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Panasonic offer 5 year FREE guarantee on thier TVs to encourage folk to buy with that 5 year piece of mind .
Well the truth is, it ain't worth the paper its written on .
I bought a Panasonic plasma from Argos and the TV developed a fault ,i contacted Argos and Panasonic and was told that they never did a 5 year warranty (its only 1 years) Panasonic said its Argos that give the 5 year promise and Argos said it was Panasonic (just passing the buck) .
This morning Argos stated that i should get an Engineer's Report on the telly (£ 85.00 plus vat) but they say that even if its shows a manufacturing fault that will not mean they will replace or repair it ..
Keep you posted on what happens ...
"Well the truth is, it ain't worth the paper its written on "
Do you actually still have the paper it's written on ?
If so, time to get the down the Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards. The latter would be most interested.
The Drunken Duck
27-May-10, 11:14
Have you tried pursuing this under the Sale of Goods Act ??, have a read and start quoting it at them.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/the-sale-of-goods-act/
And an interesting bit about warranties ..
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/is-the-guarantee-worth-the-paper-it%E2%80%99s-written-on/
Panasonic offer 5 year FREE guarantee on thier TVs to encourage folk to buy with that 5 year piece of mind .
Well the truth is, it ain't worth the paper its written on .
I bought a Panasonic plasma from Argos and the TV developed a fault ,i contacted Argos and Panasonic and was told that they never did a 5 year warranty (its only 1 years) Panasonic said its Argos that give the 5 year promise and Argos said it was Panasonic (just passing the buck) .
This morning Argos stated that i should get an Engineer's Report on the telly (£ 85.00 plus vat) but they say that even if its shows a manufacturing fault that will not mean they will replace or repair it ..
Keep you posted on what happens ...
Don't want to scare you but there is a saying..Stay away from Plasma. I know with us they are quite a bit cheaper BUT that is why. Many probs with them!
Don't want to scare you but there is a saying..Stay away from Plasma. I know with us they are quite a bit cheaper BUT that is why. Many probs with them!
What kind of problems? I have a Plasma and much prefer it to LCD.
Got it on the recommendation of people on a forum who had Plasmas for many years with no problems.
"Well the truth is, it ain't worth the paper its written on "
Do you actually still have the paper it's written on ?
If so, time to get the down the Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards. The latter would be most interested.
Dozy if you have proof of the 5 year warranty then Argos must help you.
Panasonic do sometimes offer 5 year warranties under special promotions but the guarantee you have is with Argos and not Panasonic.
Good luck!
Under the Sale of Goods Act, retailers are responsible for faulty goods (that are not 'of satisfactory quality') for up to six years after you bought them. In Scotland the period is five years after something goes wrong. 'Satisfactory quality' covers various aspects that could be wrong with the goods, including whether they've lasted as long as you could reasonably expect. A 'reasonable' lifetime for different products is not defined in law and would ultimately be for a court to decide. But, for example, you might reasonably expect a £600 television to last longer than 18 months, but you wouldn't necessarily expect compensation if a £20 kettle broke down in this period.
http://www.monikie.org.uk/yourrights.htm
So I do believe you do not need a anything in writing as long as you have the receipt. It is the Retailer that you should see and if Argos refuse to help then quote the "Sale of Goods Act" to them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/consumer/2009/07/03/sale_of_goods_act_letter_downl.html
Here is a copy of the Letter that "BBC Watchdog" Recommends that you write to a retailer if a TV develops a Fault within 5 Years. Hope this helps you.
Your name
First line of address
Second line of address
Third line of address
Fourth line of address
Contact telephone number
Owner/Manager’s name
First line of company address
Second line of company address
Third line of company address
Fourth line of company address
Today’s date
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: Faulty goods and the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)
On [date of purchase] I bought a [description of purchase] from you for [insert price] which has stopped working.
The problem is [enter description of fault].
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.
This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.
The law also says I have 5 years from the date of purchase to claim damages for faulty goods.
My goods are not [delete as appropriate - as described/fit for purpose/of satisfactory quality] and I wish to claim a [delete as appropriate - repair/replacement/refund] of my goods under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.
Please respond to my complaint within 7 days from receipt of this letter.
Yours faithfully,
[your name]
That is very helpful information Kodiak.
Many thanks for sharing it with us.:D
I bought my telly from John Lewis as I knew that their customer service was brilliant.
I contacted them about a possible problem and they replied to me immediately and were very helpful.
Under the Sale of Goods Act, retailers are responsible for faulty goods (that are not 'of satisfactory quality') for up to six years after you bought them. In Scotland the period is five years after something goes wrong. 'Satisfactory quality' covers various aspects that could be wrong with the goods, including whether they've lasted as long as you could reasonably expect. A 'reasonable' lifetime for different products is not defined in law and would ultimately be for a court to decide. But, for example, you might reasonably expect a £600 television to last longer than 18 months, but you wouldn't necessarily expect compensation if a £20 kettle broke down in this period.
http://www.monikie.org.uk/yourrights.htm
So I do believe you do not need a anything in writing as long as you have the receipt. It is the Retailer that you should see and if Argos refuse to help then quote the "Sale of Goods Act" to them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/consumer/2009/07/03/sale_of_goods_act_letter_downl.html
Here is a copy of the Letter that "BBC Watchdog" Recommends that you write to a retailer if a TV develops a Fault within 5 Years. Hope this helps you.
Your name
First line of address
Second line of address
Third line of address
Fourth line of address
Contact telephone number
Owner/Manager’s name
First line of company address
Second line of company address
Third line of company address
Fourth line of company address
Today’s date
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: Faulty goods and the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)
On [date of purchase] I bought a [description of purchase] from you for [insert price] which has stopped working.
The problem is [enter description of fault].
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.
This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.
The law also says I have 5 years from the date of purchase to claim damages for faulty goods.
My goods are not [delete as appropriate - as described/fit for purpose/of satisfactory quality] and I wish to claim a [delete as appropriate - repair/replacement/refund] of my goods under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.
Please respond to my complaint within 7 days from receipt of this letter.
Yours faithfully,
[your name]
Sadly, this legislation is also not worth the paper it is written on.
For the first six months after purchase the responsibility lies with the retailer with regards to any faults. After that six months the responsibility moves to the purchaser to prove that the goods are not fit for purpose due to an inherent problem. I have cut the relevant section from a dispute between a buyer and Currys:-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Phil Glaves of Sheffield Trading Standards said: "The retailer would have us believe that liability starts and ends, strictly within the guarantee they provide.
"Not true! The seller's guarantee is additional to 'statutory rights' and so might be ignored in favour of the general legal protections afforded under the Sale of Goods Act.
"Nowhere in the act does it limit the seller's liability to 12 months, however after the first six months of the contract the buyer will have to prove the fault is the responsibility of the retailer.
"So if all the goodwill between the parties has vanished you might have to pay for an engineer's report on the TV, so there's evidence of the fault."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This will be the reason Argos are suggesting an engineers report to the OP.
If a proper 5 year warranty is in place however, that changes matters. However, does the OP still have proof of this document, was it properly registered, do they still have the receipt for the TV? These become very important questions. It is also worth pointing out that some extended warranties only apply to the actual screen of the TV and not other working parts.
The Oracle
27-May-10, 15:34
Panasonic offer 5 year FREE guarantee on thier TVs to encourage folk to buy with that 5 year piece of mind .
Well the truth is, it ain't worth the paper its written on .
I bought a Panasonic plasma from Argos and the TV developed a fault ,i contacted Argos and Panasonic and was told that they never did a 5 year warranty (its only 1 years) Panasonic said its Argos that give the 5 year promise and Argos said it was Panasonic (just passing the buck) .
This morning Argos stated that i should get an Engineer's Report on the telly (£ 85.00 plus vat) but they say that even if its shows a manufacturing fault that will not mean they will replace or repair it ..
Keep you posted on what happens ...
Well I have a Panasonic TV complete with a Warranty Certificate, sent to me directly from Panasonic, with all of my details recorded on it.
Unless I'm mistaken Panasonic 5 year warranties are only available from dealers. Other suppliers may choose to offer their own.
With regards to problems with Plasma TVs, apart from slightly higher running costs, they are just if not more reliable than LCD TVs.
Here is the Link to the Full Sale of Goods Act 1979 as Amended :-
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/5032CEDB-BB1E-4E9C-AED0-A31EB8B899C5/0/FaultyGoods.pdf
Here is the Link to the Full Sale of Goods Act 1979 as Amended :-
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/5032CEDB-BB1E-4E9C-AED0-A31EB8B899C5/0/FaultyGoods.pdf
It is still, effectively, a pile of crap. After six months have passed, the buyer is up the old sharn creek sans paddle. Even if you pay an engineer to diagnose the exact fault, how can you reasonably expect the retailer to have known that the TV they sold was likely to go paps up at any particular time down the line? Pretty hard to prove I would have thought.
It makes no difference what excuse the retailer says it is still the law and is all that counts. That is why the letter I posted above is worded the way it is as it is for people who have bought an item more than 6 months ago but their item is now faulty.
You may think the Sale of Goods act 1979 Amended is a Pile of crap, but that is ONLY your opinion and not Fact.
Don't want to scare you but there is a saying..Stay away from Plasma. I know with us they are quite a bit cheaper BUT that is why. Many probs with them!
I have had a panasonic 50" plasma for 2 years now and it's been perfect no problems whatsoever. And the picture is brill
What kind of problems? I have a Plasma and much prefer it to LCD.
Got it on the recommendation of people on a forum who had Plasmas for many years with no problems.
That is good....maybe the ones over there are somewhat different.
Just shopped for a 42 at different stores here, and invariably I was told to buy LCD. If Plasma goes wrong they just junk it and give you a new one, whereas LCD can be fixed. Plasma is approx 30% cheaper than LCD.
e.g. Panasonic 1080p LCD.. $649.00 plus tax =$735 = 440 pounds approx....
Just a thought. That's all....
That is good....maybe the ones over there are somewhat different.
Just shopped for a 42 at different stores here, and invariably I was told to buy LCD. If Plasma goes wrong they just junk it and give you a new one, whereas LCD can be fixed. Plasma is approx 30% cheaper than LCD.
e.g. Panasonic 1080p LCD.. $649.00 plus tax =$735 = 440 pounds approx....
Just a thought. That's all....
When I bought mine I compared both plasma and lcd. It seemed once you went over 40" with LCD the picture quality suffered, very badly. 2 years on larger 40" plus LCD's might have improved.
It makes no difference what excuse the retailer says it is still the law and is all that counts. That is why the letter I posted above is worded the way it is as it is for people who have bought an item more than 6 months ago but their item is now faulty.
You may think the Sale of Goods act 1979 Amended is a Pile of crap, but that is ONLY your opinion and not Fact.
I think you must be missing the point here. You say that retailer excuses don't matter and "It is still the law"
Exactly, and the LAW states that after six months the onus is on the BUYER to prove that the goods were inherently faulty.
Nearly all items come with a one year guarantee anyway, so it is probable in most cases that it will be after that year has passed that most people will go to a retailer quoting the Sale of Goods act. If I were a retailer and someone came to me stating that a TV had an inherent fault, I would immediately ask them why the TV had managed to function correctly for over a year, if it were inherently faulty!! This is, by the very nature of it, a difficult point to prove and I maintain that the Sale of Goods act is pile of crap, because it alludes to offering five years protection for the buyer, when the reality is that it is only six months in effect.
Let me finish by stating that, if the Sale of Goods act were any good in protecting you for five years, there would be absolutely no need whatsoever for extended warranties and Panasonic could jam their free warranty where the sun doesn't shine very often.
I am not knocking your attempt to help people on here, I am just pointing out the reality and limitations of the Act. I used to work for CAB and I was disappointed when I saw what the act meant in reality for the purchasers. I feel people have the right to know what the seller is likely to fire back at them.
Sadly, this legislation is also not worth the paper it is written on.
You say that however there are plenty of examples on the internet of people using this legislation to get warranty repairs carried out free of charge. You just have to be determined to see it through.
I bought my LCD on the interwebynet for £120. For that price I can buy one a year :lol: This one has lasted 2 years though :mad:
You say that however there are plenty of examples on the internet of people using this legislation to get warranty repairs carried out free of charge. You just have to be determined to see it through.
The point is that you are relying on the goodwill, or not, of the retailer. Legally the obligation is with the buyer after the six months. As I said earlier, if the act was/is any good, there would be no need for extended warranty at all, ALL buyers would be able to get their goods fixed free of charge. Can you please show an example, or explain, what the buyer can do to force the retailer to repair any item if they have initially asked the buyer to prove the responsibility of the fault lies with that retailer?
If there is a fault you might have to prove it was there from the beginning if the item is over six months old. However within 12 months retailers tend to just fix or replace the item under their 12 month warranty. However the act also covers duarability and how long an item is expected to last given its original cost. This has nothing to do with the retailer's goodwill and actually to do with what a court feels is a reasonable expectation. As I said you have to be determined to see it through but in all the examples I have read about when it gets to the court stage the customer has won.
There is also an EU directive that says electrical items should be fixed for up to 2 years. This has been used successfully (see beloe) although I have read it hasn't actually be written in to UK law. The SOGA is better anyway from what I can see.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/may/23/tesco-consumer-guarantee
If there is a fault you might have to prove it was there from the beginning if the item is over six months old. However within 12 months retailers tend to just fix or replace the item under their 12 month warranty. However the act also covers duarability and how long an item is expected to last given its original cost. This has nothing to do with the retailer's goodwill and actually to do with what a court feels is a reasonable expectation. As I said you have to be determined to see it through but in all the examples I have read about when it gets to the court stage the customer has won.
There is also an EU directive that says electrical items should be fixed for up to 2 years. This has been used successfully (see beloe) although I have read it hasn't actually be written in to UK law. The SOGA is better anyway from what I can see.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/may/23/tesco-consumer-guarantee
What you have said merely highlights why the act is a pile of crap. How many people have the time and mental resources required to drag something into court? If the act were worth its salt it should state that buyers are protected for a period of three years (or similar)
If you look at it from a retailers point of view, they are expected to, effectively, offer up to five years warranty on goods a manufacturer has seen fit only to offer a one year warranty on. Where is the logic in an act that states that that the expectation on a TV lifespan is 4 to 6 years but manufacturers get away with only providing a one year warranty. As far as I am concerned, the quality of a product should be the responsibility of the people who actually made the bloody thing!! I would like to see a minimum three years warranty as standard on TVs. REAL protection for the buyers, not a drawn out fight with mental strain along the way. Like much legislation in the UK though, it's half-arsed.
Well it works if you are willing to use it. It's a strong piece of legislation and has helped many people out. Often you don't go anywhere near a court, just get to the stage where the retailer knows you will see it through and accepts their responsibility. Sometimes just quoting the relevant bits of the Act in an email does the trick.
Well it works if you are willing to use it. It's a strong piece of legislation and has helped many people out. Often you don't go anywhere near a court, just get to the stage where the retailer knows you will see it through and accepts their responsibility. Sometimes just quoting the relevant bits of the Act in an email does the trick.
I can't agree that it is a strong piece of legislation. If the onus was put on the manufacturer to provide an appropriate warranty they would be forced to increase the quality of their products and the entire public could benefit from the improved standard of goods. That WOULD be strong!!
I think generally the quality of products is good. On the rare occasion when they do break down you can use the SOGA to sort the problem.
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