Raising Awareness - Warranties

[Kryten]

Not a particularly new thing, however the amount of people that appear to be blinded by what a piece of paper says or the sales blurb on a website is starting to shock me a little.

For *ALL* consumer electronics, the minimum warranty period is 2 years. So if you have a laptop, graphics card, toaster, kettle or Rampant Rabbit that dies after 1 year, 11 months and 29 days of service (and arguably can prove it died as a result of manufacture defect/not by something you did to it), you have a right to a replacement (or refund/credit if the manufacturer is feeling generous)

The relevant documentation is Article 5 of the EU Product Warranty Directive 1999.

 

[nath]

That is very good to know, I thought 1 year was the minimum.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

It is European law that states a minimum of 2 year warranty, regardless of the piece of paper that you get with the item.

British consumer law actually goes even further. It states that the supplier has a duty to supply items that are fit for purpose, and that means lasts a reasonable lifetime. For TV sets for instance the limit is 7 years, and this is a contract between the customer and the shop, not the manufacturer.

It does get a bit of a pain in the arse though, to prove it you have to get an independent report written about the fault, and it does have to prove that it was a manufacturing fault, or design error, and once you have that you need to pursue it through the small claims court.

I imagine that most people wouldn't feel it was worth the hassle on a 6 1/2 year old TV but the possibility is there.

RB

 

[Kryten]

Indeed, if you fight hard enough over the phone/in writing you can pretty much get anyone to agree and abide by the 2 years thing. Always used to make me laugh the people that said "but thats an EU law - doesn't apply to us!"

 

[Malecheon]

It does get a bit of a pain in the arse though, to prove it you have to get an independent report written about the fault, and it does have to prove that it was a manufacturing fault, or design error, and once you have that you need to pursue it through the small claims court.

I guess this is the key point, because it states

the seller is only liable for any lack of conformity that exists at the time of delivery of the product

how would you go about proving the fault was there at the time of delivery, but just didn't show up until after a year has passed ?

 

[Rubber Bullets]

I think the argument is to turn it around. The presumption is that a TV should last 7 years of normal use. If it breaks down before that then there must be an inherent fault with it.

Not easy I grant you, and I've no idea how many people have succeeded, especially near the 7 year limit, I was just pointing out that even the 2 year warranty isn't necessarily the limit on peoples consumer rights.

RB

 

[old.user4556]

Good thread Kryt.

Just out of interest, Game swapped my PS3 out when it was nearly one year old and I said "is this covered for another year?" and they said "no".

I think that's complete bullshit myself, but thoughts?

 

[Embattle]

This isn't that big a deal just because of the way the law actually works, as others have stated it can indeed be longer. At the end of the day after 6 months the duty is on the buyer of the goods to prove that the defect was there when they purchased the item. Most companies will replace the item within a year either way depending on what warranty they offer but after that period of time you've got next to no chance of forcing a company to change it.

 

[Kryten]

You're quite right - it's not a huge deal but many people just have the "1 year" thing implanted naturally in their head. Anything thats worth fighting for - including said PS3, decent tvs etc, you will almost certainly get what you want just by shouting a bit louder and throwing around quotes from EU directives.

"Sorry sir, your PS3 is over a year old. It's not covered."
"Actually, I think you'll find that according to EU Directive 34124, you can"
"34124 - no officer with false teeth should attempt oral sex in zero gravity? I'm not sure how that relates to the warranty status of your Playstation, sir"
"forget it, sell me an xbox!"

 

[inactionman]

Activision just tried to tell me that my (broken) Guitar Hero controller only has a 6 month warranty, lol. They are not getting away with that!

 

[nath]

Hah, fucking cheek. Let us know how you get on with that .

 

[Kryten]

Aye, I'd expect them to fight anything more than 12 months but 6 is just funny

 

[Overdriven]

I want to find broken electronics I can take back now.

 

[SheepCow]

Stuck for awesomeness!

Also remember the distance selling regulations can be a great help if you order things online that (a) you decide you don't want, and (b) are broken on arrival.

 

[Kryten]

Too right. This isn't about ripping anyone off - it's about getting what is legally yours. I think items failing in their 13th month of ownership has been one of the biggest bugbears possible, people usually just raise their arms in annoyance and forget about it :|

And yeah, the DSR's are a godsend at times. Don't forget, if you buy something and you *simply don't like it* - it doesnt fit in with the colour of your wallpaper/carpet/underpants, isn't otherwise what you expected, poor quality etc etc - you've 7 days to send it back for a full refund.

 

[inactionman]

New guitar turned up 2 days after I posted the neck of the old one. So their response time is good, although the information given on their website is completely wrong!