Out of Warranty Consumer Rights

Board@Work

Sorry if posted anywhere else.


What are my rights for a product that is faulty out of warranty.

For instance: Laptop 18 months old screen fails told hundreds of Euros to fix?

Is it a case that once a product goes one day out of warranty the manufacture is not obliged to fix it?

dade

i would think so yeah unless it is a fault that existed from day one

Ste.phen

Well if the fault occurred through no fault of the consumer* then surely it wasn't fit for the purpose and the retailer is obliged by law to get it repaired or replaced?

* - They will almost certainly attempt to prove it's your fault, either by checking for moisture damage, or the laptop having taken a hard knock, etc.

Board@Work

So even if the fault happened out side of warranty they are obliged to repair it. Is there a time limit?

MysticalSoul

I would say it's a lost cause, as 18 months is quite a significant warranty for something like a laptop. If you had reported a problem within the warranty, and a repair attempt had been made, or was in the process of being done, and then another/same problem arose, you may have had some come back, but from your post this does not seem the case.

Doctor DooM

As I understand- and I am a lay man- the letter of the law says if the goods fail within a "reasonable period" then the reseller should offer a remedy (repair, refund, or replacement).

"Reasonable period" is left undefined on purpose. Resellers decide what is their own reasonable period in the form of their garantees, but ultimately the small claims court et al can certainly over ride it if needs be- as long as they agree the item is broken not of the fault of the customer within a "reasonable time".

I'm sorry thats a wishy washy answer but the letter of the law can't be specific for obvious reasons.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Board@Work wrote: »

So even if the fault happened out side of warranty they are obliged to repair it. Is there a time limit?

The law, afaik, judges every case on it's merits, taking into account the price of the item and the expected lifetime of similar products.

shayser

Didn't Dell go as far as three years recently with their Inspiron laptop screens?

Doctor DooM

shayser wrote: »

Didn't Dell go as far as three years recently with their Inspiron laptop screens?

If they did that was their own customer care initiative and doesn't mean anyone actually has to offer the same.

Elessar

A companys warranty policy is just that, a company policy and in no way affects your statutory rights.

Depending on the price of the laptop and the lifetime of similar laptops, it can be argued that you had a "reasonable expectation" for the laptop to last longer than 18 months.

Generally manufacturers and retailers don't give a hoot about the law in these situations and it's likely you will have a fight on your hands. If all else fails you can lodge a case in the small claims court and have a judge make a decision. I'd say you have a good chance. As well, generally a company will settle out of court for such small matters as it would not be viable to fight a case for a relatively small amount.

LolaDub

I would give the national consumer agency a call in your case. They should be able to tell you if 18 months is a reasonable amount of time and how to go about approaching the company. Could this be dell by any chance?

Board@Work

No acer, but I am trying to keep it general as it happened to an iPod after 15 months and i didnt fight it. I would assume that the warranty is the defined reasonable time and I was aware of the warranty period prior to purchase. How would the consumer agency know what a reasonable amount of time is, surely it is completely subjective and dependent on different issues