Suppliers of goods and Manufacturers warranty. Help please

topsoff

Looking for some advice, pleasssseee!

I purchased a Samsung 50 inch plamsa TV just under a year ago. I now have a fault with the picture were after an hour or so of the TV being on a really thin dark line that runs top to bottom appears. It seems to only be exaggerated on bright colours such as green football pitch or white background. Now, I called up curries and described the symptoms of the fault and they agreed to pick up the TV and have their “tech” guys repair. The set was gone for around two weeks (approx) and was duly derived back. I received no other paper work other than a delivery note from the courier.

I poped the TV back onto the stand and after an hour, hey presto, the dark thin line (roughly the width of a pixel)had returned. Quite miffed I decided to contact curries again and I explained my plight. The girl re-directed to the their “Tech” guys in another store were they troubleshoot and repair I presume. When I contacted this store in Liffey valley they had my case available to hand and began telling the fault was phenomena called “Image Burn” which was caused by leaving a DVD on a menu page or games console on for extended periods of time causing the image that is displayed to be retained on the screen forever. I told them that this didn’t sound like my symptom at all and would like my TV be picked up and repaired again please. Then the bombshell. They told me that this particular fault is not covered under the manufacturers warranty and that it was known error and highlighted in the instructions.
They said if the manufacturers do repair it I would have to pay the cost.

I had a problem with statement for a couple of reasons. 1) I don’t have a games console nor do I have a DVD player 2) When I was buying this TV at a cost of nearly 2000 euro’s why didn’t the sales assistant forewarn of fault and 3) I’m not sure this fault is “image Burn” as it doesn’t retain an image as only one line of pixels seem to be effected.
The other issue and probably the one that is most frustrating is the Curries policy. I cannot believe that they are trying to wash their hands of this and telling me, yes it is a fault, no we won’t repair/refund/replace the faulty item we sold you, and yes this isn’t covered under the manufacturers warranty.
I then called back the curries store where I purchased the TV and spoke to the duty manager, I think. She began to tell me I was legally obliged to read the instructions!!!! I began to lose the head. So I went off and sought from advice from Consumer Information – Consumer affairs. They told me that I was legally entitled to repair/replacement or refund of my goods under the Sale of goods and services act 1980.

So armed with a little legal buff I decided to call curries back the next day and managed to get another duty manager who was obviously the “good cop” in the organisation. He agreed that the symptoms didn’t sound like “Image Burn” and that this particular fault sounded pixel issue. It was Friday afternoon and he wouldn’t be in the office until today, Wednesday, and insisted that he’s ring me back. He didn’t. I called a couple of times and he’s in a “meeting” so I’m dealing with another girl now who seems to well up on consumers affairs and has asked me to write a detailed letter quoting my legal stand point etc.

I just want my TV fixed! It cost a lot of money. But I’m not sure where I stand. Is this manufacturers warranty different to the curries warranty and why? I didn’t buy the goods from Samsung I bought them from Curries. Are you really better off going to the small claims court? I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. The only literature I find suggests that I am entitled to repair, replacement, or refund if the items I purchased are in warranty and faulty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please advise.

mcaul

If people read the boards on a regular basis you will find that there are untold customer service problems with DGS group retailers - Currys, PC World & Dixons.

With all these problems I wouldn't even purchase a set of batteries from one of the stores!







.

Kensington

Hi

Sorry to hear you're having problems with your set. Unfortunately, this does seem to happen to quite a few samsung sets. Nothing to do with screen burn (screen burn is a permanent faint image on the screen which will be apparent as soon as the set is turned on - not one hour after warming up). Google "Samsung green line" or "Samsung vertical line" and see the hits you get.

Within the first 12 months it is entirely up to Curry's to sort out the problems for you, especially in the case of previous repairs not having worked - legally, they must do this.

Have you tried contacting Samsung yourself? Generally, Samsung repairs are organised by the customer contacting their helpline (usually this is far faster than trying to have a retailer sort it out for you) and shouldn't feed you any búllshít. Also send a letter of complaint to DSG first, preferably by registered post - include everything about it having being repaired previously yet it still has same fault and also quote the Sale Of Goods act which gives you Repair, Replace, Refund (Request a replacement or refund, but do note that it is at the discretion of the store which of the three is chosen - and it usually goes in the order listed above). Try and keep calm and don't lose the head or anything also, in most cases this'll work completely against you.

If you don't get a satisfactory response from them, then by all means go the SCC route. On the other hand, if they decide to replace the set, make sure you find out if there's a warranty or some sort of guarantee on your new set - who's to say it won't happen again six months down the road?

astrofool

I'd go directly to Samsung, the fact that Currys think it's screen burn should indicate what a bunch of blithering idiots they are. While legally you can pursue them to fix it, it's a long windy road to get anything out of them.

I would however ring up their tech support again, tell them that the problem is not screen burn, and that the problem has occurred within the 12 month warranty period (which they might be trying to run down the clock on to avoid fixing).

The problem itself sounds like a slight misalignment of the image given the bezel around the screen (the screen itself extends a few pixels into the bezel), and probably needs a firmware update to get fixed, if not a new set of electronics to replace the ones that are there.

foggy_lad

the original fault is most likely a terminal one that cant be fixed by anyone and it sounds like currys are now trying to ignore you with bull-sh1t!

axer

Kensington wrote: »

Within the first 12 months it is entirely up to Curry's to sort out the problems for you, especially in the case of previous repairs not having worked - legally, they must do this.

Not sure where you are getting your 12 months figure from. You never have to deal with the manufacturer if you have not bought it directly from them or unless you choose to.

OP: Your TV is faulty no matter what anybody says to you. If you know the TV was used as it was supposed to be and was not abused then you do have a case under the sale of goods and supply of services act 1980. A reasonable person would not expect a TV worth that much to suffer a fault such as that and be expected to put up with it. I do know there are policies that some companies have regarding dead pixels but they are normally limited to 1-2 or 3 pixels.

If you contact the manufacturer direct then you must contact them for all future problems as you have acknowledged them that is why it is probably best to take it up with the seller. Maybe you could contact the manufacturer first to see what their take on the matter is without giving any identifiable information.

If Currys refuse to sort things out then you will have to go down the Small Claims route. You are lucky in that regard as the Small Claims Court only deal with claims up to €2,000.

topsoff

Great to get some informed advice. I really appreciate it. So let me get this right. Do I just go ahead and engage the Small Courts or do I notify one of “many” Duty Managers that fobbed me off that I'm taking this a step further? Just to let you know that I received a phone call from a Duty Manager that I dealt with on Wednesday telling me to go ahead and write them a letter of complaint and they would go from there. This to me sounds like long finger tactics, as in “yeah right, we’ll repair this when we’re ready”. Well I’m willing to wait another two months to be honest….
Anyone know the District Court Area and the District number?

Phoenix3

I dont have the patience for that letter writing crap.
Just allow yourself a few hours on a Saturday when the store is busy arrive with your Tv and demand a new TV. I dont mean to be heavy and make a show of yourself but be firm and stand your ground. Even be a few helpers with you for more impact.

You are totally in your rights to do this following the absolutely shoddy treatment. If you bought in Blanch I would meet you there for backup and support in your quest for just a little bit of respect having spent 2K

Phoenix3

axer

topsoff wrote: »

Great to get some informed advice. I really appreciate it. So let me get this right. Do I just go ahead and engage the Small Courts or do I notify one of “many” Duty Managers that fobbed me off that I'm taking this a step further? Just to let you know that I received a phone call from a Duty Manager that I dealt with on Wednesday telling me to go ahead and write them a letter of complaint and they would go from there. This to me sounds like long finger tactics, as in “yeah right, we’ll repair this when we’re ready”. Well I’m willing to wait another two months to be honest….
Anyone know the District Court Area and the District number?

Have you got records of when you were talking to currys? It would be good to prove you did bring the matter to their attention so that they could rectify the situation before taking the legal route. The best way is to ask orally first then if you don't get anywhere then write a letter (maybe registered) then if no response of not adequate response take them to small claims court. You then end up looking the reasonable person who tried to solve it without the courts and you have proof of that.

Cunning Alias

I used to work in customer service in PC World so this is what you should know.

They will only replace the TV in the store if it is under 30 days old. If you are a bit over this and you dont go in screaming your head off they will normally change it for you. I know this doesnt apply to your case but its something people should know.

As far as I remember, when a TV was faulty it would need to be booked with the "tech guys" and someone would either go out to your house or it would be collected. You can do this yourself but this is what I would do:

First take a few photos of the problem. There is nothing worse than someone bringing in a product that goes faulty after an hour and getting pissy when we didnt take their word for it.

Go into the store on a wednesday or friday night. DO NOT go in there at saturday lunch time as the managers and staff are going to be stressed out enough and if you want the staff to sort it for you, it will take time. The only problem with going in at night is that you might not get the head manager but any manager should be able to help you. Dont let them tell you to come back when he/she is there.

Explain the situation so far to the manager, show the pics. If they tell you it needs to be booked with the tech guys ASK THEM TO DO IT. If they say no, stress that you have done it yourself and had no joy. They dont have to but if the place is quiet they will probably get whoever is on customer service to do it.

If they put you on the phone make sure you are talking to someone who knows what they are talking about. You will probably know after talking to them for a few mins.

If you do it this way you will be able to deal with any problems as they arise and avoid going back and forth. If you find that the Currys staff dont seem to know what you are talking about with the problems, try talking to the PC World customer service people or better yet a technician. PC World staff (not the salesmen) tend to be techies.

Things may have changed in the last 8 months (when i left) but hopefully this will help. PM me if you have any questions.

Phoenix3 wrote: »

I dont have the patience for that letter writing crap.
Just allow yourself a few hours on a Saturday when the store is busy arrive with your Tv and demand a new TV. I dont mean to be heavy and make a show of yourself but be firm and stand your ground. Even be a few helpers with you for more impact.

You are totally in your rights to do this following the absolutely shoddy treatment. If you bought in Blanch I would meet you there for backup and support in your quest for just a little bit of respect having spent 2K

Phoenix3

This is the worst thing you could possibly do. This isnt the US. You are not within your rights to demand a replacement. The seller can either offer a replacement, repair or refund.

Here is what will happen if you do this. You will wait in line for a while. Be told to ring "tech guys", the staff wont do it for you as they dont have to and they will be too busy. If you dont accept this, the manager will just tell you that this is their repair procedure and will not help you at all. The managers know their stuff backwards. They will generally want to help you as its good business practice but not if you come in with an intimidating group at the busiest time of the week. I have only seen managers cave to "screamers" over items €30 or less.

axer

Cunning Alias wrote: »

You are not within your rights to demand a replacement. The seller can either offer a replacement, repair or refund.

While I agree that causing a big scene is not the way forward, I don't agree that the OP doesn't have the right to demand a replacement. The seller attempted to fix the problem and failed to do so and this problem has been going on too long without being fixed.

Nowhere in Irish law does it say that the seller has the legal right to force a particular remedy on the customer. The seller can offer remedys but the customer does not have to accept that particular remedy if there is good reason to demand another.

dilallio

I would call the manager one last time.
This time, ask him his first name, and then politely, tell him that you are recording this phone conversation. (If you can record the call you should do so, but as long as he thinks that you might be recording it, will suffice).Tell him again your name, address and phone number. Explain again the situation, and that you have sought 'independent' technical advise which indicates that this issue is not 'screen-burn'.
Tell him (or her), that you have been advised to go to the Small Claims Court, but out of politeness, you want to give them a final opportunity to rectify the problem in the way of either a repair, replacement, or refund. Explain that you are not going to call again, and that this recorded conversation is proof enough for a Small Claim, and that you have exhausted every other method of solving the issue amicably.
If he asks for more time, give him at least 4 hrs, but if he asks you for a mobile no to call u back, tell him to contact your landline (the no you provided at the beginning of the conversation) so you can record the reply.
Because he thinks that he is being recorded, he will not give you any crap that could embarress him at a later point. He may however, insist on more time if he is a junior manager, or on getting a more senior manager to call u back because he will not wish to commit to anything while he believes you are recording his response, and it may well be, that he would need to get approval higher up the chain.
I would not normally use this approach unless all other avenues have been exhausted (which they have in your case). No matter how much we dislike large organisations when the treat us badly, it is important to treat people who work for them with respect while firmly holding your ground.
I hope this helps. Good Luck.

axer

dilallio wrote: »

I would call the manager one last time.
This time, ask him his first name, and then politely, tell him that you are recording this phone conversation. (If you can record the call you should do so, but as long as he thinks that you might be recording it, will suffice).Tell him again your name, address and phone number. Explain again the situation, and that you have sought 'independent' technical advise which indicates that this issue is not 'screen-burn'.
Tell him (or her), that you have been advised to go to the Small Claims Court, but out of politeness, you want to give them a final opportunity to rectify the problem in the way of either a repair, replacement, or refund. Explain that you are not going to call again, and that this recorded conversation is proof enough for a Small Claim, and that you have exhausted every other method of solving the issue amicably.
If he asks for more time, give him at least 4 hrs, but if he asks you for a mobile no to call u back, tell him to contact your landline (the no you provided at the beginning of the conversation) so you can record the reply.
Because he thinks that he is being recorded, he will not give you any crap that could embarress him at a later point. He may however, insist on more time if he is a junior manager, or on getting a more senior manager to call u back because he will not wish to commit to anything while he believes you are recording his response, and it may well be, that he would need to get approval higher up the chain.
I would not normally use this approach unless all other avenues have been exhausted (which they have in your case). No matter how much we dislike large organisations when the treat us badly, it is important to treat people who work for them with respect while firmly holding your ground.
I hope this helps. Good Luck.

Don't call, write a letter and record postage/delivery. There are too many legalities involved in recording phone calls.

topsoff

I called this morning and got the Duty manager that told me my issue was not image burn and that he'd be happy to facilitate my request for a repair. He later refused to hear my case! Anyway, got this guy this morning and I only rang to let them know that I was taking this to the small courts. I asked for his second name as I’m trying to put together timelines, details etc. He refused to give me his second name for security reasons!!!! Anyway, I’ve engaged the Small courts (online) and paid my fee, €9.00. The only bummer is the TV cost me €2100 and the small courts only deal with claims up to €2000. To be honest its not the money now. I just want those ***** in Currys to pay up, repair or replace. Their attitude stinks. They had no problem taking €3000 off me for two TV’s and a home entertainment system.
Anyway, thanks for all the advise and with a bit of luck I’ll be back on in a few weeks (hopefully) with good news!!!!!!

topsoff

this went to the Small claims and the tv was picked up and repaired. I'm glad it was reqired as it would have been more man hours and paperwork for curry's. i will never deal with them again. a disgrace the way the dealt with me.

thanks again for all the advice and I hope you don't have the same hassle as I had with them.

T

EKRIUQ

Was that the ruling of the court to collect and repair the TV or did they do it before the small claims court hearing.

Hope it works out for you, did you have to go to court?, just being curious

axer

topsoff wrote: »

this went to the Small claims and the tv was picked up and repaired. I'm glad it was reqired as it would have been more man hours and paperwork for curry's. i will never deal with them again. a disgrace the way the dealt with me.

thanks again for all the advice and I hope you don't have the same hassle as I had with them.

T

Great to hear. Was there any trouble going through the small claims court? I have never had to use it yet so im curious to see how easy it is.

topsoff

never heard from the small courts at all. i put my claim through online and so I followed it from there. the first time i knew it was being dealt with was when a currys legal dude called me and asked for the receipt number and and who it was made out to. I didn't have it at the time and told them to ring back. They never did. Then around two weeks later I got a call from bond delivery to say my TV was being delivered the nest day. Currys never contacted me to tell me it was sorted. How professional.

EKRIUQ

Probably just wanted to check that you had proof of purchase from Currys, saw a case once where a customer was threating to sue "Byrnes World of Wonder" and when the receipt was produced it was actually "Smyths" where they had bought the item.

sunny2004

Well done OP.. I take my hat off to you !

topsoff

they really did tick me off. I might not of went to all that hassle if they hadn't have been sucj p1ss-ants...
they really didn't give a flying fcuk about the consumer and I'm guessing that this is accross the board. But i suppose i can be greatful that my TV was repired and put this down experience.

Thanks for all the advice you guys have given. Sometimes you need a push in the right direction.

foggy_lad

topsoff wrote: »

this went to the Small claims and the tv was picked up and repaired. I'm glad it was reqired as it would have been more man hours and paperwork for curry's. i will never deal with them again. a disgrace the way the dealt with me.

thanks again for all the advice and I hope you don't have the same hassle as I had with them.

T

glad to hear you got it sorted but hard to beleive any reputable company would go as far as the small claims court for something like this! how long did the whole process take in the end?

topsoff

from the time I contacted them about the fault until i got the TV back was about four months. Many many phone calls and a lot of frustration. I had to take some time of work when the TV was being picked x 2 and dropped back x 2, so all in all it also cost me.