Consumer rights

[druiaghtagh]

I have a broken down Lexmark printer under warrant frompc world, they had it 2 weeks then phoned me to collect it and said lexmark would collect it from my home address. Date they gave me was no good, they would not change it, i phoned the number on the repair docket which was a call center in India, had enormous difficulty in makingmyself understood. Finally told date could not be changed as it had already been despatched, this was 5 days before todays date when it should have arrived. Well, it did not turn up, ive had no printer for 3 weeks now, feel im getting the run round and well fed up. Surely my contract is with the store who sold me the printer, what can i do and say to PC World as i feel im getting nowhere, thankyou

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

You've not said how long you've had the printer. It could make a difference. If we can forget about the warranty for the moment, here are your rights:

(i) if the printer was found to be defective before you'd legally 'accepted' it (i.e. as soon as you got it home or very shortly afterwards), you're entitled to a full cash refund from PC World;

(ii) if you've 'accepted' the printer but less than 6 months has passed since the date of purchase, the law assumes that the breakdown was due to an 'inherent fault' (e.g. poor quality components or poor workmanship) unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. (e.g. if it's obvious that the printer has been under a road roller you can't claim that it's an 'inherent fault'!). In this case PC world must either replace the printer or repair it. (They have the discretion to choose which remedy to apply) ;

(iii) after the 6 month period, you continue to have the right to demand that PC World replace or repair the printer, up until 6 years after the date of purchase, if a breakdown occurs which was due to an inherent fault. However, there is no longer an automatic assumption that any such breakdown is due to an inherent fault. It is for you to show that, based on the balance of probabilities, this was the most likely cause.

[Buenchico]

If you've had the printer less than 6 months, simply demand that PC World (and not Lexmark) put matters right. Make sure that they're aware that you know about your consumer rights and stick to your guns.

If you've had the printer more than 6 months, try the same approach but litter your arguments with phrases like, 'I'm quite sure that a court would rule that the most likely cause of the problem is an inherent fault'. (I've found that store managers often take fright at a subtle suggestion that the matter might end up in court).

If being pleasant doesn't work, the threat of bad publicity often does. Try saying something like, "I've already had a word with someone on the news desk on the local newspaper and she's keen to run the story - but I thought it was only right to give you the opportunity to sort things out first". If you try that ploy, there's a very good chance that you'll walk out of the store with a brand new printer and �20 in vouchers to apologise for the inconvenience!

Chris

[druiaghtagh]

Thanks Chris, got a result within 1 hour of reading your advice, they swapped out my printer within 1 hour of me reading your advice, no arguments and gave me a free ink cartridge, well done and thanks, Geoff