Faulty TV

xalot

Looking for peoples thoughts on this one:

finally bought a flatscreen TV 8 wks ago and the sound has started to cut out, it goes for about 10-15 seconds every half hour. I called the retailer and they said they have an external company who deal with repairs and would be in touch....which they were...

the problem is, they want to come collect it to repair it (we only have one telly) and drop it back a few days later. They only provide this service monday to friday between 11-1. Both myself and my partner work an hour away from home meaning that we would have to take two half days to facilitate this service.

Does anyone know my rights here to demand a full refund from the shop or make them do a repair at a suitable time?

I've tried calling the citizens information but they weren't much use!

Anyone any wiser than me on this situation?

Thanks in advance

Zab

It'd be consumer connect that you want http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Contact_Us/

Have you considered taking the TV to work and having them pick it up there? Or taking the TV to the repair guys or even the shop?

They have to offer a refund, a replacement or a repair but you don't have to agree to whatever they're offering. However, if it were to make it to the small claims court the judge would look at what they were offering and decide it it was reasonable or not. In this case I have to say that they seem to be being pretty reasonable.

xalot

Thanks for that.

I cant take it to work as I dont have parking but might look into bringing it to the shop on a Saturday and pick it up the following Saturday.

the_syco

Take it to the shop, and tell them to fix it because as you bought it from the shop, the contract is with them, not some 3rd party company.

cast_iron

the_syco wrote: »

Take it to the shop, and tell them to fix it because as you bought it from the shop, the contract is with them, not some 3rd party company.

Exactly.

I suppose one thing you've learnt is that this company's after sales service is not very good, and should be avoided for future purchases.

Zab

Jeez. Place agreed to a repair and offered to pick up the TV from his house. Tough crowd here.

the_syco

Zab wrote: »

Jeez. Place agreed to a repair and offered to pick up the TV from his house. Tough crowd here.

Actually, place agreed to a repair, and offered to pick it up when everyone with a job would be working.

Mr Magners

The telly's only 8 weeks old.

Bring it back and tell them you want a new one. I'd be worried about the future life of a tv which is giving problems after 8 weeks

What type of tv is it?

xalot

It's a philips 37inch. Cant remember the stats!

Zab

the_syco wrote: »

Actually, place agreed to a repair, and offered to pick it up when everyone with a job would be working.

Seems both standard and reasonable to me. You always have the option of dropping it off somewhere.

the_syco

Zab wrote: »

Seems both standard and reasonable to me. You always have the option of dropping it off somewhere.

Well, since the 3rd party whom the shop wanted the user to use was only open during the day when she was working, the point was that she would be within her rights to give the TV to get them to arrange it to be fixed.

xalot

Have arranged for the TV to be collected from the retailer and will collect when it's ready which is a little inconvenient but live-able.

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully it'll be 100% when I get it back.

slave1

I suggest you type up this issue's history and hand the letter over to the shop when dropping the TV off, I'd put in the letter that you are okay for this once off repair route but if the issue persists you retain your entitlement for a refund.
What you want to avoid is the perception that you have accepted a repair route which could damage your entitlement for a refund should problems resurrect in the future...

xalot

that's a great idea.

Thanks.

slimjimmc

slave1 wrote: »

I suggest you type up this issue's history and hand the letter over to the shop when dropping the TV off, I'd put in the letter that you are okay for this once off repair route but if the issue persists you retain your entitlement for a refund.
What you want to avoid is the perception that you have accepted a repair route which could damage your entitlement for a refund should problems resurrect in the future...

Accepting a repair now will not damage his entitlement to a refund later. At any stage you are entitled to negotiate for one of the 3 forms of redress which includes a refund. You're entitled to ask for a refund but the retailer is entitled to refuse and offer you either a repair or replacement (if reasonable in the circumstances). It's up to you to negotiate with the retailer or have the matter settled by the SCC.

Since any repair must be permanent, taking a repair now is likely to strengthen his case for a refund should this or another problem occur in the future.

the_syco

slave1 wrote: »

you retain your entitlement for a refund.

You have no entitlement to a refund. The 3 R's: repair, replace, and refund are at the discretion of the retailer.

Is the 3rd party an authorised party for the manufacture of the television? I ask as usually if the TV is broken, and the manufacture can't fix it, they give the retailer the money (or replacement TV), who then passes the refund (or replacement TV) onto you. BUT, if the TV was looked at by an unauthorised party, the manufacture will just say that the TV has been tampered with, won't give the refund to the retailer, and I can't see the retailer taking a hit of a grand or so by paying you.

So, if they do go the repair route, and they can't fix it, and the repair crew aren't authorised, then yeah, that'll be fun.

=-=

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and ask was the TV bought in Currys/PC World/Dixons, and the 3rd party that you are being referred to the Tech Guys?

xalot

I bought the TV in Harvey Norman and the company doing the repair are based in northern Ireland, I cant remember their name.

slimjimmc

the_syco wrote: »

You have no entitlement to a refund. The 3 R's: repair, replace, and refund are at the discretion of the retailer.

Is the 3rd party an authorised party for the manufacture of the television? I ask as usually if the TV is broken, and the manufacture can't fix it, they give the retailer the money (or replacement TV), who then passes the refund (or replacement TV) onto you. BUT, if the TV was looked at by an unauthorised party, the manufacture will just say that the TV has been tampered with, won't give the refund to the retailer, and I can't see the retailer taking a hit of a grand or so by paying you.

So, if they do go the repair route, and they can't fix it, and the repair crew aren't authorised, then yeah, that'll be fun.

=-=

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and ask was the TV bought in Currys/PC World/Dixons, and the 3rd party that you are being referred to the Tech Guys?

I think we need to clarify this becuase there seems to confusion over who gives what.

The consumer is entitled to a refund as it is one of the 3 statutory forms of redress (the 3Rs), so he also entitled to repair or replacement.

But neither he nor the retailer is entitled to dictate which one of these 3 Rs the other party must offer or accept. They either negotiate or go to the SCC.

In summary:

- The retailer is entitled to offer any of the 3R's
- The consumer is entitled to request any of the 3R's
- Both parties are entitled to reject the other's offer/request.
- The retailer only gets to choose which offer he makes not which offer the consumer must accept.
- Likewise the consumer is entitled to choose which redress he would like not which one must be offered.

xalot

ok. OP here again. Sent the telly off to be repaired, took the guts of three weeks and they said they couldn't find a problem but have replaced the entire sound unit. Now either they are lying or they're useless as nothing has changed.

I called the retailer again today who said that they would send it off again. I said that at this stage I didn't want to be without a tv for another 3 weeks and wanted an exchange or refund but he said that it had to be repaired 3 times before they would offer an exchange.

What rights do I have here? Have tried Harvey Norman head office but they have not returned my call. So frustrated......

ch750536

Its down to your negotiation skills. Send a recorded letter with a polite well written statement as to why you think you should be entitled to a replacement.
I would go down the route of 'sound system was replaced, still does not work' & 'they couldnt find anything wrong last time, what will they do when they cant find anything wrong this time.'
What you will probably get is the offer to replace if there are any further issues after this issue, but the fact you are sending it recorded and are asking for a response in writing (though they will probably call you anyway ) they may get the jitters and just replace the TV.
This is a negotiation, do not demand.

Boggles

xalot wrote: »

ok. OP here again. Sent the telly off to be repaired, took the guts of three weeks and they said they couldn't find a problem but have replaced the entire sound unit. Now either they are lying or they're useless as nothing has changed.

Could be they didn't test the unit fully.

Which source do you primarily use for the tv.

HDMI
Scart
Analogue / Digital Tuner

Test every input, check if the sound cuts out on all of them, use two peripherals for each input if you can to eliminate a faulty peripheral.

xalot wrote: »

I called the retailer again today who said that they would send it off again. I said that at this stage I didn't want to be without a tv for another 3 weeks and wanted an exchange or refund but he said that it had to be repaired 3 times before they would offer an exchange.

What rights do I have here? Have tried Harvey Norman head office but they have not returned my call. So frustrated......

Repaired 3 times before replace is store policy, nothing to do with you.

Any repair has to be permanent.

The course of action is to write a registered letter to head office, outlining your grievances and politely demanding a remedy you are happy with, in this case you'd be happy with a replacement unit I guess. Give them 10 working days to reply, if they don't or the reply is unsatisfactory lodge a SCC case.

Personally, I would do the above tests and try and establish is one of the inputs or a peripheral causing the fault. If you establish the TV is just plain faulty you can add that into your letter and it will strengthen your case.

Worse case scenario though, if you go the SCC route it could take 2-3 months.

raymark

xalot wrote: »

Looking for peoples thoughts on this one:

finally bought a flatscreen TV 8 wks ago and the sound has started to cut out, it goes for about 10-15 seconds every half hour. I called the retailer and they said they have an external company who deal with repairs and would be in touch....which they were...

the problem is, they want to come collect it to repair it (we only have one telly) and drop it back a few days later. They only provide this service monday to friday between 11-1. Both myself and my partner work an hour away from home meaning that we would have to take two half days to facilitate this service.

Does anyone know my rights here to demand a full refund from the shop or make them do a repair at a suitable time?

I've tried calling the citizens information but they weren't much use!

Anyone any wiser than me on this situation?

Thanks in advance

hi there.if there is a problem with it after only a few weeks,you need them to take it back and give you a new one.its under warrenty and is faulty.they can send it back to the manufacturers.just tell them you have a problem with the new one,that your not happy and that you want them to replace it .not repair it.youve only just bought it and it should be working properly.i would not accept a repair on a new electrical item,something else could go wrong..im talking from experience.its your call.good luck.raymark

xalot

Thanks for all the advice. Finally got through to head office and explained the situation, and they have sorted it for me to get a replacement. (not straight away but I just refused another repair and said I had been very reasonable until now but I was not taking 2 more half days from work to have it picked up/collected)
They agreed and I am bringing it back this weekend. Fingers crossed there's no more hassle with it! Have to say Harvey Norman's customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

ZENER

I'd be interested in a description of the fault ? When a set is repaired it is usually soak tested for a day or so to check that the repair is good. Is it possible the fault is with the STB or some other component in your system ?

If the new set gives the same problems you'll be needing to check this.

Ken

xalot

Basically the sound kept cutting out. It was happening on the DVD, telly and playstation (all are on different feeds, scart & HDMI). It was definitely the telly cos we plugged our old tube telly in while the new one was being repaired and there were no problems.

Anyways we've the new one now so fingers crossed!!!