Laptop Screen Warranty and UK Law

[Simmy]

We replaced a screen for a customer just under a year ago and the same screen problem has occured again. We contacted the eBay supplier who said they only offered a 3 month warranty as standard. I was under the impression that any goods supplied by a company in the UK must be fit for purpose for at least 1 year? Are they just hoping I won't pursue it further or can they actually get away with just offering a 3 month warranty?

 

[GKenn01]

My understanding of UK consumer law is that if the item you bought was described as new then the retailer is obliged to offer a one year warranty unless described otherwise in the terms & conditions of your contract with the retailer. The key is the word "new" and I have also been caught out in this repsect when buying screens on ebay. Most items with a 3 month warranty on ebay are classified as refurbished or graded from a to d. It depends very much on the conditions of the contract you initiallly had.

 

[Ciaran]

My understanding on the situation (under Irish law - but the two are quite similar) is that the supplier has to provide a warranty for a reasonable length of time (usually 1 year) if no warranty is mentioned at time of purchase, unless they mention a different length when purchasing the item (i.e. 3 months)

 

[joydivision]

Has to be fit for purpose and 12 months is the typical quote but it is more complex than that. Also the law is different for B2B. Either way 3 months warranty is a joke.

 

[MobileTechie]

A warranty is different to statutory consumer law. That's why they often say "does not affect your statutory rights.

You can offer any kind of warranty you like 1 hour to 100 years. What you offer you have to deliver on. Consumer laws may offer quite different protection. If the law offers less then the customer benefits from a warranty. However lots of companies use warranties to try to set a limit on claims by virtue of people's ignorance about the law.

So whatever they say about only offering 3 months warranty may be true but they are not immune to the law. How you go about prosecuting this law is another matter. Are you really going to take them to court?

You could try trading standards.

 

[acs]

Some UK guidence here

http://bit.ly/gghBtg

 

[tarik]

yes it is not law to provide 1 year warranty only common use. if its under 6 months old and faulty then the product is deemed faulty from manufacture. If it is after the 6 month mark then the onus is on the consumer to prove it was faulty from manufacture. I think most of you will find any laptop parts you buy will come with a 3 month warranty.

 

[NETWizz]

A warranty is different to statutory consumer law. That's why they often say "does not affect your statutory rights.

You can offer any kind of warranty you like 1 hour to 100 years. What you offer you have to deliver on. Consumer laws may offer quite different protection. If the law offers less then the customer benefits from a warranty. However lots of companies use warranties to try to set a limit on claims by virtue of people's ignorance about the law.

So whatever they say about only offering 3 months warranty may be true but they are not immune to the law. How you go about prosecuting this law is another matter. Are you really going to take them to court?

You could try trading standards.

I had a product that had a Lifetime warranty once that I tried to replace. The company said it was not my lifetime but the product's lifetime.

 

[maclaptech]

I sold on eBay as a powerseller for about 8 years. It all depends on what the eBay seller policy for that listing/screen said (at the bottom of the listing) when you purchased it.

You have to agree with the eBay seller policy before purchasing anything on eBay. If the seller policy said they only provide warranty for 3 months, then that is it. If it said 1 year, then you can dispute it with PayPal or the credit card company that you use to pay for it and you have to ship it back to the seller at your cost and provide proof of shipping (tracking) back to the seller.

 

[MobileTechie]

I sold on eBay as a powerseller for about 8 years. It all depends on what the eBay seller policy for that listing/screen said (at the bottom of the listing) when you purchased it.

You have to agree with the eBay seller policy before purchasing anything on eBay. If the seller policy said they only provide warranty for 3 months, then that is it. If it said 1 year, then you can dispute it with PayPal or the credit card company that you use to pay for it and you have to ship it back to the seller at your cost and provide proof of shipping (tracking) back to the seller.

Ebay and Paypal's policies don't trump UK consumer law, which still applies to ebay sales of new products. So whilst ebay might not help you, the seller still has to comply with the law.

You need to call your local Trading Standards and ask them what to do. The law is the law and they cannot get out of it.

However if it's nearly a year then you're kind of pushing it really. I think you'd probably win on the basis one would expect the screen to last a year or more but I'm not 100% certain.

 

[MattUK]

Hi.
I think it works this way. If manufacturer warranty applies, supplier can't refuse to deal with your warranty request. If supplier sold item as new, i would check warranty terms with manufacturer. I also think that ebay seller has to be registered as business seller.

 

[joydivision]

Ebay and Paypal's policies don't trump UK consumer law, which still applies to ebay sales of new products. So whilst ebay might not help you, the seller still has to comply with the law.

You need to call your local Trading Standards and ask them what to do. The law is the law and they cannot get out of it.

However if it's nearly a year then you're kind of pushing it really. I think you'd probably win on the basis one would expect the screen to last a year or more but I'm not 100% certain.

I think you are right, but doesn't the above apply for consumers only and not B2B to transactions?

 

[seedubya]

I think you are right, but doesn't the above apply for consumers only and not B2B to transactions?

Exactly so and exactly so throughout the EU. There are no fixed terms regarding B2B transactions.

 

[MobileTechie]

Yeah B2B don't get the same protection as B2C but it they are still obliged to provide goods of a satisfactory standard. I.e. if they are faulty then they are faulty and you can get redress, no matter what the contract says.

In reality this does tend to mean you're stuck with any contractual terms you've signed up to unless they are blatantly unreasonable.

Of course, unless you're ordering using a business name, the ebay seller has no way of knowing if you're a business or a consumer.

Given that even for B2C a year is probably reasonable, this particular case is a non-starter.

This is a handy guide: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf

 

[maclaptech]

You need to read this...

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/businesscentre/law-policies/returns.html