I recently bought a new bathroom mirror with a built in light (a bit like this but using a GX53 bulb).
As ever, I've lost the receipt. What are my chances of getting a replacement or refund from B&Q?
Tim
Has it got a manufacturing date on it which is less than 10,000 hours ago?
I don't know, but I've now had several CFL bulbs fail either within a few seconds of switching them on for the first time, or else within the first day. If the manufacturers' figures take this into account, then the rest of mine ought to last at least 20,000 hours for the average to be valid.
I now try to remember to keep the receipt even for tiny purchases, as so many things seem to fail much too soon. If you have a receipt, pretty much every retailer will give you a refund.
Didn't happen to pay for it on a card did you? Ideally with it being the only item you purchased?
Darren
I have heard of folk buying another one the same, then using that receipt to exchange the first. I know you then end up with two but as it seems you have to buy another anyway...
Mike
I thought there was something, somewhere, in consumer law that said (in essence) that if it was likely you'd bought it there, that was good enough. Worked for me a while ago, once I insisted!
Thats how I got a replacement TV tuner dongle from amazon.
They sent a new one plus all the gubbins, and I pulled out the dongle only, put the busted one in the replacement pack and sent the lot back. No charge.
No, you need to be able to prove you bought it there and when, but there isn't a requirement to produce the receipt if you can do it by some other means.
No help to you, but I was pleased to find that I have now managed to make one last for 10 years. It was used as a landing light.
In article , MuddyMike writes
Amateur! Do the same and take it back for a refund, as disgusted of Preston Pans you wouldn't dream of accepting a replacement with a brand that had failed so quickly (and in any case you had been forced to buy a replacement locally so didn't need one).
I'm a rabid receipt hoarder (it will probably develop into OCD eventually) - but one time I failed was with a dehumidifier which broke down after a few months. B&Q took it back OK. I suspect it depends on the individual you speak to on the day; and also on your attitude, ie IMHO probably best to grovel and beg "I'm an idiot and I've lost my receipt" rather than "I demand you sort this out NOW".
But then the new item is brand new and unboxed, and these folk can take it back to B&Q without a receipt, and exchange it for any 'goods to the value of'... allegedly.
David
Cheers, that's what I did in the end as they wouldn't refund or replace without the receipt. I just waited a few days and hoped that the same person who had refused my first request for replacement wasn't on the returns desk. ;-)
Tim
Sounds like you're buying the wrong brand. I know megaman have a good rep, but if they're dying that fast for some reason, I'd avoid them.
NT
I keep every single receipt, for everything. They all go into one of those box files. Occasionally, I go through it and throw out those that are clearly out of date, such as the ones from supermarkets or for bird seed.
In message , Davey writes
Philips are quite happy to replace 10,000 hour CFL's that have only lasted 2,000 hrs, without any receipts or suchlike. Just ring them.
00800 7445 4775 yes, two zeros at the start.Also one of the other manufacturers, but I can't remember which. But this second one did explain that their CFL's only make it to 10,000 hrs if they are used in 4 hour sessions. Continuously on, and frequently on/off, both reduce the life dramatically.
Lamp life for domestic lamps is all quoted at 3 hours per 'on' period. Manufacturers are not allowed to use a different 'on' period for the measurement. In some other cases, different switching periods can be used for the measurement (such as lamps specifically for streetlighting are normally quoted assuming something like 10 hours 'on' period).
All fluorescent lamps (except electrodeless) last longer the longer they're 'on', as each switch-on costs some life, something of the order of an hour's 'on' time. At one GEC plant, we had some tubes which had been on continuously for 10 years (except power cuts), and probably 50% were still originals. Phosphor deterioration meant they were down to around 1/4 of the light output of a new tube - running tubes so far past the end of life isn't economic.
That's a mean life of about 87,000 hours!
NT
Yes, but they were economically dead about 1/4 of the way through that. Clueless building maintenance.
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