Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights!

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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 19/11/2009 at 12:02 #267
GeoffM
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6274 posts
Some of you may remember me asking about the SoGA on the old forum, a washer-drier not fully working, 22 months old. Summary of progress so far:
Call centre: Appliance not under guarantee
Me: Doesn't matter. SoGA
CC: Manufacturer is responsible
Me: SoGA - you (Comet) are responsible as retailer
CC: I'll send someone but will be charge of £28 call-out and £45 for labour, the former chargeable immediately, the latter during visit.

During visit: Nothing wrong except a blocked filter.
Me: Filter is not user servicable (you have to expose the innards to get to it)
Engineer: I'll call
(later)
Engineer: £45 waived
Me: I wasn't paying it anyway!

(next time - not working again)
Me: Engineer didn't fix last time
CC: No proof, we'll decide.
Me: Same fault.
CC: £28 call out and £45 labour.
Me: No, you didn't fix it.
Supervisor: Ok, we'll waive the charges
Me: Of course you will - you have to by law.

(engineer visits)
Engineer: Narrowed down to one of two things, either PCB or probe/sensor. Not major components so will be charged.
Me: (Not quite agreeing that a PCB is not a major component, and not sure that SoGA even mentions this). Ok, tell me how much it will be.

(a few days later)
CC: We're sending an engineer.
Me: How much?
CC: The engineer will tell you.
Me: But if I don't want to pay it then there's no point him coming.
CC: I don't have any more information.
Me: There won't be a charge for visiting?
CC: Er... no.
Me: Correct!

(today)
Engineer: It'll be £15 for the probe and £86 for the PCB.
Me: (having now determined that the PCB is indeed covered by the SoGA) I will pay for the probe but not the PCB.
(engineer calls his office)
Engineer: Best I can do is ask for 30% of the cost of parts.
Me: That's outside the SoGA but not worth the hassle for the sake of £15 so I'll pay it.

Success! What would have cost about £320 has been cut to £58 (initial call-out plus 30% of parts). Just goes to show that laying down the law reaps rewards.

SimSig Boss
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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 19/11/2009 at 12:02 #4217
GeoffM
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6274 posts
Some of you may remember me asking about the SoGA on the old forum, a washer-drier not fully working, 22 months old. Summary of progress so far:
Call centre: Appliance not under guarantee
Me: Doesn't matter. SoGA
CC: Manufacturer is responsible
Me: SoGA - you (Comet) are responsible as retailer
CC: I'll send someone but will be charge of £28 call-out and £45 for labour, the former chargeable immediately, the latter during visit.

During visit: Nothing wrong except a blocked filter.
Me: Filter is not user servicable (you have to expose the innards to get to it)
Engineer: I'll call
(later)
Engineer: £45 waived
Me: I wasn't paying it anyway!

(next time - not working again)
Me: Engineer didn't fix last time
CC: No proof, we'll decide.
Me: Same fault.
CC: £28 call out and £45 labour.
Me: No, you didn't fix it.
Supervisor: Ok, we'll waive the charges
Me: Of course you will - you have to by law.

(engineer visits)
Engineer: Narrowed down to one of two things, either PCB or probe/sensor. Not major components so will be charged.
Me: (Not quite agreeing that a PCB is not a major component, and not sure that SoGA even mentions this). Ok, tell me how much it will be.

(a few days later)
CC: We're sending an engineer.
Me: How much?
CC: The engineer will tell you.
Me: But if I don't want to pay it then there's no point him coming.
CC: I don't have any more information.
Me: There won't be a charge for visiting?
CC: Er... no.
Me: Correct!

(today)
Engineer: It'll be £15 for the probe and £86 for the PCB.
Me: (having now determined that the PCB is indeed covered by the SoGA) I will pay for the probe but not the PCB.
(engineer calls his office)
Engineer: Best I can do is ask for 30% of the cost of parts.
Me: That's outside the SoGA but not worth the hassle for the sake of £15 so I'll pay it.

Success! What would have cost about £320 has been cut to £58 (initial call-out plus 30% of parts). Just goes to show that laying down the law reaps rewards.

SimSig Boss
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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 19/11/2009 at 20:15 #4230
Tristan
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60 posts
Good on you Geoff, Power to the people
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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 19/11/2009 at 21:49 #4232
Signaller@Amsterdam
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76 posts
Well done.
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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 20/11/2009 at 12:08 #4253
Peter Bennet
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5354 posts
Online
Well my 'roofing' dispute, which I alluded to some time ago on the old forum, rumbles on. What started as a 'simple' job of clearing the moss from my house roof and replacing/fixing any broken tiles and repointing the chimney stacks.

Company actually sells roof coating painting service which we explicitly stated we did not want- just clear the moss off- “OK no problem” says the rep- “it’s what we do”. What they did was pressure jet washed the roof (which we thought was grey but transpired was bright orange). Actually the original colour was terraccotta but the jet wash scoured the surface off. A procedure the National Federation of Concrete Tile manufacturers advise against. (As does the complany’s own web site unless you have the coating applied).

3 months later Head Office acknowledged that they should never have agreed to the job and have agreed to point the roof with their product free of charge. Several abortive visits by workmen later – abortive because they turned up and askled me ‘what are we here to do” and then found they had the wrong colour or whatever.

Anyway finally painted it week before last but over-sprayed the conservatory roof and other areas. Then it rained 10 hours after application and washed all the paint from Kitchen roof into my waterbutts.

Last weekend (while I was in Derby) man turns up only to clean conservatory roof; now its covered in a white residue which I can’t get off- he did not realise he had to paint kitchen roof again so that was not done.

Oh and there are terraccotta footprints all over the place.

Trouble-shooter from Head office in Glasgow has now been down to see me and has taken responsibility for the work being finished……

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 24/11/2009 at 16:55 #4477
UKTrainMan
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1803 posts
If anyone here on the forum has any problems in the future, they are more than welcome to contact me directly. I have some useful legal knowledge and would be more than willing to provide some form of legal advice (free!). Can't promise my advice would be as good as a solicitors of course (who will likely charge you for it!) but I will always try to help out my fellow signaller/SimSig-ers as best as possible. Confidentiality would be maintained at all times.
Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for.
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Sale of Goods Act - Know your rights! 24/11/2009 at 17:07 #4478
Peter Bennet
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5354 posts
Online
That's useful to know, although I have legal training I'm self-taught as far as consumer law is concerned (through necessity!! - though my wife might argue it was not necessary to pick some of the fights I have..) so it would be useful to bounce things off someone as and when.

Thanks

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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