Small claims case

tsue921i8wljb3

In December 2007 I purchased an LCD television from a UK website. The tv was manufactured by a well known international brand. Recently the set has been showing signs of overheating and now will not turn on at all.

The retailer has recently ceased trading so I contacted the manufacturer by phone and was told that the set was out of it's one year guarantee so I would be liable for the cost of repair. I then sent a registered letter to the companies headquarters in the UK stating that I felt under EU and Irish law that I was entitled to a repair or replacement at their cost.

They have since replied stating that under both UK and EU law my contract was with the retailer and that they are absolved of any liability. They did include a line which I thought strange, "As such, we regret that in the circumstances of your case, we are not legally obligated to provide you with a remedy and any assistance we may give is done solely on a goodwill basis."

My question therefore is it, in your opinion, worthwhile taking a small claims action against them? I see on the courts.ie site there is a procedure for making a claim against a party in another EU country. The manufacturer also has a registered company based in Dublin so would it be better to make the claim against this section of the company even though all my correspondence has been with the UK arm?

Thanks for reading the long post and for any advice given.

Elessar

AFAIK you can only take the retailer from whom you purchased the item to the SCC. You did not purchase directly from the manufacturer so you have no contract with them. The contract is with the retailer. If it's a UK one you I think you will need to go through the UK small claims court. Although an EU-wide system for bringing small claims to any retailer in any EU country was recently introduced. You can ring the court and ask them. However this whole process could be pointless if, as you say, the company in question is no longer trading.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

calex71

They do have a point OP , your contract was with the retailer.

Unfortunately , i don't think you have a case against the manufacturer.

tsue921i8wljb3

Thanks for the replies.

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I originally rang the number I found on the Irish section of their site but it put me through to the UK headquarters. I will send them a letter as you say to see if they have a different take on it.

whippet

I would imagine you don't have a leg to stand on legally, you might have a chance of getting a goodwill repair done.

Your contract is with the retailer who obviously do not exist anymore, therefore there isn't a second party to the contract anymore.

Thinking about it from another angle, if the retailer was still operational, and you had approached them about fixing the machine and they said to deal with the makers you would more than likely be arguing saying that you have a contract with the company whom you gave the money to!!

jor el

I would think you may have a case here. In normal circumstances, you are always have the right to go to the retailer, or the manufacturer. In many cases, it's actually best to go to the manufacturer anyway. In this case, the manufacturer has already been paid for the TV, so it shouldn't matter that the retailer has gone bust. If the retailer were still trading, you could have the repair done with the manufacturer, and given that it's been over a year since you bought it, the manufacturer would be the better choice.

Getting the manufacturer to agree, and cover the repair is going to be difficult, as you have already found out. I would suggest contacting any or all of the following:
www.consumerconnect.ie
www.citizensinformation.ie
www.consumerassociation.ie
www.ecic.ie
and see what they say. Since the original retailer and the manufacturer are UK based, you may not be able to submit a small claims court application here.

farney

jor el wrote: »

I would think you may have a case here. In normal circumstances, you are always have the right to go to the retailer, or the manufacturer. In many cases, it's actually best to go to the manufacturer anyway. In this case, the manufacturer has already been paid for the TV, so it shouldn't matter that the retailer has gone bust. If the retailer were still trading, you could have the repair done with the manufacturer, and given that it's been over a year since you bought it, the manufacturer would be the better choice.

Getting the manufacturer to agree, and cover the repair is going to be difficult, as you have already found out. I would suggest contacting any or all of the following:
www.consumerconnect.ie
www.citizensinformation.ie
www.consumerassociation.ie
www.ecic.ie
and see what they say. Since the original retailer and the manufacturer are UK based, you may not be able to submit a small claims court application here.

I agree with jorel. In normal circumstances you would deal with the retailer however if they are no longer around, as a consumer you should not be disadvantaged by that. If the product is faulty you are entitled to redress. The time limit for product liability in Ireland and the UK is 6 years. I would suggest you contact the European Consumer Centre as per previous post www.ecic.ie They can assist in cross border small claims http://www.eccireland.ie/news/whats_new/188.html

tsue921i8wljb3

I just wanted to give some closure to this thread. As jor el suggested I did contact the European Consumer Centre. They advised me that I most likely do not have a case against the manufacturer and that since the retailer has ceased trading it would be extremely difficult to obtain redress. Anyway thanks for all the advice given.