Bought Faulty Goods?
Have you ever bought something from a shop and the item has later broken down or been faulty? If so, what can you do?
There are usually two protections available to customers who buy items from a shop.
1) Manufacturers Warranty
A Manufacturers Guarantee or Warranty will usually last 12 months for electrical goods. If the product is faulty during this time then the manufacturer is legally bound to honour the warranty. However during this time the shop that sold the item is also legally obliged to repair or replace the product and you can therefore choose to either go back to the shop or approach the manufacturer. The shop should not fob you off and say it is the manufacturer’s responsibility alone.2) Your Statutory Rights
The above guarantees are often stated as saying “This does not affect your Statutory Rights” etc. What are your Statutory Rights? These come mainly from the Sale of Goods Act, which states in effect that any goods you buy should do what they are supposed to do, not be faulty, be safe and in good condition and work properly for a reasonable length of time (which could well be longer than the manufacturer’s warranty).
The uncertainty arises because there is no hard and fast time limit as to how long your Statutory Rights should last on each product you buy. Different products last for different amounts of time. Smaller appliances for example kettles or irons may have an expected lifespan of 2-5 years whereas larger items such as an electric cooker may be expected to have a lifespan of 8-10 years. Go to www.retra.co.uk to see the Code of Practice of the Radio, Electrical and Television Retailers Association for more details.
If your appliance goes wrong, even several years after you bought it, and long after any warranty expired, you may still therefore seek redress. There are some points to note though. If you want to successfully claim from a shop you must show that the breakdown was caused by a defect that was present when you bought the item although not necessarily apparent at the time. For example, if a fridge had been poorly wired, you may not know it until it breaks down a couple of years later. Also, if the item is less than 6 months old, it is up to the shop to show the fault wasn’t present when you bought it. Over 6 months, the shop can ask you to provide evidence of the fault and that it was there when you bought the item.
What should you do?
Firstly, go back to the shop with the faulty goods and proof of purchase. Tell the shop you don’t consider the appliance has lasted a reasonable length of time. Ask the shop to investigate the fault and then either repair or replace the item. If the shop won’t do this you could get a local repairer to provide a letter setting out that they believe the fault was present when the item was bought. If the shop doesn’t accept this, you may have to agree an independent expert to produce a report.
So long as the breakdown was caused by a manufacturing fault ask the shop to repair or replace the appliance. The shop can offer a refund instead, which may not be in full depending on how much the item has been used.
If the shop still won’t help, contact their Head Office. If the Head Office won’t help either, the Small Claims Court may. You could claim for a reasonable amount towards the cost of the appliance depending on age and usage or the cost of it to be repaired.
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Simon Speed