My Samsung soundbar with sub has lasted all of 21 months, it switches on and won’t do anything else.  Unfortunately it wasn’t purchased from JL but in person from a well-known electrical retailer.  For £200 I expected better.

Where do I stand please?  Not really interested in being fobbed off with paying for a repair.

Thanks.

Mention of that EU rule about a minimum of 24 months warranty on electrical goods has worked for me in the past.

Scotroutes has it.

Plenty consumer law advice on here, I’m sure this thread wil get busy helping a lady in disctress 😉

If it’s Currys, good luck with that.

They just make everything so difficult.

A few years back, I took a netbook back, they insisted they send it off for repair. About 3 weeks later I got a voice mail on my phone, telling me that it couldn’t be repaired and to go to the store for a refund.

Basically got told by some teenager that I was lying and hadn’t received the call. Unfortunately I had deleted the voice mail. They eventually exchanged it for a tablet. It was the most painful process ever and it must of cost them more in time and energy than the £200 the bloody thing had cost.

I haven’t been back since.

Thanks very much all.  Yes, it is Currys and what a bad experience you had gobuchul, the thought of having similar fills me with dread.

Off to find SoGA.

First things first, don’t go straight in quoting SoGA. It gets peoples backs up and guarantees you’ll pe shoved to the back of the queue. Be nice and polite…! That gets more results. If you’ve got a proof of purchase you should be fine.

First things first, don’t go straight in quoting SoGA. It gets peoples backs up and guarantees you’ll pe shoved to the back of the queue. Be nice and polite…! That gets more results. If you’ve got a proof of purchase you should be fine.

Definitely this!

Saying, politely, “I understand all electrical goods have a 24 month warranty under EU law so I hope you can repair it ASAP” is no bad thing – cuts to the chase and lets them know not to **** you around.

Be nice and polite…! That gets more results.

That’s very true.

However, we’re talking about Currys here.

I give the OP about 5 minutes of listening to their BS before the red mist descends and she wants to kill all of the staff in the store.

You’ve a few options here.

The Sale of Goods Act doesn’t exist.  What you want is the Consumer Rights Act.

Under CRA, goods have to be of “satisfactory quality.”  I’d perhaps argue here that a £20 soundbar lasting 21 months is satisfactory, a £200 one not so much.  You can make a claim up to six years after purchase (note, that doesn’t mean a product has to last six years, just that’s how long you have to claim).

The EU directive is 1999/44/EC. This states that consumer goods sold within the EU should be guaranteed for two years. Of note here is that it’s a directive rather than a regulation – essentially it’s an advisory rule. That said, plenty of companies have rolled over at the mention of it.

The soundbar might have a warranty which exceeds the typical 1-year warranty on most goods.  Check with the manufacturer.  There may be details on the website, or it might be worth chancing your arm in dealing direct with them and seeing what they offer.

Note here, it’s the retailer’s responsibility to deal with CRA complaints and not the manufacturer, however dealing direct with the manufacturer is an option which could yield more favourable results.

I generally find Curry’s staff are completely oblivious to the soca.  Probably something to do with the constant selling of shit warranties.

I generally find Curry’s staff are completely oblivious to the soca.

“Can I speak to your manager?”

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>d</span>Of note here is that it’s a directiverather than a regulation – essentially it’s an advisory rule.

It isn’t advisory. An EU regulation is the same across the EU. A directive is slightly different in that it allows each country to enact their own legislation to achieve the aim of the directive. Each country has to do it. There is a limited time from which the directive is given to when each member country has to have it enacted in its own laws, so there may be a delay sometimes if the EU directive is pretty new.

I’ve been out of retail for a while so not aware of changes in the last few years but maybe we are waiting for an amendment to the CRA? My specialism is environmental law nowadays.

On paper at least, the CRA surpasses the EU directive in that you can claim up to six years rather than two.  So the CRA is unlikely to be amended further, I’d have thought.

It isn’t advisory.

Yeah, that was a poor choice of wording on my part, sorry.  With a directive you have wiggle room on exactly how you implement it.

Thanks again.  As per Cougar’s post the Consumer Rights Act is the new kid on the block and he has made a good point re dealing with the manufacturer in the first instance especially as my 10 year old Samsung telly has never missed a beat.

Plenty of useful info with which to arm myself, alongside the receipt which I still have.  Disposition is polite but firm.  Wish me luck for this week’s visit.

Mention of that EU rule about a minimum of 24 months warranty on electrical goods has worked for me in the past.

+1,  had to wheel this out after HP sold us some duff things through work, up until that point theyd taken the piss

after Brexit do we lose this protection?

I completely bleeped over you mentioning the brand.  It looks Samsung’s warranty is 12 months for all A/V equipment.

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/warranty/

They have a specific EU warranty page which states:

“Samsung warrants that the product is free of defects in materials and workmanship from the date of the original purchase of the product by the original Consumer (“Original Purchase Date”) for the periods shown on the Samsung website here:  

http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/warranty/  

Any claims under this Warranty registered outside the warranty period stated herein will not be accepted. A claim under this Warranty does not affect the remaining period of the Warranty unless applicable national laws stipulate otherwise.”

… so you might be out of luck unless they’ll consider a repair as a gesture of goodwill.  It’s worth a polite “is there anything you can do for a loyal customer” email at least, can’t hurt to chance your arm.

after Brexit do we lose this protection?

No.

EU directives don’t directly apply as English Law, they have to be adopted.  Which as discussed above, is encompassed in the CRA in its current form.  The CRA won’t change if and when we leave the EU (or at least, it might be changed, but not automatically).

However.  We don’t really “have this protection” in the first place.  The power of 1999/44/EC isn’t that it legally gives us a two year guarantee (despite what I said earlier), instead it gives us two years to claim for faults (as opposed to the CRA’s six).  Rather its power is that it’s poorly understood, so a retailer might go “oh, bugger” and agree to a return because they think they have to under EU legislation.

Invoking it as leverage might sound disingenuous, but really you’re just encouraging them to honour the rights you already have under the CRA.  A lot of people will fixate on “12 month warranty and then jog on” but that isn’t what the law says.  Plus it’s Curry’s and IME they generally need a rocket up their arse with anything to do with repairs / refunds anyway.

Cougar, thanks and I’ll get in contact with Samsung first.  It’s the soundbar that’s dead, sub certainly switches on.  I’ve double-checked all wires and sockets, removing and inserting.  Even bought a replacement remote and new battery to no avail.  Surprised I didn’t buy from JL, that was a top tip from here for electricals and usually do.

Surely Samsung saying ‘it’s one year or tough shit’ is trumped by the CRA “satisfactory quality” definition?

Surely Samsung saying ‘it’s one year or tough shit’ is trumped by the CRA “satisfactory quality” definition?

It does. But alot of companies pretend it doesnt and basically challenge you to take them to court knowing that most wont bother due to the hassle.

Surely Samsung saying ‘it’s one year or tough shit’ is trumped by the CRA “satisfactory quality” definition?

No.  The CRA covers the relationship between the customer and the retailer, not the customer and the manufacturer.  You don’t have a direct relationship with the manufacturer aside from any warranty they may offer in addition to your statutory rights.

Any “tough shit” from the manufacturer is the retailer’s problem.  Which is probably why a retailer will try and wriggle out of their responsibilities, as @chrismac said.

Curry’s, used them once and never again.  Warranty nightmare to repair a mini disc player.

re the Consumer Rights Act, my understanding is it covers defects present at the time of sale. So if you discover something was wrong with your dishwasher 5 years after purchasing it, you can still ask the store to repair/replace. However if the fault was caused by regular wear and tear or other damage, it’s probably not covered.

Obviously this can be very difficult to prove one way or the other, even more so with electronics. So it might work for you, but just bear in mind it’s not a blanket law saying they have to cover anything that stops working.

Time for a wee update … chickened out of dealing with the retailer so fired off a polite e-mail to manufacturer’s customer service dept.  They offered advice which I followed to the letter but to no avail, they replied by giving me a list of repair companies in my area.  There followed polite but persistent e-mails, mention was made of my 10 year old Samsung telly that still works perfectly, as does my Samsung tablet and also my Samsung blu-ray/DVD player, how I no longer had confidence in their products etc etc.  They arranged for a courier to deliver it to a repair centre in the Midlands and was returned duly repaired.  Haven’t a clue what’s been done, no documentation but did double check serial numbers on the products.

Result!

persistence pays off 🙂

It does indeed wwaswas!

I used that no confidence line with an Omega watch I was being messed around with – asked them what they could do to restore my confidence in the brand. A marketing guy was on the email chain somehow and just sent me a new watch 🙂

Wow, that’s some result TurnerGuy!

 instead it gives us two years to claim for faults (as opposed to the CRA’s six).

I’m no expert, but I’m sure it or something similar also puts the onus on the seller to show that the fault was not there at the point of purchase rather than on the consumer to show that it was?