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returning goods

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north star | 08:38 Wed 19th Mar 2008 | Law
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I bought a PC mouse from a high street store on 3 Feb 08 and last night found that it no longer works. I know that under the sale of goods act I am entitled to repair or replacement due to an inherent fault etc. but does the act empower me to claim time and travel costs in going back to the store aand getting my replacement?
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I see where you are coming from, but i doubt any establishment would reimburse you for travel expenses (unless, of course, you were working for them at the time).

It's kinda like saying you got a present from someone, didnt like it (or couldnt use it), had the receipt and decided to take it back for a refund or replacement, then because you had to go down yourself, asked for a bit extra for going out of your way.

You ask if you can claim for time and travel costs - how much is your time worth and did you take the cheapest possible way to get there?

If we all started trying to claim for stuff like this, society would very quickly go crazy! lol

I think if you asked for a refund on your time, effort and costs to go back to the shop, you'd probably be laughed at!
Christ, what an idiot. Bin your mouse and buy another one.
Question Author
My thanks for your answers (well one of you, anyway) but it does not answer the question posed.

Regard my original post as an example (though true). What if it was a washing machine instead of a mouse?

Mr Bounty, in your analogy you would not be able to apply the SOGA because firstly it was a present with the rights conferred belonging to the original purchasewr and secondly, ther is nothing wrong with the goods.
Well, if it was a bigger item, then obviously if it was faulty, the selling company would arrange the pick up and replacement of said item.

I know it would be nice to be able to claim expenses for having to go back with the item.....but if you could claim for that, then why not claim expenses for the initial travel and time taken for the original purchase?

Im sure written somewhere there is something about not being able to claim for these expenses.

If it were possible to make claims like that, then everyone would be doing it and companies would be going bust left, right and centre.

If you think about it, say you went to PC World and bought a Logitech mouse, which ended up not working.
Why would PC World have to pay you for your travel time and costs for returning the item when they did not make or test it?
A shop will not test every item they sell - they are just the "middle man" who sell on the products.
Even their own brand products are made by outsourced companies.
It would probably end up to be too much of a hassle if you really wanted to pursue claiming back from them.
Why are we wasting our time with this joker?
For once I partly agree with Mamjet. I would just throw the defective mouse away and buy a new one,unless it was a really expensive gaming mouse.I would not be seeking compensation for time and travel though.
Well, all in all, this website is for people to ask questions they dont know the answer to, in the hope that someone else will.

I'm not really wasting my time answering because, even though his question revolves around the purchase and return of a mouse, the main thing he is asking is if one could claim back expenses from a company for costs incurred when returning an item.

I've read worse questions asked on this site - which have had plenty of responses.
Why doesn't this one deserve an answer or two??
i agree with daffy
I agree with myself......doesnt change that this is a question asked on a question/answer website!
Question Author
Lets forget about the mouse and think more about the principle.

When I buy something it is my choice where I buy it from so I agree there are no expenses claims for buying it.

When I do buy something my contract is with the seller not with the manufacturer.

Because consumers aren't making such claims does not mean that they are not possible, perhaps nobody has thought of it before?

The comment about such claims being specifically excluded from the SOGA gets to the nub of the original question. Hence the reason that nobody is claiming is that it's not possible.
Thank you for your time.
One way to get the answer you want is to go try it!

See how far you can get with a claim and, if need be, talk to a solicitor and see what they have to say on the situation....
alternatively, you could try gettinga life.
As you state, the retailer is obliged to provide a repair or replacement item. However, they're also obliged to ensure that any inconvenience to you is minimised. (e.g. if they had to send a faulty TV away for repair, they should lend you a TV during the intervening period).

Further, they're obliged to ensure that you do not suffer a financial disadvantage through having the fault remedied. So they should either send someone to collect the faulty item or refund your costs (whether those costs be postage, fuel or public transport fares) which were incurred in returning the item to them.

You'd normally have no right to charge for your time in travelling to the store, unless you could show that you suffered a 'financial disadvantage' e.g. if the only way you could get to the store during their opening hours was to take time off work.

Chris

PS: I've had a major store (Staples) happily refund my travelling costs (incurred due to a faulty printer) with no problems whatsoever.
Question Author
Thank you Chris & Bounty. Not such a stupid question after all then.
Just because you've found 2 people as sad as you, it doesnt make your question any less stupid.
Mamjet - in that case, you must be a pretty stupid person yourself, if you are continually checking for the answers given to the question!
If you have no interest in the question, why bother checking the page?

Or are you one of these irritating people who come onto sites like this to start arguments with people?
Is that how exciting your life is?
That you need to argue with people on a website to make fulfill your life?

Grow up!
Who's arguing?

Look inwards, little man.
No one is really arguing at this point, but out of 6 posts you have made in this thread, 5 of them have ivolved name calling, which could be the start of an argument - that is, if others lower themselves to your petty "i have no real friends, so i'll just sit at my computer and slag people off" mentality!

I think it's you who needs to get a life....

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