Comet

[Dave]

Just how do they get away with their returns policy?

About a month ago, our trusty old oven popped its clogs and I bought a cheap Comet Proline model to help us through. The oven would not heat up on first switch on, but I fiddled with the controls until it started to heat up. I thought nothing of it at the start, but I had the same experience late last week. I went back to Comet to complain and ask for a replacement. They told me that it was their policy to send out an engineer to look at it and condemn it if it was not repairable. At this I mentioned the Sale of Goods Act and they blanked up and said that their computer screen told them to send out an engineer. They also told me to ring an 08705 number, so I got them to waste their time and money on the call.

Engineer is coming out Thursday. If he condemns it, they can come out and deliver the new one and take back the broken one.

But just how do they get away with this policy?

Dave

[Andy Cap]

Not sure what the problem is. If it's faulty you get a new replacement.

PC World outsourced their monitor maintenance but I got a replacement, no questions asked. My only complaint was that they didn't explain the situation well enough at the time and I initially felt I was being fobbed off.

Andy

[Ron Lowe]

They probably get away with it because it's both legal and reasonable.

I don't think the sale of goods act requires them to replace the item.

It requires the goods to be of 'merchentable quality', and permits a seller the opportunity to rectify any problems with the item.

Seems fair enough to me.

[Owain]

Because they want to look at the item before sending out a replacement. Not many places will send out a replacement before they've seen or had the faulty one back. The few that do will usually want your credit card details and charge you for the replacement going out, refunding for the old one when it comes back.

If you'd bought it from a shop you could have taken it back to the shop and said, "look! it's faulty" and they'd have had to deal with it straight away.

Owain

[Michael Chare]

IIRC Currys will give you your money back if you report a fault with 1 month of purchase.

I bought a Bosch hob which developed a fault with 1 month of purchase, the supplier's solution was to send a man in a Bosch van to fix it, which he did.

I had much more trouble with a Philips TV, which was taken away by a 3rd party repair company and kept for about 1 month before they finally found someone who knew how to adjust it. Next time I buy a TV I will try and find out how any warranty repairs are likely to be done.

[Dave]

Yes, I forgot about that bit.

Dave

[The Natural Philosopher]

Had teh same shit from Dixons. DVD/tape player DOA.

Took it back and the held onto it saying it would be repaired. went back

2 weeks later, still not repaired. They said that provided it was done in reasonable time it was OK.

Asked what reasonable time was and they said something like 60 days or something. Went back on 61st day, and they said ooh er, its still here we nivver sent it back, Demanded a new one.

will never ever buy from PCworld/Dixons/comet ever again.

[Peter Scott]

You can reject goods that are not 'of merchantable quality' as long as you do it quickly, say within a couple of weeks. You don't have to agree to repairs etc. If you paid with credit card you can 'dispute' the payment. Provided you have written evidence about the purchase and the complaint the card company will claw back the payment until the dispute is settled. Finally you can go to the County Court using the Small Claims Procedure.

If in doubt have a chat with the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Peter Scott

[Dave]

HITS (anagram) I forgot that they are all the same group.

Dave

[Unbeliever]

Have a look at the article here for some basic information:

there's problems with the 'wrap', use this link: may be of help - and from my experiences with Comet customer services, you'll need all the help you can get to breach their 'brickwall' mentality on defective goods and SoGA and they are experts at spouting bullsh*t to baffle those that are a little timid or don't know their rights.

And there's a more 'offical' link for more (or the same info) here:

if the above link causes problems.

Best of luck

Unbeliever

[Calvin]

No, no, no, no, no, noooooooooo,

Under the sale of goods act you can reject the item as not of merchantable quality if it is faulty. The shop has no right to insist on repairing the item and in fact once you have accepted a repair (as I understand it that's once you have accepted the concept of a repair rather than once you have accepted that a particular repair is good) you waive your right to then reject the item. So if you want to preserve your rights you absolutely must not allow them to attempt to repair it. I'm a little hazy on who gets to decide between money back and replacement. I seem to remember it's the customer but I could be wrong (never admit that on Usenet).

In my opinion it is not unreasonable of them to insist on examining the item before accepting that it is faulty but I can see no reason that should have to take place at your home. You could insist on taking it to the shop for examination. Obviously they could insist on having a particular person examine it rather than their shop droid and I guess that in law that person could be their agent (ie. anyone they appoint). To be fair I think they see it as better for the customer as well as them to have an expert examine it at the customer's home. Let's face it you can't really expect the store to have staff who know anything about what they sell can you?

So let them examine it. If they agree it's faulty then either get your money back or get a replacement brand new item. If they claim it's fine then things get interesting. Under no circumstances accept a repair.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I dont think they will survive the recession anyway.

[Gotde T Shirt]

PCworld/Dixons/Currys are all the same group, DSG International plc. Comet is different.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember The Natural Philosopher saying something like:

They've survived previous ones by selling tat, no problem.

[Clint Sharp]

In message , Calvin writes

Snipped a load of useful stuff but also remember, never ever buy anything for cash, always use a credit card and pay the cash back in immediately.

You then have a second avenue of attack.

[The Natural Philosopher]

A pox on all their houses!

[The Medway Handyman]

The only positive effect of recessions is that they weed out the companies who should never have been in business anyway. Those who survive have sound business's.

[chris French]

In message , Ron Lowe writes

In this case it might well be.

Yes it does, in certain circumstances.

[Ron Lowe]

Indeed, I should have said "..does not necessarily require them to.."

It comes down to the test of 'Merchantable Quality'. If you bought a new car, and the rear-view mirror fell off, you would not be entitled to a replacement car. That would not fail the test of merchentable quality. The dealer could quite rightly be able to make good the problem.

OTOH, my brother's new Honda would flatten it's battery if left standing for a week. After repeated attempts at repair, he did successfully reject the vehicle as not of merchantable quality, and got a replacement. This did require a solicitor's letter giving the dealer notice that the vehicle was being rejected, and providing a timeframe for the problem to be rectified. But since our solicitor is in-house this was easy and cheap to arrange!

In the case at hand, the issue may be a trivial loose connection or somesuch. It it not unreasonable for a vendor to wish to rectify the problem in the first instance.

[Peter Parry]

There is no longer a test of "merchantable quality" in the Sale of Goods Act and hasn't been for years. It is now "satisfactory quality".

They do however have a right to inspect it to confirm the fault before accepting your rejection.

No, you are wrong. To be safe you should say you are rejecting the item but will give them a chance to repair it. Even if you don't, accepting a repair simply stops the clock insofar as rejection is concerned and increases your opportunity to reject the goods if the repair is unsatisfactory. Usually the window of opportunity for rejection is very small, rarely more than a few weeks, and ends when you "accept" the item. For example continuing to use the oven after reporting the fault would usually imply acceptance.

Rubbish. See Clegg v Olle Andersson [ 2003 ]

It is usually the supplier as they are entitled to use the least cost option so long as it does not involve unreasonable delay.