court on the day.

Amleto · 30 May 2016 at 01:47

Monkeh said:
They would argue user error as you already told the store they've broken while you carried out maintenance which isn't covered under the SOGA, sorry.

That doesn't sound correct. If the item was expected to undergo maintenance, which it sounds like it is, and it breaks then that can definitely be covered under SoGA/CRA

Aldav · 30 May 2016 at 02:33

The critical point is whether the goods broke because of an inherent defect, like manufacturing fault or design flaw, or misuse or abuse by the user.

In the first case, the retailer is liable and in the second they aren't.

Under SoGA/CRA, the presumption is that if the fault occurs in the first 6 months, the fault us inherent and the retailer is liable unless they can prove user fault or abuse. Whether they can or not will probably rest on the nature of the goods, the exact fault and maybe on an independent third-party opinion.

That is, they'll they to prove to the court the failure wasn't due to an inherent fault.

Monkeh · 30 May 2016 at 16:53

The item is classed as a consumable anyway - in aquarium terms they fall in the same category as air stones and wooden air diffusers, so if it fails in maintenance but has fulfilled its role until this point and wasn't defective at the point of purchase then it was fit for purpose. They're expensive, but then niche products often are.

You can attempt maintenance - same as you can try to refill an empty printer ink cartridge but wouldn't be covered by the SOGA if it failed to work after you attempted this maintenance even if it broke the printer, but in our case the stress from use at places like the neck of the pipe where the CO2 tube attaches to the diffuser make it very difficult to not break glass diffusers.

Stronger longer lasting ones are made from acrylic piping with ceramic diffusers, they don't suffer most of the stress problems that make the glass ones brittle in normal use, I would go for these instead. Ironically, they're normally cheaper than the glass ones as well.