Sony tv faulty (out of warranty)

frog74

Hi all,

my 2 and a half year old Sony tv has developed a fault. Lines across the screen. I contacted Sony through twitter and a nice lady there gave me the usual troubleshooting tips. Check cables etc. She also asked me for pictures of the screen and serial number which I supplied. She has now emailed me to say they that they are not responsible for any repairs as that’s the nature of electronic equipment, or words to that effect. And also that the cost of repair would often exceed the cost of a new tv. . Anyone know if I have any redress under consumer law? Don’t want to go back to them unless I know what I’m talking about. Thanks in advance..

dudara

You need to deal with the retailer where you purchased the TV. That is where your consumer rights lie, not with the manufacturer.

Samuel T. Cogley

As above deal with the retailer, your rights, in short is for the item to last a reasonable amount of time. One could argue two and a half years is not reasonable for what is presumably an expensive TV. More often than not though the retailer is going to risk you taking it through the Small Claims Procedure (if under €2000) so you may need to do that. You can expect, if successful, a portion of the cost of the TV back but not all of it becuase you've had some use out of it. If claiming though just use the paid price of the TV. Ensure you have the correct party also, use the CRO to look up the correct name and office of the retailer.

TerrorFirmer

Yes, contract with retailer. Sony typically don't do very low-end TV's so worst case scenario it's a E500 TV that has failed after 2.5 years, I think you'd still easily have a SSC case, even based on depreciated value.

If the TV was more expensive, in the 7/800 range and above, it's a stronger case altogether and pretty much guaranteed as long as the damage/fault isn't user related.

Your first step would be to call into the retailer and outline your case - that under consumer law you feel you have a strong case as 2.5years from a premium (and presumably not cheap) brand TV is not at all reasonable.

If they still insist that they won't help or do anything, then you send a registered letter to their head office outlining the situation and your rights under consumer law.

In cases like this it would be really rare that it eventually ends up in the actual court unless your claim is somewhat unreasonable (eg a 500 TV failing after 5 years)

893bet

Hopefully you get sorted.

Off topic but richersounds offer 6 year warranty on most of their TVs as standard.

guyinkk

What happens in the case of a retailer that has been taken over and rebranded by another business? My father bought a panasonic TV for 800 euros plus about 2 years ago, and has been told it needs a 200 euro repair as it currently won't turn on, but the store he bought from no longer trades under the same name or ownership as it was taken over by another franchise.

antodeco

@OP, any chance you can post up a picture of what way the TV is? Lines cross the screen could be physical damage related.