Display Models

exspes

can anyone post a law or some such thing which clarifies the position taken on display models. surely there must be some legislation saying 'you can sell display models only if informed' and something about what your rights are whether it be return the item, receive a discount ect.

dudara

There is no explicit legislation.

However, Consumer Law says that the item must be as described and fit for purpose. By that logic, if the store informs you clearly that it is a display model, then they are covered. If they don't tell you and sell it to you as a new item, then it is "not as described".

Your normal consumer rights are intact when purchasing such items. However, it would be harder to prove the origin of defects etc, due to the wear & tear on the item. Therefore you should always negotiate good terms with the retailer, or else receive a significant discount.

lendmeyourear

dudara wrote: »

There is no explicit legislation.

However, Consumer Law says that the item must be as described and fit for purpose. By that logic, if the store informs you clearly that it is a display model, then they are covered. If they don't tell you and sell it to you as a new item, then it is "not as described".

Your normal consumer rights are intact when purchasing such items. However, it would be harder to prove the origin of defects etc, due to the wear & tear on the item. Therefore you should always negotiate good terms with the retailer, or else receive a significant discount.

I have on occasion succumbed to taking the display model when the shop were willing to sell it....two occasions come to mind, a laptop in PC World and a clock radio in Sony. I know when buying the item that there was a possibility that some fault might develop through the amount of casual pressings etc. whilst on display. I still buy with confidence knowing that my full rights are intact, if there is a fault on the item, it will be replaced or repaired, depending on the nature of the fault. There is a 12 month guarantee and depending on the cost of the item, there is an implied moral guarantee. That is to say if I spent 1500 on a television and some part made it inoperable on the 13th month, the company would have a hard time claiming it was fit for purpose and I would be heading toward the small claims court if I was not being heard. I get so annoyed with employees trying to sell me the extra 'insurance' for products as in Argos, Currys and PC World to name but a few. I reply on my consumer rights I tell them and am not interested in filling their coffers with my euro for insurance products. Did you ever notice how 'shirty' they become when you refuse this product. I also get the shop to state on the invoice that the item being purchased is the display model.

UrbanSea

lendmeyourear wrote: »

I have on occasion succumbed to taking the display model when the shop were willing to sell it....two occasions come to mind, a laptop in PC World and a clock radio in Sony. I know when buying the item that there was a possibility that some fault might develop through the amount of casual pressings etc. whilst on display. I still buy with confidence knowing that my full rights are intact, if there is a fault on the item, it will be replaced or repaired, depending on the nature of the fault. There is a 12 month guarantee and depending on the cost of the item, there is an implied moral guarantee. That is to say if I spent 1500 on a television and some part made it inoperable on the 13th month, the company would have a hard time claiming it was fit for purpose and I would be heading toward the small claims court if I was not being heard. I get so annoyed with employees trying to sell me the extra 'insurance' for products as in Argos, Currys and PC World to name but a few. I reply on my consumer rights I tell them and am not interested in filling their coffers with my euro for insurance products. Did you ever notice how 'shirty' they become when you refuse this product. I also get the shop to state on the invoice that the item being purchased is the display model.

I find that a big problem with international electrical retailers (argos and currys) I heard examples of people having an item a week out of guarantee and refusing to do anything about it. I'd always tell a person if it's a display model and if they don't want it that's fair enough.

WildOscar

lendmeyourear wrote: »

. I get so annoyed with employees trying to sell me the extra 'insurance' for productsl.

theold extended guarantee trick? I had that when buying this computer, he was telling me the last guys went after 13 months on a 12 month g'tee and he was not covered....

UrbanSea

WildOscar wrote: »

theold extended guarantee trick? I had that when buying this computer, he was telling me the last guys went after 13 months on a 12 month g'tee and he was not covered....

A shop who'd happily tell that story to a prospective client is not going to fill them with confidence with their after sales service.

WildOscar

greetings wrote: »

A shop who'd happily tell that story to a prospective client is not going to fill them with confidence with their after sales service.

guess the store

watty

Don't be fobbed off by Store Policies
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/pricewatch/2010/0517/1224270540798.html

NEVER buy an extended Warrenty. Not worth the paper they written on.

The only exception is no-quibble "next day on site" repair deals for something critical like a Business Computer or Milking Machine.

WildOscar

watty wrote: »

Don't be fobbed off by Store Policies
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/pricewatch/2010/0517/1224270540798.html

NEVER buy an extended Warrenty. Not worth the paper they written on.

The only exception is no-quibble "next day on site" repair deals for something critical like a Business Computer or Milking Machine.

wouldn't mind tesco. brought back a faultly dvd player and they said they had tp test it. i insisted on a replacement or small claimscourt regardless of their test and got one. then they admitted they did not have the technical expertise to test it. all they could do was play it. imagine a shop assistant playing it to 'test' it. still they would have been happy to let me keep it if their 'test' did not show fault That policy is probably illegal

P. Breathnach

WildOscar wrote: »

wouldn't mind tesco. brought back a faultly dvd player and they said they had tp test it. i insisted on a replacement or small claimscourt regardless of their test and got one. then they admitted they did not have the technical expertise to test it. all they could do was play it. imagine a shop assistant playing it to 'test' it. still they would have been happy to let me keep it if their 'test' did not show fault

I'm with you all the way on the above.

That policy is probably illegal

Here we part company: I cannot think of what law might be broken.

WildOscar

P. Breathnach wrote: »

I'm with you all the way on the above.



Here we part company: I cannot think of what law might be broken.

consumer law? they do not have the ability to test it? Under SOGSOS 1980 anyone providing a service must be qualified. Is testing a service, if so they are not qualified

P. Breathnach

WildOscar wrote: »

consumer law? they do not have the ability to test it? Under SOGSOS 1980 anyone providing a service must be qualified. Is testing a service, if so they are not qualified

Testing or checking an item that a customer wishes to return is not clearly covered by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act: it's not an instance of a service being sold.

Many retailers have policies that involve offering consumers less than their statutory rights (e.g. setting a shortish time limit on returning faulty goods, or trying to get people to accept credit notes rather than refunds). Like many, I strongly dislike such policies. But I do not think they are illegal, provided the retailer is willing to back down when challenged.

knighted_1

WildOscar wrote: »

consumer law? they do not have the ability to test it? Under SOGSOS 1980 anyone providing a service must be qualified. Is testing a service, if so they are not qualified

hi can you give me a link to the sogsos 1980 where it shows that the person must be qualified ? might help me in a different project im doing - thanks

WildOscar

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Testing or checking an item that a customer wishes to return is not clearly covered by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act: it's not an instance of a service being sold.

cannot refuse refund if they are not qualified to say the product is working. On what grounds were tesco denying me the new dvd player? on the grounds that a shop assistant played it? that won't pass SOGSOS

Many retailers have policies that involve offering consumers less than their statutory rights (e.g. setting a shortish time limit on returning faulty goods, or trying to get people to accept credit notes rather than refunds). Like many, I strongly dislike such policies. But I do not think they are illegal, provided the retailer is willing to back down when challenged.

breaking the law if they try to infer you have less rights than you have, signs to that effect also illegal

WildOscar

knighted_1 wrote: »

hi can you give me a link to the sogsos 1980 where it shows that the person must be qualified ? might help me in a different project im doing - thanks

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Services/your-rights.html

P. Breathnach

WildOscar wrote: »

cannot refuse refund if they are not qualified to say the product is working. On what grounds were tesco denying me the new dvd player? on the grounds that a shop assistant played it? that won't pass SOGSOS

I already said that I agreed with you on the substance of your position. But what you are now saying is pushing the limits a bit. Imagine the scenario if you ended up in a courtroom. You might say that the DVD player did not work; a Tesco employee might say that it does. You are the one making a claim, and the judge would expect you to stand your claim up. Whether your description of the problem would be accepted is a tricky point, as you are not an expert witness. Two non-experts, and a judge seeking the truth: the outcome is not assured.

breaking the law if they try to infer you have less rights than you have, signs to that effect also illegal

Again, I think you are pushing things a bit. There is no legal obligation on a trader to inform you of your rights. You bring a faulty item back, and the shop assistant says "I can give you a credit note"; you refuse, and the assistant says "well, that is all I can do for you, because that is our policy". In what way is that a breach of the law? I have been at that point a few times. The next step is to ask for the manager. When I have taken the next step, I have got my refund.

In my many years' experience as an assertive (not aggressive) consumer, only once has a manager not given a refund. One letter to head office sorted that one out. [That retailer has since gone out of business, and I am sure that poor customer relations policy was a contributory factor.]

My message is that calm, controlled, escalation usually works.

AlwaysAmber

WildOscar wrote: »

cannot refuse refund if they are not qualified to say the product is working. On what grounds were tesco denying me the new dvd player? on the grounds that a shop assistant played it? that won't pass SOGSOS

Tesco are perfectly entitled to check the goods are faulty. It doesn't take a degree to switch on a DVD player to see if it works. If it worked they would probably send it back to the supplier for further tests, all of which they are perfectly entitled to do.

WildOscar

AlwaysAmber wrote: »

Tesco are perfectly entitled to check the goods are faulty. It doesn't take a degree to switch on a DVD player to see if it works. If it worked they would probably send it back to the supplier for further tests, all of which they are perfectly entitled to do.

they told me they do not have the ability to test it and gave me a new one. why would thye send it back to supplier. the contract is with the shop you bought it from not the supplier. That was an excuse before we will send it back and see what the supplier says" Contract is with shop. You accept that if you wish i won't

WildOscar

P. Breathnach wrote: »

I already said that I agreed with you on the substance of your position. But what you are now saying is pushing the limits a bit. Imagine the scenario if you ended up in a courtroom. You might say that the DVD player did not work; a Tesco employee might say that it does. You are the one making a claim, and the judge would expect you to stand your claim up. Whether your description of the problem would be accepted is a tricky point, as you are not an expert witness. Two non-experts, and a judge seeking the truth: the outcome is not assured.



Again, I think you are pushing things a bit. There is no legal obligation on a trader to inform you of your rights. You bring a faulty item back, and the shop assistant says "I can give you a credit note"; you refuse, and the assistant says "well, that is all I can do for you, because that is our policy". In what way is that a breach of the law? I have been at that point a few times. The next step is to ask for the manager. When I have taken the next step, I have got my refund.

In my many years' experience as an assertive (not aggressive) consumer, only once has a manager not given a refund. One letter to head office sorted that one out. [That retailer has since gone out of business, and I am sure that poor customer relations policy was a contributory factor.]

My message is that calm, controlled, escalation usually works.

never said there was. what i said i they cannot infer you do not have rights by words or signage. you do not have to accept a credit note if the item is faulty

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/FAQs/Refunds-and-credit-notes/
"You do not have to accept a credit note as a form of redress where the goods are faulty."

knighted_1

WildOscar wrote: »

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Services/your-rights.html

Thanks , very helpful

lendmeyourear

WildOscar wrote: »

theold extended guarantee trick? I had that when buying this computer, he was telling me the last guys went after 13 months on a 12 month g'tee and he was not covered....

or....that a customer brought it home and dropped it and it smashed into millions of pieces BUT...the insurance kicked in.... I told him I was really very careful. I think my laptop cost about 700 euro and the insurance was somewhere half the cost again.... I have such murderous thoughts when these guys try and sell me products I do not want, I believe I was somewhat rude to the sales assistant in PC world Liffey Valley for his persistance.

WildOscar

knighted_1 wrote: »

Thanks , very helpful

welcome

WildOscar

lendmeyourear wrote: »

I believe I was somewhat rude to the sales assistant in PC world Liffey Valley for his persistance.

sales people are rude to customers with that stupid see through intelligence insulting crap.