Consumer Rights - 6 years to complain.

[Clodbuster]

I have just had a call from a customer. He purchased an electrical item 31.5.2011 and failed within a month. This was collected, repaired, returned by us and worked until today 11.04.2016. It has a 2 year manufacturers warranty.
He is claiming it should work for 6 years according to the Consumer Rights Law 2015 and wants me to collect and repair it.

 

[Voicebooth]

There's a summary regarding the Consumer Rights Law here:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Public/Campaigns/cra/ConsumerRightsSummary-GoodsF2F.pdf

Is there an expected lifetime for this item? Can this be proven? If not, I suspect you can tell him to sod off.


Alvaro

 

[Clodbuster]

Thank you - it all boils down to what may be "Reasonable life expectancy" - how long is a piece of string.

 

[GraemeL]

Give a call to your local Trading Standards for your re-assurance. They are reasonable and helpful. When I have talked to them about this, they explained that the 'reasonable' bit is necessary because every product might be expected to have a different life. For example an Audi car would have a much longer life expectancy that a plastic kids toy. It cannot be defined in advance for every product.

I think you will find they will support you.

G

 

[GraemeL]

Your sale was definitely to a Consumer and not Business?

 

[Clodbuster]

It was to a consumer.

I have sold this person a replacement at a small discount which he is happy with so this issue is finalised but that conclusion does not detract from the initial question.
The big sticking point as I see it is the question of life expectancy? Who then carries the can - me as the retailer or the manufacturer?

 

[GraemeL]

You do. The legislation relates to sales to consumers, not your own B2B purchase. In theory, as retailers are aware of the legislation, they can build in an amount of margin on all sales to cover the issue.

http://www.retra.co.uk/life-expectancy-of-electronic-equipment/

 

[Clodbuster]

Nothing in that list applies - who then decides how long an item is meant to last?

 

[GraemeL]

Give a call to your local Trading Standards for your re-assurance. They are reasonable and helpful.

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

He is claiming it should work for 6 years according to the Consumer Rights Law 2015 and wants me to collect and repair it.

Utter rubbish!

He is probably confusing the Consumer Rights Act with his rights under the Limitation Act (1980), which, for contract disputes, is six years.

In short, I think the best advice is this:

tell him to sod off.

Cheers

Dean

 

[k100danny]

There is in reality that amount of time BUT it is not reasonable to expect certain items to last that long and it all depends on the item, how much wear it has had ect too. People often quote things such as of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose etc when trying to get an item replaced but after i think 6 months this falls on them to prove the goods were not of satisfactory quality or that a fault was present when they purchased the item.

It really is how long is a piece of string, i have personally complained to apple computers when my computer broke out of warranty as it was a very expensive computer, with very little use i expect it to last longer than 2 years, they said no problem and replaced it. If i took a pair of running shoes back to the shop after 5 years that i run in every week and said these are falling to bits i would probably get laughed at so it really is hard to say. For an electrical item though i would say 2-3 years life span is pretty average, especially if it is an item used on a regular basis.

 

[Newchodge]

It is a judgment issue based on the type of product, the cost, the expected useage etc. What is reasonable will vary with every different type of item. You may reasonably expect the bodywork on a Rolls Royce to last more than 5 years, unless it is kept in a high salt environment and never washed.

 

[Clodbuster]

These are fence energisers so are likely to be constantly on and working, 24 hours a day. You cannot tell a fox that he must not attack your chickens because you have switched the unit off.

I think I have the answers should someone else try the same gambit.

Thank you all for responding.