Issue with child's buggy

chooey

Hi, we bought a buggy 20 months ago from a well known store over here and spent just over 700 euro on it. It's been great up until today when the brake cord snapped in two and now we can't wheel it. I have my receipt from when I purchased it so I went into the store where we purchased it today and they told me that they don't stock that brand anymore so nothing that they can help me with. When I went onto the suppliers website it appears that this particular range has been discontinued but if I want to fix the issue I have to purchase a new buggy frame as you can't just repair the brake cord. As they've discontinued it I can't find a replacement frame on their site.
Am I just out 700 euro or is there anything that I can do to try and resolve things with the store. I got a year warranty with it so they're advising me that it's nothing to do with them and they can't fix it at all.
Thanks so much. It's used only at weekends for walks in the park etc so I can't see how it snapped after so little use.

dudara

Your contract is with the retailer. It doesn’t matter at all if they have discontinued it. Under consumer law, they need to refund, replace or repair, assuming of course there is no excessive wear & tear on your part. If they refuse, you can lodge a small claims court case.

happywithlife

Did the 700 include accessories like car seat etc or was it just the buggy? Was it in constant use - normal wear & tear/slightly more/less?
I think if it was a well used travel system I'd be delighted with a significant discount off a new one in terms of "partial refund" but willing to suck it up as out of warranty and it's almost 2 yrs old and depending on the amount of use, worn

_Brian

Is it out of warranty?

AfterLife

dudara wrote: »

Your contract is with the retailer. It doesn’t matter at all if they have discontinued it. Under consumer law, they need to refund, replace or repair, assuming of course there is no excessive wear & tear on your part. If they refuse, you can lodge a small claims court case.

Its out of warranty.

drunkmonkey

Try a bicycle repair shop

chooey

Thanks so much for all of your replies.
It is out of warranty.

We were thinking of going to a bike shop but a lot of the cord seems to be within the frame itself and there doesn't appear to be anywhere to open up the frame to remove it.

It's normal wear/tear use- shopping centre, going to the park at the weekends. I work full time so it's only used at weekends and she's only 20 months and light so can't blame her either:). It was 659 for just the buggy. We also bought all the bits for it so spent around 900 in total. Thought it would have lasted me longer than this.

iamwhoiam

chooey wrote: »

Thanks so much for all of your replies.
It is out of warranty.

We were thinking of going to a bike shop but a lot of the cord seems to be within the frame itself and there doesn't appear to be anywhere to open up the frame to remove it.

It's normal wear/tear use- shopping centre, going to the park at the weekends. I work full time so it's only used at weekends and she's only 20 months and light so can't blame her either:). It was 659 for just the buggy. We also bought all the bits for it so spent around 900 in total. Thought it would have lasted me longer than this.

Could you look for a second hand one the same then use that frame with your own buggy etc ?

Yawns

meh it should be fit for purpose and last for a reasonable time. I don't believe 20 months of light usage would be a reasonable time frame. It only costs 25 quid for small claims court and you get that back if you win. Try the store again and see what happens. The sale of goods and supply act would be worth a good read and remember just because an item comes with a 12 month warranty, doesn't mean that you're out of options outside of the warranty. The store will of course try to say tough, out of warranty and some people will fall for it.

Document everything and see if you and the shop can come to an amicable solution. Repair, replace or refund but you can't be unreasonable and demand a refund for eg. Allow time the chance to repair, the repair must be permanent. It can't be replaced like for like anymore but another option could be on the table. If they flat out refuse to help, document it all and submit a claim to the small claims court.

guil

AfterLife wrote: »

Its out of warranty.

Warranty is only from the manufacturer, look up sales of goods and supply act 1980.

chooey

Depending on what they say tomorrow I think that's what I'll have to do. They're selling for cheap enough on adverts. My main worry is if I do that that there'll be damage to this cord also but think I'll have to take that risk.

guil

I'd send a registered letter to head office if you don't have any joy in the store tomorrow, I certainly wouldn't be buying a second hand one just yet.

chooey

ok good advice, thanks

chooey

guil wrote: »

Warranty is only from the manufacturer, look up sales of goods and supply act 1980.

Sorry if it's a stupid question in relation to this, I've looked at this-in my case is it saying that a buggy should have a life expectancy of longer than 20 months

GarIT

chooey wrote: »

Depending on what they say tomorrow I think that's what I'll have to do. They're selling for cheap enough on adverts. My main worry is if I do that that there'll be damage to this cord also but think I'll have to take that risk.

You have a legal right to have it repaired, replaced with the same or better model or refunded by the shop you bought it from. If you start trying to fix it yourself you will loose that right.

Warranties are just a scam to make you think you can't use your legal rights once the warranty is up. Your consumer rights are stronger than any warranty. Fill out the small claims court form, pay the €25 SCC fee and you've a 99% chance of the issue being resolved.

mobfromcork

What's the make/model of the buggy?

T-Maxx

chooey wrote:

We were thinking of going to a bike shop but a lot of the cord seems to be within the frame itself and there doesn't appear to be anywhere to open up the frame to remove it.

A lot of bikes nowadays have internal cabling. A bike shop may well be able to sort you out.

The buggy is 20 months old and 8 months out of warranty. Not sure what people here expect the shop or the manufacturer to do really?

GarIT

chooey wrote: »

Sorry if it's a stupid question in relation to this, I've looked at this-in my case is it saying that a buggy should have a life expectancy of longer than 20 months

The law says it must last a reasonable amount of time but does not define what reasonable is. EU law says you have to be allowed take a case to the small claims court for two years after the sale and Irish law says you must be able to take a case to the SCC for 5 years after the sale but no law give clarity on whether you will win the case or not.

dudara

AfterLife wrote: »

Its out of warranty.

Doesn’t matter. A warranty cannot supercede or lessen your consumer rights. In other words, the shop still has to deal with the matter. They can’t brush it off by saying “out of warranty”.

chooey

GarIT wrote: »

You have a legal right to have it repaired, replaced with the same or better model or refunded by the shop you bought it from. If you start trying to fix it yourself you will loose that right.

Warranties are just a scam to make you think you can't use your legal rights once the warranty is up. Your consumer rights are stronger than any warranty. Fill out the small claims court form, pay the €25 SCC fee and you've a 99% chance of the issue being resolved.

ok thanks for that! All they kept telling me today was that I was out of warranty

GarIT

T-Maxx wrote: »

The buggy is 20 months old and 8 months out of warranty. Not sure what people here expect the shop or the manufacturer to do really?

Warranties are irrelevant and don't apply in Ireland, consumer law overrides anything in them unless they offer extra benefits for the customer on top of consumer law.

I'd expect the shop to repair it, replace it, or give a full refund.

chooey

GarIT wrote: »

Warranties are irrelevant and don't apply in Ireland, consumer law overrides anything in them unless they offer extra benefits for the customer on top of consumer law.

I'd expect the shop to repair it, replace it, or give a full refund.

ok great, thanks for that information. Can I ask would I expect them to charge me for the repairs or should it be done without charge? Thanks again. I'll let you know what they say tomorrow

Sleeper12

Write a letter to manifacture detailing what happened and see if they will do anything for you. They may surprise you. If they stick with the 12 months warranty then I'd go back to the shop you bought it from as your contract is with them.

Yawns

chooey wrote: »

ok thanks for that! All they kept telling me today was that I was out of warranty

Well send them a registered letter of complaint outlining all the issues and how you would like to give them a reasonable time to allow for a repair. 2 - 3 weeks should suffice. If they wish, they could source a buggy of equal or greater value as a replacement or a full refund. Keep a copy of the letter and any responses.

Don't talk over the phone, keep it to letter or email. This way you have all communication in writing and bring it to the SCC.

If it comes down to it and the SCC rules in your favour, you most likely won't get a full refund btw as you had 20 months of usage,

Yawns

chooey wrote: »

ok great, thanks for that information. Can I ask would I expect them to charge me for the repairs or should it be done without charge? Thanks again. I'll let you know what they say tomorrow

There should be no charge. The item would be deemed not fit for purpose under Irish law.

Yawns

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Write a letter to manifacture detailing what happened and see if they will do anything for you. They may surprise you. If they stick with the 12 months warranty then I'd go back to the shop you bought it from as your contract is with them.

If the shop is being a dick and repeatedly saying out of warranty, I wouldn't even entertain them by trying to deal with the manufacturer. Contract is with the shop

ED E

TBH it's a consumable, the shop can argue same at the SCC. It's a cheap fix.

AfterLife

dudara wrote: »

Doesn’t matter. A warranty cannot supercede or lessen your consumer rights. In other words, the shop still has to deal with the matter. They can’t brush it off by saying “out of warranty”.

They can and they have by the look of things. It's up to the op now if they want to bring the seller to the small claims court. Bear in mind that this isn't a TV or any other stationary electrical item where if it breaks it is usually a fault. There's a very high chance the op will lose the case if there are any dents or big marks on the buggy.

dudara

ED E wrote: »

TBH it's a consumable, the shop can argue same at the SCC. It's a cheap fix.

Then they should arrange the fix.

Yawns

ED E wrote: »

TBH it's a consumable, the shop can argue same at the SCC. It's a cheap fix.

As Dudara said, if the shop argues it's a cheap fix, they'll be asked why didn't they fix it then.

ED E

dudara wrote: »

Then they should arrange the fix.

No, as in its not up to them. Same way if a tire on your car wore out after a year that's not a manufacturing defect it's use. Consumable components that are expected to wear and be replaced are not the responsibility of the retailer.