I had some expensive sunglasses that broke when I was swapping lenses. Seeing as I was following the instructions and didn’t really use any force I thought ‘faulty’ and sent them back for a replacement.

The vendor is claiming that I used excessive force (I really didn’t) so wants to give them back to me still broken. My sense is that if they broke that easily (I really was treating them gently!) they’re not fit for purpose.

If they won’t honour the warranty am I within my rights to ask for a refund if they’re just not up to scratch?

Oakleys? Speak to them directly and they almost certainly swap them FOC. If they broke though and the vendor is getting funny I’d suggest they may be fakes…

What did the terms and conditions say ? Are the lenses supposed to be user changable ?

Are you aware that opticians tend to heat the frames under a “hairdrier thing” when changing lenses ?

Legally if they fight you it will never be worth pursuing them, a goodwill gesture is what you need

going to be hard to prove a material fault rather than user error on this point

Not saying i disagree with you just asking how you intend to prove your account

It’s not really a “fit for purpose” issue but rather “satisfactory quality.”

How old are they?

Only 7 months old, and they’re oakleys. The lenses should be user changeable (radarlock) and it’s a reputable vendor.

I understand why they’re questioning my account, but it really was a case of open the latch and watch the nosepeice break off. A bit frustrating, really.

That’s a bugger.

Inside six months it’s their responsibility to disprove an inherent fault. After that, it’s down to you to prove there was.

You’re now into the realms of asserting that the goods should last a reasonable amount of time, and that could be up to six years. For a ten bob pair of specs you’re screwed, but for the price of a pair of Oakleys I’d argue that they’ve failed in an unreasonable amount of time. It’s hard to see why they think you’d suddenly be using “excessive force” after changing user-changeable lenses for half a year without issue unless there was some fault necessitating that.

Your contract is with the vendor and it’s their legal responsibility to make good. However, if they’re being dicks you might have better luck dealing with Oakley directly. Just bear in mind you don’t *have* to.

Oakley have a well justified reputation for looking after their customers. yes your warranty is with the seller but Oakley will deal directly with you, they will also tell you if they are genuine or not.

having just broke my marshall glasses (purshased from ebay as well) oakley were nothing other than brilliant. It cost me but not a lot. They have a 2 year warranty so give them a call and see what they say.

i stood on my oakley (prescription) ti frames and oakley shipped me a replacement at cost of around 25% of what i paid my optician for the original frame

Thanks all. Still waiting for the retailer to get back to me. I won’t name them, but they’re a mainstream, popular vendor with a decent reputation. I’d be very surprised if they were fake.

I take it those of you who have dealt with oakley direct just used the contact form on the website?

going to be hard to prove a material fault rather than user error on this point

True, and as such it’s lucky that consumer law in this country puts the onus on the seller to prove that the item is fit for purpose rather than on the consumer to prove it isn’t.

I take it those of you who have dealt with oakley direct just used the contact form on the website?

i think their website has a uk contact number too

i’ve never had a problem dealing with oakley. lost the ear socks on a pair of old square wires…sent them back and they replaced them and the nose pads for a tenner
niece broke the arm on my eye jackets 4 years after i bought them….sent them back and because they were no longer available they sold me a different pair at cost price (about £30)

had a di and d2 watch…strap failed on the d1 twice…replaced FOC third time it happened and when the d2 also failed they were both discontinued and no spares were available…they offered me any other watch as a replacement with a 60% discount…i didnt take this up as the only watches they had were the very expensive ones

Its the lenses that cost the money, so I’d expect Oakley to just send out a new frame or massively discount a replacement.

I emailed a few years ago about some sunnies I have which my son had decided to try and eat the lenses and scratched them to buggery. I was open with them and wasn’t asking for a replacement just if they could tell me if lenses were available to buy. Unfortunately they had been discontinued but Oakley still offered me a 40% discount on any others they had in stock!!

Many years ago, but I broke the arm on my Eye Jackets. Totally my fault. Phoned Oakley, they sold me the “extended warranty” that was something trivial like a tenner and asked me to send them in. Whole new frame & arms fitted under warranty. Fantastic service.