Supplier issue......help/advice needed

[madwelshboy]

Hi all,

I have a problem with someone I bought a graphics card from, I bought it via ebay (I know) but it was from a company advertising on there, www.barrysworld.com
I have received the card but to be honest it is knackered, it produces artifacts when loading and severe when playing games, it was like this when I received it, the advert says it has a 30 day warranty but the seller refuses to refund, he insists on a replacement. To be honest, I spent 3 days troubleshooting to make sure that it was the card, I just want my money back (does anyone happen to know where I stand legally?!? Or atleast where I can turn/find out?)
Thanks guys.

[Saracen]

If you are a consumer buying from a retailer, then you are protected by several pieces of consumer legislation. One of the implications of such protection is that goods must be of "satisfactory quality". On receipt of goods, you are allowed a "reasonable" period to inspect goods. This period will not be long, and is probably about a week (and very unlikely to be more than a month.) If you find a problem within that period, you are entitled to reject the goods and DEMAND your money back. Basically, the retailer is in breach of contract by supplying defective goods and you are entitled to reject the goods entirely, and treat the contract as if it had never existed.

If you have "accepted" the goods, then you lose that right to reject goods completely. Note that "accept" here is a legal term and does NOT have the commonplace definition. You can "accept" goods in a vairety of ways, perhaps without even realising that you have done so, but I am NOT talking about signing for them when the courier delivers. That signature for acceptance is NOTHING to do with legal acceptance in this context.

Until recently, the onus was on the consumer to be able to prove that goods were faulty on delivery. Now, however, within 6 months of delivery, the onus is on the retailer to prove they were NOT faulty on delivery.

Furthermore, under the Distance Selling Regulations (DSR) (actually, it's the The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 if you want the formal title) you have 7 WORKING days (i.e. not counting Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays) within which you can simply change your mind, without even needing the goods to be faulty.

See the Trading Standards website for further details of the DSR (and other consumer rights) - but also note that this is a relatively new piece of legislation and the wrinkles are still getting worked out - such as whether you lose your DSR rights by opening and installing the product, therefore effectively making it "used" goods. This point is not clear from either the DSR or (yet, and to the best of my knowledge) case law.

Much of your legal rights depend on you acting fast. Also, some (like the DSR right to cancel) depend on you notifying the retailer in permanent form. This means emphatically not by telephone. Email, post, fax etc are all valid methods but phone is not.

If the retailer can keep you dangling for long enough without having given proper notification in permanent form for long enough, you'll have lost your DSR rights.

So, my advice :-

1. Talk to your local Citizens Advice Bureau and DO IT NOW.
   
2. Reject the goods formally, and DO IT IN WRITING, not by phone.
   
3. If you are STILL told by the retailer that they won't refund, find out WHY they claim that. What grounds do they have for doing so? Be aware that they may have valid reason for their stance, and that just because you think you have the right to a refund does not necessarily mean you are right. Then talk to Trading Standards as well as the CAB.

I would also STRONGLY advise you to avoid going down the legal rights route if you possibly can. Find out what your rights are, and protect your position by taking any action that you need to WITHIN the time periods defined by law, BUT .... negotiate with the retailer if you possibly can. At the end of the day, it's better to talk to them and try to get it resolved amicably than to end up having to take court action.

[madwelshboy]

Hi Saracen, thanks for the good advice, I will try my best to resolve this matter without getting the law involved.

[Austin]

Your rights may be diminished if you buy from Ebay, certainly if it's a private indivdual you purchase from (even a private individual who happens to own/work in a shop). Basically all you really get covered for is mis-described items which would include items that are faulty and not described as such. If the item works at first and quickly dies you aren't covered at all (but some sellers may be sympathetic). I hope it's classed a retailer and try to get a print out of the Ebay sale if you can.