Fault with TV. Sony refuse to acknowledge

OllieMc

Hi all. Looking for a bit of advice.I purchased a Sony 46KDLX3000 TV 18 months ago. It cost 2000 euro and was considered a flagship model for Sony at the time. The TV came with a 12 month warranty. Since I bought the TV the shop I bought it from has gone out of business.About two months ago the TV developed a problem as in the right hand side of the screen is distorted and unwatchable for about 20 mins after its turned on. This then clears up and the picture is perfect. I have done a bit of research through the internet and have discovered that this is a common problem with these TV's. Alot of people on different forums are having the exact same problem with Sony TV's as myself. I then discovered that Sony in the USA have acknowledged this problem with the same model TV and are replacing the panel even when the set is well out of warranty.The problem I have is Sony Europe wont acknowlege a problem with my set and say I will have to pay the costs of repair (which is seemingly about €900) They have totally fobbed me off and have said they have never heard of the problem before. I was told that what Sony USA do is no concern to Sony Europe. I have noticed on some forums that Sony are replacing TV's for some people but only after a lot of pressure. They wont officially accept that a problem exists with the TV's but some people are having them replaced or fixed. They are putting people through the hoops looking for proof of purchase and engineers reports. The problem I have is I have no proof of purchase as I paid with cash, I didnt keep a receipt and the shop I bought it from is closed Has anyone any ideas how I should proceed with this

Sponge Bob

Small Claims Court for Sony then. Get Sony Ireland to 'quote' you the cost of the repair in writing first and then claim the whole lot in the SCC in advance. Thereafter you may send the telly off for the repair and pay them with their own money.

Add a few quid for your valuable time spent 'resolving' the matter and taking time off work as well.

JustAddWater

The model number will have the year of the TV on it so can be easily proved it's only an '08 model


Found this

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/FAQs/Faulty-goods/

A 2008 model shouldnt break so soon!

Good luck!
Q11. I have a faulty good but my guarantee is out of date by one month. Is there anything I can do?


A guarantee/warranty is a bonus and cannot affect or diminish your statutory rights with the seller. A guarantee/warranty is a written statement given by a manufacturer or a company indicating they will repair or replace a product within a specified time after it was purchased. You may decide to claim under a guarantee during its period of validity, but cannot be obliged to do so.
Therefore you may, if the reasonable lifetime of a given product exceeds the time period of any warranty, pursue the seller in respect of your statutory rights - 'The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980'. If the trader refuses to offer redress for the faulty goods and you have exhausted all other options you may wish to pursue the matter with the Small Claims Court.
A guarantee may be useful to a third party, however, as it extends to anyone possessing the goods during the guarantee period. This contrasts with the statutory rights of a purchaser, which extend only to the original purchaser of a good and not to any subsequent recipient or owner of that product. This distinction in important to note in respect of items given as gifts or the purchase/use of second hand items.

P. Breathnach

I'm not sure the Small Claims Court would accept the case. OllieMc's contract was with a shop that no longer exists, and not with Sony.

Further, OllieMc is in the unfortunate position of not having any proof of purchase, so I think it would be difficult to pursue a case against anybody who was not interested in accepting responsibility.

Sorry to take a pessimistic view, OllieMc: I think you are snookered on this one unless Sony take the matter on board as a "goodwill" (meaning "public relations") gesture. On the basis of what you say, that does not look very likely.

CrinkElite

Hi Olliemc, I feel for you man, a friend of mine is in the process of trying to force sony to replace a very expensive laptop that has died due to a well known fault that sony has been denying for years.

I think people should stay the hell away from Sony, their electronics are hugely overpriced considering the fact that they are unwilling to stand by them when they fail 18 months down the line.
Paying over the odds for quality is all very good but when the quality is not provided, people need to look elsewhere.

And then there's the rootkit/spying software fiasco.

I'm with spongebob on this one. Take them to court, get your TV fixed and never buy another Sony product.

keep us posted.

antoinolachtnai

You are down to goodwill here. Your dispute is with the shop, not with Sony.

brianwalshcork

Have to agree with the poster above re staying away from Sony products. Spent 3k on a Sony tv a few years back, state of the art at the time. Turns out that state of the art means untried and untested. It didn't last much longer than the warranty. Have not bought anything Sony since.

91011

It would need to be checked out, but in the absence of the store being available to fix the product, the manufacturer can still be pursued as they made the product and the product seems to have a manufacturing fault.

They also quite clearly state in most fo their warranties, that you contact them and not the store so that they can deal directly wit the issue.

Conor Pope in the Irish Times can sometimes be quite good at eliciting more favoiurable responses fom manufacturers.

OllieMc

Thanks for all the replys

Here is a link to the Sony USA site.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?news_id=378&mdl=KDL46XBR4

As you can see they have acknowledged a fault with the sets and are rectifying them. Obviously the only thing that Sony Europe are worried about is cost and not looking after customers.

I think my only option is to keep plaguing them and hope for the best. I have heard from a few people who got a result after a lot of this. My problem is the proof of purchase.

One thing Ive learned from this is I will never ever buy Sony product again and I would urge anyone reading this to do the same.

P. Breathnach

OllieMc wrote: »

... I think my only option is to keep plaguing them and hope for the best. I have heard from a few people who got a result after a lot of this. My problem is the proof of purchase.

One thing Ive learned from this is I will never ever buy Sony product again and I would urge anyone reading this to do the same.

Good luck with plaguing them. It might help to say that you are prepared to go online and tell as many people as possible; another thing, already mentioned, is to seek the help of a journalist with a special interest in consumer affairs.

I'm sure that you have learned more than one thing from all of this. Keep your proof of purchase, even if it is only a till receipt or cash sale docket.