Quick question about my rights as a consumer

[Clunk]

i bought a processor from techstore.co.uk in february, and it died over the weekend. i just emailed them now and this is what they said.

"This is a direct manufacturer warranty item. Please contact AMD for direct replacement.

Regards,"

it is a retail boxed opty 165 and comes with the three year warranty. as i understood it, the first 12 months is with the e-tailer and the last 24 months with AMD.

does anyone know where i stand on this? or is it easier to just contact AMD myself?

thanks.

[schmunk]

I'd just phone AMD. They'll either start the returns process or tell you to go back to the retailer, then you'll know for sure.

[chicken]

As far as I know from retail, the first 28 days should be supported by the retailer, the rest of the first 12 months is supported by the manufacturer.

A lot of retailers will support you for the whole 12 months, but this is a privelidge not a right. It is also up to the manufacturer whether they guarantee their product for more than 12 months, in the case of electrical items the high technology turnover usually means they won't.

You do also have some extra rights for mail-order items now (since the TFT "dead pixel" fiascos when they came out), but I don't know enough about them to say for sure. Something about being able to return something for any reason for a short time after you receive it, because you didn't get the chance to see it first-hand as you would in a shop.

[mart_haj86]

As far as I know from retail, the first 28 days should be supported by the retailer, the rest of the first 12 months is supported by the manufacturer.

A lot of retailers will support you for the whole 12 months, but this is a privelidge not a right. It is also up to the manufacturer whether they guarantee their product for more than 12 months, in the case of electrical items the high technology turnover usually means they won't.

You do also have some extra rights for mail-order items now (since the TFT "dead pixel" fiascos when they came out), but I don't know enough about them to say for sure. Something about being able to return something for any reason for a short time after you receive it, because you didn't get the chance to see it first-hand as you would in a shop.

in a simple line i think you hit the nail on the head, having worked for 3 years with a certain Computer Retailer of which name i shall not mention, we did have returns in which we had to advise the customer to speak direct to the manufacturer after the first 14 days (IIRC) in some circumstances, but some companys such as the beloved scan i believe takes all warrantys with themselves.

[Clunk]

thanks for the replies

i decided to go the amd route of return, and entered all the details and it came back as the CPU wasnt even on their systems...bugger. so had to manually raise an rma request. just waiting for them getting back to me now.

and i think i know why the e-tailer wanted me to send it back to amd...its in holland

[badass]

The distance selling regulations give you a 7 day money back guarentee. Within 7 days you can return anything from mail order/e-tailer for any reason you want.

After that I'm not sure but if you are told in the advert its got a warranty then the retailer must honour that. If the manufacturer refuses their obligations/the retailers promises, then the retailer must honour the warranty instead. If the retailer refuses this you have a route for compensation from them.

[Rave]

As far as I know from retail, the first 28 days should be supported by the retailer, the rest of the first 12 months is supported by the manufacturer.

Nope. When you buy an item, a contract is formed for the supply of goods between you and the retailer. The manufacturer has no obligations at all*. Ultimately, it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure the goods are fit for the purpose sold. They are responsible for sending Clunk's processor to AMD for replacement, not him. As far as I know the 12 months that most guarantees run for has no basis in law either. A product should last for a reasonable time. You wouldn't expect a washing up sponge to last more than about 2 weeks of daily use, but a washing machine should last at least 2-3 years. If your washing machine or freezer dies after a year and a half you'd have a good case for saying that the goods were not fit for the purpose for which they were sold- people have succesfully sued retailers in this way.

*as for the manufacturer's obligations, I don't know if promising a three year warranty on the packet (a la AMD, hard disk manufacturers etc.) means that they do then have legal obligations- it may be the case that it's still the retailer's responsibility to honour claims made on the packaging of goods they're selling....

You do also have some extra rights for mail-order items now (since the TFT "dead pixel" fiascos when they came out), but I don't know enough about them to say for sure.Something about being able to return something for any reason for a short time after you receive it, because you didn't get the chance to see it first-hand as you would in a shop.

Yes- when you buy a product mail order you have the right to return it within 7 days for a full refund (minus postage costs) for any reason at all, as long as you return the item in the condition that you received it. You don't have that right if you bought it in a shop, because you had the opportunity to inspect the item before purchase.

[SilentDeath]

Nope. When you buy an item, a contract is formed for the supply of goods between you and the retailer. The manufacturer has no obligations at all*. Ultimately, it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure the goods are fit for the purpose sold. They are responsible for sending Clunk's processor to AMD for replacement, not him. As far as I know the 12 months that most guarantees run for has no basis in law either. A product should last for a reasonable time. You wouldn't expect a washing up sponge to last more than about 2 weeks of daily use, but a washing machine should last at least 2-3 years. If your washing machine or freezer dies after a year and a half you'd have a good case for saying that the goods were not fit for the purpose for which they were sold- people have succesfully sued retailers in this way.

*as for the manufacturer's obligations, I don't know if promising a three year warranty on the packet (a la AMD, hard disk manufacturers etc.) means that they do then have legal obligations- it may be the case that it's still the retailer's responsibility to honour claims made on the packaging of goods they're selling....



Yes- when you buy a product mail order you have the right to return it within 7 days for a full refund (minus postage costs) for any reason at all, as long as you return the item in the condition that you received it. You don't have that right if you bought it in a shop, because you had the opportunity to inspect the item before purchase.

Distance selling regulations is 14days iirc?

Your right about it being the retailers responsibilty however its likely quicker and easyer to go through a big company like amd* rather than a small-likely-to-go-bankrupt retailer.

Also some items say on the packaging that it should be returned directly, and notices may be instore or on websites. A good examples is DFI nf4 motherboards which if mine broke I would be expected to send it t the netherlands? rather than cpu-city. Not sure if this affects your legal right to send to shop, but if the manuf. goes bankrupt the shop would still be required to refund etc...

*only if they accept returns direct from consumers as policy, some companys wont esp for oem items.

If you buy a OEM item, you will likely only get the minimum warrenty required by law, as oem means the shop has to provide the warrenty or have a contract with the manuf. for the items. An example here is maxtor hdd's at cpu city, which are only covered for 12 months? and not the advertised 3?/5? years

[badass]

Distance selling regulations is 14days iirc?

No its 7 days

Your right about it being the retailers responsibilty however its likely quicker and easyer to go through a big company like amd* rather than a small-likely-to-go-bankrupt retailer.

Also some items say on the packaging that it should be returned directly, and notices may be instore or on websites. A good examples is DFI nf4 motherboards which if mine broke I would be expected to send it t the netherlands? rather than cpu-city. Not sure if this affects your legal right to send to shop, but if the manuf. goes bankrupt the shop would still be required to refund etc...

*only if they accept returns direct from consumers as policy, some companys wont esp for oem items.

If you buy a OEM item, you will likely only get the minimum warrenty required by law, as oem means the shop has to provide the warrenty or have a contract with the manuf. for the items. An example here is maxtor hdd's at cpu city, which are only covered for 12 months? and not the advertised 3?/5? years

The contract is between you and the retailer - so all of the obligations are from the retailer and never the manufacturer, however if you are told that after 28 days you must return it to the manufacturer it is your obligation to at least attempt to return it to the manufacturer for a warrany replacement. Should the manufacturer refuse, you then have the right to got to the retailer and demand they replace/repair it.
If the shop goes bankrupt, then you are a creditor and will have to put your claim to the liquidators. The manufacturer still has no obligations*
The obligations are always between you and who you bought it off.

On the OEM items, the warranty is whatever the retailer claims, or what would be reasonable to expect, whichever is greater.



*thats not quite true, but I cant be arsed to explain why and how.

[autopilot]

if you are told that after 28 days you must return it to the manufacturer it is your obligation to at least attempt to return it to the manufacturer for a warrany replacement. Should the manufacturer refuse, you then have the right to got to the retailer and demand they replace/repair it.

Yes, but it's the 100% the obligation of the retailer. You should not have to deal with the manufacturer yourself at all. All returns should be sent to the retailer, who will have to deal with the return to the manufacturer.

Somtimes it may be quicker to do it yourself and the retailer may *request* you do this, but it's only to save them money and time and you have a right to have the retailer resolve the problem. The problem is though, once you do this most retailers with wash thier hands of it. I would always recommed you deal with the retailer. Going stright to the manufacturer sounds like it should simplify the situation, but in many cases it actually makes things more complicated, especially when the manufacturer says it can't be fixed and the retailer must issue the replacement, as can often happen. If they do, get it in writing.

In fact your *contract* with the retailer for any sale is actually for 6 years (6 years is not the length of warrenty, but the lengh of the sales contract and does not mean you can get a replacement for up to 6 years). This is for two main reasons - One, if a product develops a fault in the first 12 months and breaks down after 12 months due to a fault that developed in the first 12 months, you have up to 6 years to get a replacement (from the retailer). Secondly, as rave correctly stated, 12 months is just a minimum baseline - a product must be 'fit for the purpose it was sold' and therefore you can in many cases get a replacement/repair after 12 months from the time of purchace, although this is a very grey area and it all gets a bit fuzzy then. Many retailers will insist this is down to the manufacturer. Again, this is the responsibility for the retailer for 6 years after the sale.