Power City Problem

Amaru KGB

I purchased a Sony camera for my holiers in November but as soon as i arrived on holidays the camera stopped working. Unfortunately this led to me buying a new digital camera because I needed one for the rest of the holiday.

When I came home I brought the camera in to power city and asked politely that they give me a credit note as I had no need for two cameras. They said it was up to Sony so you will just have to wait.

I got a txt today from power city saying that the camera had been repaired. I rang the shop and she said that they couldn't do anything. I then rang Sony who were much more understanding but they said the contract was between myself and the shop.

I have absolutely no need for a second camera and I am pretty annoyed they didn't even try and help me under the circumstances.

Is there any way that I could get some other sort of reimbursement?

Miaireland

Not really. You are entitled to either a refund/replace or repair but it is up to the shop to pick which. In this case they opted for repair.

monkeypants

I don't think there's anything that you can do. As Miaireland says, there are three options. The store/manufacturer will normally try repair first. The situation is complicated by you going off and buying another camera without agreeing anything with them first.

Amaru KGB

Miaireland wrote: »

Not really. You are entitled to either a refund/replace or repair but it is up to the shop to pick which. In this case they opted for repair.

I had a feeling about that unfortunately.

My biggest problem is that I have done a lot of business there before and they didn't even try and accommodate me.

They even lied saying it was up to Sony and nothing to do with them

Amaru KGB

monkeypants wrote: »

I don't think there's anything that you can do. As Miaireland says, there are three options. The store/manufacturer will normally try repair first. The situation is complicated by you going off and buying another camera without agreeing anything with them first.

I know but it's hard to try and do that when you hundred of miles away

Antigone05

Amaru KGB wrote: »

I had a feeling about that unfortunately.

My biggest problem is that I have done a lot of business there before and they didn't even try and accommodate me.

They even lied saying it was up to Sony and nothing to do with them

Well, lets say they do give you your money back, or credit.

They cannot now sell this camera as the serial number will have repair history on it so they will have to go to Sony for credit themselves.

Sony are quite strict on on DOAs and return claims, if there is a SINGLE mark on the unit they will not credit the retailer, this includes the packing and contents.

Its a bit both ways on this, i dont think they lied to you, i just dont think they explained it very well.
They dont need to do more as they have already repaired the unit.

Maybe sell on your camera to a friend?

Cabaal

Amaru KGB wrote: »

I had a feeling about that unfortunately.

My biggest problem is that I have done a lot of business there before and they didn't even try and accommodate me.

They even lied saying it was up to Sony and nothing to do with them

But they've done nothing wrong regardless they don't have to give you a credit note by law in the manner of which you were seeking.

Why not accept back the camera and just sell it on yourself?

The thread title of this thread is very misleading as its not a problem with powercity its a problem with what you believe your entitled and should get to, one is very different to the other.

Amaru KGB

Cabaal wrote: »

But they've done nothing wrong regardless they don't have to give you a credit note by law in the manner of which you were seeking.

Why not accept back the camera and just sell it on yourself?

The thread title of this thread is very misleading as its not a problem with powercity its a problem with what you believe your entitled and should get to, one is very different to the other.

It's a problem I had with Power City hence Power City problem, how is that misleading?

Nonoperational

They are perfectly within their rights to repair it.

dudara

Cabaal wrote:

The thread title of this thread is very misleading as its not a problem with powercity its a problem with what you believe your entitled and should get to, one is very different to the other.

I have no problem with this thread title. The OP believed he had a problem with Power City, therefore the title was valid for him. He should hopefully now know otherwise, thanks to the contributions of other posters.

OP, Powercity didn't do anything wrong here.

They probably have a strict contract with Sony, whereby they won't receive the cost of the camera back unless Sony first attempt repair.

Tough break for you, but nothing wrong was done.

LeBash

I dont want to sound cheeky here, but the problem was not with Sony or Power City. Sony have repaired the problem. Power City, may or may not have checked to a refund or credit note, but as they said they did, we'll give them the benifit of doubt.

You however decided that the best course of action, while on holidays after finding your first camera was broke, was to buy another digital camera. Why on earth didnt you buy disposable cameras, or the cheapest regular camera you could get your hands on?

I can understand its annoying for something like that to happen, but buying a brand new camera is a little excessive.

On the good side, the sister site to this site is www.adverts.ie where you can sell one of the 2 and lose just some of the money instead of all of it

deiseindublin

Power City customer service always sucks. Bought an American fridge freezer there last May. They wouldn't give me any discount on it but said they'd throw in a free filter worth €50. I was delighted and bought on the strength of the deal.

Set up fridge freezer and realised they had given me the wrong type of filter.

Went back to PC and they told me they couldn't do anything for me because I hadn't a receipt for the filter. I showed them the receipt for the FF but they said the filter needed to be on it too etc etc etc.

Long story short - banging my head against a brick wall and won't be parting with my money there again.

bungler

Cabaal wrote: »

But they've done nothing wrong regardless they don't have to give you a credit note by law in the manner of which you were seeking.

Why not accept back the camera and just sell it on yourself?

The thread title of this thread is very misleading as its not a problem with powercity its a problem with what you believe your entitled and should get to, one is very different to the other.

Rubbish, OP might not know the law inside out like most of us and should be allowed to voice his opinions without the title being nit picked.

Amaru KGB

dudara wrote: »

I have no problem with this thread title. The OP believed he had a problem with Power City, therefore the title was valid for him. He should hopefully now know otherwise, thanks to the contributions of other posters.

OP, Powercity didn't do anything wrong here.

They probably have a strict contract with Sony, whereby they won't receive the cost of the camera back unless Sony first attempt repair.

Tough break for you, but nothing wrong was done.

Thanks dudara, I don't no any legal details regarding this stuff so I just wanted to find out where I stood by getting peoples opinions.

As I was sent back and forth I didn't know who to trust but I understand Power City's point here.

LeBash wrote: »

I dont want to sound cheeky here, but the problem was not with Sony or Power City. Sony have repaired the problem. Power City, may or may not have checked to a refund or credit note, but as they said they did, we'll give them the benifit of doubt.

You however decided that the best course of action, while on holidays after finding your first camera was broke, was to buy another digital camera. Why on earth didnt you buy disposable cameras, or the cheapest regular camera you could get your hands on?

I can understand its annoying for something like that to happen, but buying a brand new camera is a little excessive.

On the good side, the sister site to this site is www.adverts.ie where you can sell one of the 2 and lose just some of the money instead of all of it

Thanks for they reply. I wanted to buy a disposible camera but it was my first holiday away with my girlfriend and she really wanted didigtal photos for Facebook etc.

However when I came home I found out you can get digital photos from a disposible so that was a bit of a kick in the teeth but I suppose all you can do is laugh.

bungler wrote: »

Rubbish, OP might not know the law inside out like most of us and should be allowed to voice his opinions without the title being nit picked.

Cheers bungler, thats exactly it. I didn't know there was a certain etiquette for tread titles.

And just like dudara said, thanks for the reply's.

bungler

No problem, I find a lot on Boards that if you are unsure of something or ask a slightly silly question(in the eyes of the reader) you are made feel stupid for asking.

Its happened to me a few times where i dont know the answer to something so ill put up a thread and once or twice a mod has made me feel 2 inches for asking, such as there was a thread about this before so they will close the thread, thats fine but on one occasion it turns out the thread was last posted about 7 months prior.

monkeypants

Amaru KGB wrote: »

I know but it's hard to try and do that when you hundred of miles away

I understand. Crappy situation to be honest.

givyjoe81

I dont think any of the above is correct, my legal knowledge is fuzzy at this this stage as is the actual sale of goods act as far as i can on this particular issue.

I dont think its very clear what exactly the seller MUST do in such a case but my understanding of the law is that you are entitled to a refund, repair or replacement, with the choice being yours and NOT the seller, i.e. Power City in this case. Rather than read through the whole act i searched for a summary which isnt definitive by any means.

http://www.pragmatica.ie/documents/Responsibilitiesofretailersunderthe.pdf

foggy_lad

givyjoe81 wrote: »

I dont think any of the above is correct, my legal knowledge is fuzzy at this this stage as is the actual sale of goods act as far as i can on this particular issue.

I dont think its very clear what exactly the seller MUST do in such a case but my understanding of the law is that you are entitled to a refund, repair or replacement, with the choice being yours and NOT the seller, i.e. Power City in this case. Rather than read through the whole act i searched for a summary which isnt definitive by any means.

http://www.pragmatica.ie/documents/Responsibilitiesofretailersunderthe.pdf

the seller must offer repair replacement or a refund and if they do not the buyer has the right to seek redress through the courts or in most cases under €2000 in the small claims court! but if one of the above is offered the seller can reject the offer but would need good reason to do so or it may be seen as being unreasonable in the small claims court!

givyjoe81

foggy_lad wrote: »

the seller must offer repair replacement or a refund and if they do not the buyer has the right to seek redress through the courts or in most cases under €2000 in the small claims court! but if one of the above is offered the seller can reject the offer but would need good reason to do so or it may be seen as being unreasonable in the small claims court!

Would wanting a refund not be a reasonable reason?! See as its either or etc!! Myself i think its perfectly reasonable not wanting to accept repair of a brand new camera which breaks within weeks and could quite easily/likely break again.

Antigone05

within weeks? purchase was made in November, fault is brought to attention in January.

Powercity have offered the repair, if it went to small claims, they would favor the retailer as the consumer would be deemed unreasonable not taking a repair.

They entertained one of the 3 R's, why would they side with the consumer here?Because Powercity were unreasonable? i think not

ch750536

foggy_lad wrote: »

the seller must offer repair replacement or a refund and if they do not the buyer has the right to seek redress through the courts or in most cases under €2000 in the small claims court! but if one of the above is offered the seller can reject the offer but would need good reason to do so or it may be seen as being unreasonable in the small claims court!

Its up to the seller and the consumer to come to an agreement. No one party has power of veto. If they dont come to an agreement then it goes to the small claims court.

I would take the repair and then sell on one of the camera myself.

ch750536

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Would wanting a refund not be a reasonable reason?! See as its either or etc!! Myself i think its perfectly reasonable not wanting to accept repair of a brand new camera which breaks within weeks and could quite easily/likely break again.

If you purchased one of the new 'electronic handbrake' cars and the handbrake failed, you may have a case since your belief in the product is no longer there. Since this is a camera, either find good argument as to why the defect intimates other issues may later follow or take the repair option.

givyjoe81

ch750536 wrote: »

If you purchased one of the new 'electronic handbrake' cars and the handbrake failed, you may have a case since your belief in the product is no longer there. Since this is a camera, either find good argument as to why the defect intimates other issues may later follow or take the repair option.

I would argue it is perfectly reasonable for a consumer not to want a repair on an item which should last years and not weeks, who knows, that is perfectly reasonable, it should also be no skin off the retailers nose as they are not the manufacturer so surely god they can easily get their money back too.

As I merely pointed out, it is not clear who has the final say on what the customer recieves, but others stated that the company could decide irrespective of the customers wishes which is not true.

Cabaal

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Would wanting a refund not be a reasonable reason?! See as its either or etc!! Myself i think its perfectly reasonable not wanting to accept repair of a brand new camera which breaks within weeks and could quite easily/likely break again.

No its not a reasonable reason,
Consumer Connect will advise the OP of this also

Amaru KGB

Antigone05 wrote: »

within weeks? purchase was made in November, fault is brought to attention in January.

Powercity have offered the repair, if it went to small claims, they would favor the retailer as the consumer would be deemed unreasonable not taking a repair.

They entertained one of the 3 R's, why would they side with the consumer here?Because Powercity were unreasonable? i think not

The purchase was made in November and when I got back from holidays and brought it back it was early December. They just took until January to get back to me.

It's the lack of service, communication and general manners from some of the staff that was quite disappointing. Some there are quite helpful I just got stuck dealing with the wrong people

givyjoe81

Cabaal wrote: »

No its not a reasonable reason,
Consumer Connect will advise the OP of this also

Why is it not a valid reason?! Why will consumer connect confirm this? A product of merchantable quality fit for purpose.. will NOT break down after a couple of weeks, i certainly wouldnt be happy with the repair of such a faultly item and I ask to please explain how that is unreasonable!! Such a product has clearly not come off the manufacuring line without defects, and it reasonable to expect there are more defects which will show up sooner rather than later. Would you accept the repair of shoe that you just bought if the sole fell off after a couple of wears?!

Il give you an example of proper customer service for situations like this, i bought an xbox several years ago, unknown to me which has a manufacturing fault, it broke down outside of the usual warranty and MS replaced it with a brand new one. Now if that happened withing a couple of weeks, even now, i bet you my left arm instead of a repair, you would be walking away with at least a replacement, and not a repair.

bungler

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Why is it not a valid reason?! Why will consumer connect confirm this? A product of merchantable quality fit for purpose.. will NOT break down after a couple of weeks, i certainly wouldnt be happy with the repair of such a faultly item and I ask to please explain how that is unreasonable!! Such a product has clearly not come off the manufacuring line without defects, and it reasonable to expect there are more defects which will show up sooner rather than later. Would you accept the repair of shoe that you just bought if the sole fell off after a couple of wears?!

Il give you an example of proper customer service for situations like this, i bought an xbox several years ago, unknown to me which has a manufacturing fault, it broke down outside of the usual warranty and MS replaced it with a brand new one. Now if that happened withing a couple of weeks, even now, i bet you my left arm instead of a repair, you would be walking away with at least a replacement, and not a repair.

great reply,

i remember buying a camera for xmas 2 years ago from powercity and 3 weeks later its would not work,i brought it back to powercity and they sent it off to be repaired.3weeks later i heard nothing. 4 weeks later they rang and said "they found it" i took it home andspent hours trying to feel off the tape and glue they put on it.

the camera still didnt work, 3 times it was sent back to be fixed which totalled over 3 months. powercity should have given me a refund as i was unhappy to keep taking it back knowing that it has been opened up numerous times.

powercity have the worst customer services,management and staff, everyone i dealt with was snotty and this is what annoyed me cause it wasnt my fault.