Irish Consumer Law

Mutant_Fruit

Just wondering what happens if i buy a motherboard, and it goes out of the 2 week "no quibbles money back" guarentee and i find out its broken. Can i legally return it for my cashback (or credit card refunded). If so, where can i print off the law stating that.

I bought the motherboard, and only got the chip 3 weeks later, so thats why i never found out it was broken while it was still within the 2 week period. Now i want to return the board, as i bought another motherboard from the same company after realising that not only was the motherboard broken, but it was the wrong type aswell.

I rang em up, and they refused give me a refund, but i'm pretty sure there is a law about goods being of merchantable quality, and this motherboard clearly wasn't, so i believe i am entitled to my cash back.

Sleipnir

If goods prove to be faulty, do I have to accept a credit note from the Seller?

No. Where goods are faulty, a consumer may refuse to accept a credit note and has the right to seek a replacement or refund.


from www.odca.com


Was it an Irish company? who is the reseller? Name & shame!

seamus

Yep, you seem to have every right to a refund here....

Mutant_Fruit

Perfect, thats exactly the site i was trying to find in google. Thanks.

The Brigadier

This has to be discovered within a reasonable period of time.

You can't buy something, leave it in a drawer for 12 months and then find out it doesn't work and expect a refund.

There is no time set for this and it comes under interpretation by a judge. Normally though a reasonable period of time is taken to be 1 month.

If they refuse to offer you the refund they can challenge the time taken for you to return the item. You then use the small claims court - however in the vast majority of instances a judge will rule in favour of the customer.

It wasn;t IT Direct was it? There attitude to returns from my experience has been poor. I bought a Pinnacle PCTV card there and it did not work, I returned it within 24 hours and they did not want to refund me.

Sleipnir

remember that the Sale of Good Act only applies to companies in Ireland. If you bought the mobo from outside Ireland but still within the E.U. you will be protected by E.U. law.
So, if you bought it from the U.K., U.K. law is applicable which usually amounts to the same thing.
The 'two week no quibble' thing means that you can return a product even if it works fine but you just don't want it. You're still entitled to return it after that two weeks if the product is defective.

The Brigadier

Yes, but remember as well the 2 week no quibble thing is in addition to any rights you have.

was the board sold as seen? if so and the receit says then your out of luck

subway_ie

It would be alot easier if you could resolve it without having to quote the Sale of Goods, in my experience that just frustrates things, unless it's the very last resort. Small claims court can work sometimes - but I'm assuming that the place you bought it from is an online store (Komplett?), so firstly, they probably wouldn't be very bothered with it, and secondly I'm not really sure that it's legally binding?

First off, e-mail them, if that doesn't do anything, send them a letter (registered post helps, and it only costs a few euro), keep a copy of all correspondance. Send them copies of the invoices. Get onto the Office of the Director of Consumer affairs and advise them of your situation, see if they can do anything about it.
If that all fails, go the "it's my right... blah blah blah... sale of goods and supply of services act...blah blah blah... I demand a refund... blah blah blah... legal action... " route.

subway_ie

Originally posted by foreign
was the board sold as seen? if so and the receit says then your out of luck

But since it was defective he can still argue that the goods weren't of merchantable quality. It would be a lot easier if you just didn't mention that it wasn't what you ordered, and just stuck with saying that its broken.

The Brigadier

Did you buy from Jes per chance?

If so you have no protection from the Sale of Goods act.

Also because they don't take credit cards you have no purchase proctection.

subway_ie

Originally posted by The Brigadier
Did you buy from Jes per chance?

If so you have no protection from the Sale of Goods act.

Also because they don't take credit cards you have no purchase proctection.

There'll be a similar law in Germany (practically the same as the Sale of Goods Act), which will apply to Jes. If you did buy from Jes and paid by PayPal, I think they offer some kind of purchase protection

The Brigadier

Yes there will be a similar act, but it will only apply to sales in that country. The same way as germans buying from an Irish e-tailer are not given that protection.

maxheadroom

Originally posted by The Brigadier
Yes there will be a similar act, but it will only apply to sales in that country. The same way as germans buying from an Irish e-tailer are not given that protection.

I'm afraid this is incorrect. There is EU wide legislation in place to protect buyers shopping accross borders but within the EU. See http://www.oasis.gov.ie/consumer_affairs/consumer_rights_and_cross_border_shopping_in_the_european_union.html for starters.

Secondly, I'm almost sure that national consumer laws apply regardless of whether or not you were physically in the country when you made the purchace - its all doen to the laws governing the contract.

The Brigadier

Originally posted by maxheadroom
I'm afraid this is incorrect.

Nope,

you have the Sale of Consumer Goods directive. An EU consumer directive.

The independant states consumer laws while applicable to any member, only apply to transactions in that member state.

Mutant_Fruit

I didn;t really want to name the company, but i suppose i should... I bought the board from komplett.ie. I did ring them earlier today, and they said all they could do was replace the board with another one of the same kind.

I explained that the board is dodgy, and that i don't want another one of the same kind, as it also turns out to be the wrong one! But i was told (and the guy was adament about this) that all they could do was exchange the board for a replacement of the same model.

I specifically asked that considaring the board was dodgy, could i return it to them, and get a different one back (paying the balance due) and i was told no way, not a chance. I then asked if i could send the board back for a refund, and i was told "Nope, sorry, your two weeks are up".

To be honest, this is the first bad experience i've had with komplett, and i was really surprised about this. I'll ring up tomorrow start quoting stuff if they won't refund me. Its a 50eur board, and i'm buying a 75 euro board off them as the replacement, so its not as if they are going to lose money out of this.

EDIT: Komplett are an irish-registered company, so they are definately subject to the irish laws .

The Brigadier

You are in a very grey area here.

At this point it would be reasonable for the company to offer you a replacement or a repair (their choice)

You could go to the small claims court...but you are not guaranteed to win.

As it is only 3 weeks since you bought the item, you would have a good chance of winning.

neokenzo

When I wanted to purchased something from Komplett, I've asked them a few questions before I went and bought stuff from them but my assumption of Komplett was that they do not adhered to some of the Irish laws. Probably due that these circumstances happens very rarely and when it does, most would just ignore it. Although that one particular situation when they didnt adhered to Irish laws didnt have much affect on me so I didnt bother to make a fuss about it.

Mutant_Fruit

Forget the non-compatibility issues. The board is dodgy. I bought it about 3 weeks ago. I want a refund. That seems to be covered by the law, isn't it?

secret_squirrel

Looks like you have a watertight case to me. Most companies are quite happy to rma a product if you tell them you want to buy a more expensive one. Its a win-win situation for them...they get more money and a happy customer.

Very disappointing of Komplett to act this way. Maybe the guy you spoke to is a git/ignorant of the law. Perhaps he is on the same drugs as who ever has been doing their offer page recently?

Have you tried raising it with Patman in the Komplett forum???

Duffman

Originally posted by The Brigadier
Nope,
you have the Sale of Consumer Goods directive. An EU consumer directive.

Originally posted by maxheadroom
I'm afraid this is incorrect. There is EU wide legislation in place to protect buyers shopping accross borders but within the EU. See http://www.oasis.gov.ie/consumer_af...pean_union.html for starters.

Just to clear up some confusion and incorrect information..

An EU directive does not have direct effect within a member state. A directive will only grant rights you can invoke directly in exceptional circumstances. It is up to the individual state to comply with the objective of the directive through national legislation, ie. Irish law...

Sale of Goods Act 1893, section 14 is relevant here... Ask Komplett nicely for a refund... then send them a strongly worded email.. I doubt anything futher will be necessary..