Refurbished Corsair USB stick RMA refused

[Saracen]

I'll say it again, the warranty period has NOTHING to do with the reasonable life of the product. You are getting two completely different issues conflated, and either your TS friend is too, or you're misunderstanding them.

A manufacturer isn't even obliged to offer a warranty. Many offer 12 months on products like, say, TVs, but a court will usually put the reasonable life of a product like a TV at several years.

I buy shirts from a company that offer a two month warranty, but cover you for just about anything within that period, including that the dog ate it. The SoGA would not cover you at all for dog damage, or cigarette burns, but that manufacturer warranty does. For two months. Why? I asked the manufacturer. It's a marketing decision. They calculate that a 2-month unconditional warranty gives nervous new customers the confidence to buy and try, and because they belueve in their products, they get few returns. I asked if they get it abused? They said that not many people did, and the few that do repeatedly abuse it, they stop accepting orders.

I also spoke, years ago, to the owner of a hard drive manufacturer about warranty periods. The period they offer is a blend of a number of factors, including competitive pressures on marketing, and on their expected failure rates and the cost of servicing those warranties over varioys options for warranty period. If they offer 3 years, it is likely to cost more than offering 12 months, BUT they may have to do that if a competitor does, and build the extra cost into their cost base.

In neither the shirt firm nor that hard drive manufacturer does the warranty period reflect their anticipated life, and different msnufacturers offer warranties (or don't) for all sorts of reasons, not least of which is what the warranty offers cover for, which is often a lot more than the SoGA offers cover for.

The "reasonable life" of a product is what the judge in that SoGA claim case says it is, and that will depend on a variety of factors, including industry expectations, feedback from the likes of TS and consumer associations, and the specific facts of the case.

It is certainly the case that any statements and assertions made by a manufacturer, and known about by the buyer when buying, can be relied upon, including any warranty. But that means that the manufacturer can, as of a few years back because it didn't used to be the case, can be legally held to those assertions, including warranty period. But that defines what the manufacturer is liable for under warranty, not what the retailer's SoGA obligations are.

It's the judge, according to those factors I mentioned and others he/she decides are relevant, that determines reasonable life in a given case. And that came direct from a judge that judges such cases. I'm quite fortunate in my choice of friends, and family , too.

[Ttaskmaster]

I'll say it again, the warranty period has NOTHING to do with the reasonable life of the product.

In this case, it *does*.
IIRC, Corsair normally offer a 10 year warranty on new USB flash drives. That is how long they guarantee it to last. But they offer just 30 days on refurbed units. You don't think there's a good reason for that?

This is the very industry expectation and specific fact of the case you speak of, which a judge will use to determine reasonable life expectancy of this product and which is likely the reason the retailer copied the manufacturer's guarantee period - It is a reliable indicator of life expectancy and a simple way to cover their own backsides.

It's on sale for a very cheap price, with limited guarantee - You don't think there's a good reason for that?

Once you *have* established reasonable life expectancy, then yes the SOGA comes in in force:

If the product has failed within the reasonable life expectancy, the SOGA entitles the buyer to a refund (if found faulty with the general 3-4 week bracket, allowing for receipt and inspection) or a repair/replacement item ((usually whichever is cheaper for the retailer) if found faulty within a 'reasonable' time). Refund is not *required* in this case as it's past the general time bracket (although many retailers will do this for simplicity/good customer service). The postage on a Repair could cost more than the item itself, so Replacement is the most likely option, but depends on stock levels.
Chances are, for such a low-priced item, a replacement brand new unit is by far the best option all round.