Contents Insurance....

[spaced]

My Tv recently started acting weird and now turns on for a few seconds with a really bad picture then turns it self off. Its basically knackered, and I have only had it 2 yrs!

Can I claim from my contents insurer? Or do they only replace/reimburse items that are damaged (ie smashed, dropped etc etc)??

[Chessman]

I would imagine its out of Guarentee, But if it helps, from this months 'Which' magazine.

Know your rights. If you think its a manufacturing defect, the retailer is legally obliged to repair or replace your appliance, any time up to six years. And in this case, even if the fault doesn't show up for some time,say eg, if a component wears out to quickly because of shoddy workmanship.

Also, check the 'sale of goods act', you can google this.

Another thing, and i've found it works wonders, just quote the Sale of goods act to the retailer, bluff them into thinking you know what your talking about.

[Buenchico]

You definitely can't clain under your contents insurance.

The article quoted by Chessman might be slightly misleading. UK law states that all goods sold have to be 'of satisfactory quality'. Regulations under European law make it clear that this means that all electrical goods should be expected to work without fault for a minimum of two years from the date of purchase. Returning to UK law, a recent court decision has determined that certain items of computer hardware must function properly for a minimum period of 6 years if they are to be regarded as meeting the 'satisfactory quality' standard. While this court case forms a precedent where similar electronic items are concerned, there is still a grey area regarding the expected lifespan of other electronic goods (such as TVs).

It still seems likely, however, that you have a reasonable claim against the retailer.

Chris

[Chessman]

What Beunchico says is true, but I think its still worth having a look at it, we got a fridgefreezer and a video replaced by this act, the first was three years old, and the second, which was still under guarentee, (but wasn't replaced until I quoted the act) was eight months old.