Know your consumer law

[Davey_Pitch]

Some of you have seen in the computer section that my Xbox 360 has recently died. As it was over 1 year old I knew the company I bought it from (Gameplay) would try and fob me off to Microsoft as it was out of it's initial warranty period. However, as I know the failure rate for the 360's is very high, I knew I could argue that the console was inherently faulty and therefore didn't conform to contract, and that the onus would be on Gameplay to sort it out. After a long online discussion with one of their customer service guys, and an email outlining my legal rights, Gameplay have agreed to let me get my Xbox repaired, and then they'll refund me the money afterwards. Anyone who didn't know their consumer law would certainly have been fobbed off to MS, who would have charged at least £85 for the cost of repairs. Now all I'll have to pay will be postage fees.

So take this as a quick reminder that everyone should know their consumer law, and what adds up to your statutory rights. It can save you a lot of hassle and money should you buy a faulty product :)

Sale of Goods Act fact sheet (http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html)

Distance Selling Regulations fact sheet (http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38102.html)

[Rich_L]

Just read through your thread a few minutes ago, good work and very well argued :) Nice work!

[Davey_Pitch]

Thanks Rich :)

[Jono]

Yay grats DP :D

[Dee]

Ill be needing this soon, trying to get Dazs camera repaired out of its warranty period :)

[Davey_Pitch]

Ill be needing this soon, trying to get Dazs camera repaired out of its warranty period :)
If you need any help with it you know where I am :)

[Dee]

I might need your help, I suck at confrontations ;)

[Davey_Pitch]

Heh, drop me a PM if you like or I'll get onto MSN for you at some point :)

[Dee]

Well I wasnt aware of this:

• It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract.

So rather than contact Ricoh, I need to contact the store where Daz bought it first?

[Davey_Pitch]

Aye, that's the case. Of course, if it's over 1 year old you need to prove that the camera was inherently faulty, and it's just something that hasn't shown itself until now. With my 360 it was an easy case to argue given how many of them have died, but with a camera it may be more difficult (unless it's a common fault for the camera). In some cases you may need an engineers report to prove that the fault didn't come about through any misuse of your own, and that it simply developed on it's own over time.

[Daz]

Kinda hoping that Ricoh just sort it, some companies are better than others when it comes to repairing their products in house (Nintendo for example).

[Davey_Pitch]

Kinda hoping that Ricoh just sort it, some companies are better than others when it comes to repairing their products in house (Nintendo for example).
Aye, some companies are excellent at customer support. I've got a couple of Ricoh products but have never had any dealings with them so no idea how good they are :)