Retail / Sale of Goods Advice?

[princesskeely]

Morning all,

Apologies if this post is not in the correct place - first time I've ventured beyond the buying/selling areas!

Just after a bit of advice as I have a sneaky suspicion I may be about to be fobbed off by a retailer:

• Ordered some headphones from Woolworths in Mid May
• Got them, all good
• They now no longer work - only 4.5 months later
• Got them from Woolworths (online, so have proof of purchase and all that, have just chucked the box and packaging)

I don't personally think that's a reasonable amount of time for them to work, and they weren't the cheap kind.

Can they make me go to the manufacturer instead of addressing it themselves?

Can they tell me to go away because 4.5 months have passed?

[cee-dee]

Your contract was with the retailer, not the manufacturer. I've had things replaced after eleven months so see what the retailer says. Here's a simplified explanation of the S of G act:-

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/sale-of-goods-act/?gclid=CIWsr8u2ycgCFUfkwgodLU4I-...

[princesskeely]

Thanks a lot(:

[bankhaunter]

The Consumer Rights Act follows very closely the consumer rights outlined in the Sale of Goods Act but does clarify some of the detail.

Under the Consumer protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, it could be an offence for a trader to mislead the consumer regarding their legal rights such as misinforming them they had to deal with the manufacturer when responsibility lay with the trader.

[princesskeely]

As an update to this - the complaint went on for months, with the end result being after an email from the Retail Ombudsman - I received a written apology and a cheque in the post(:

[bankhaunter]

Well done, persistance often pays but it can be a long struggle.

I know of a case where someone had odered a bathroom suite but when it arrived some of the workmanship was very substandard.

She had to battle for six months before they agreed to collect it and refund her money, they did everything they could think of to avoid it, even to the degree of insisting it be repalletised before they would collect. They had taken the pallet away when they delivered.

[cee-dee]

Thank you for taking the time out to report back, so many people don't.