Hi,
I bought a laptop many years ago, and it got broken. One insurance claim later, I was sent a replacement - not the same model, but the nearest equivalent available at the time.
Now, 28 months later, the laptop has died, quite unceremoniously. It seems to be a fault with the electronic components, so I called my insurance company to remind me who it was that supplied me with the laptop.
They told me to call Sony (the manufacturer) to see what they could do. I thought that was unusual, so I called their (premium rate) number just to be told I'd have to pay for the repair - exactly as I expected.
I called back Virgin Insurance, and they have said they're not accepting liability for the sale (not that I asked them to!) and *finally* they gave me a contact number for the supplier.
Talking to the supplier today they have informed me that they are not liable, the SOG Act is just a guideline, it doesn't apply between companies (their contract was with Virgin, not me), and they are only limited to the length of time that the goods are 'designed' to last by the manufacturer. They translate this to mean the 12-month warranty (although someone from the same company had already told me they only accepted libility for 1 month, then I had to go to the manufacturer for the remainder of the 12 months).
So what I need to know now, is what protection do I have?
Consumer Direct advised me on the phone to write to both companies - Virgin to get them to agree to confirm the contract was in my name (they have agreed to this on the phone and say they will send a fax or letter when necessary). Second letter is to PowerPlay (now trading as BeValued) claiming a repair under SOG Act.
The man at BeValued was getting quite irate when I was asking for the address, and only gave it to me after I asked several times whether he was refusing to tell me. He said I'd just be wasting my time, there was no point in me writing as they won't accept responsibility for the machine, so there was no point in giving me the address.
My letter is ready to go. It's attached to this post, if anyone has any recommendations? I probably won't get the chance to send it for a couple of days...
Many thanks!
Phil
I bought a laptop many years ago, and it got broken. One insurance claim later, I was sent a replacement - not the same model, but the nearest equivalent available at the time.
Now, 28 months later, the laptop has died, quite unceremoniously. It seems to be a fault with the electronic components, so I called my insurance company to remind me who it was that supplied me with the laptop.
They told me to call Sony (the manufacturer) to see what they could do. I thought that was unusual, so I called their (premium rate) number just to be told I'd have to pay for the repair - exactly as I expected.
I called back Virgin Insurance, and they have said they're not accepting liability for the sale (not that I asked them to!) and *finally* they gave me a contact number for the supplier.
Talking to the supplier today they have informed me that they are not liable, the SOG Act is just a guideline, it doesn't apply between companies (their contract was with Virgin, not me), and they are only limited to the length of time that the goods are 'designed' to last by the manufacturer. They translate this to mean the 12-month warranty (although someone from the same company had already told me they only accepted libility for 1 month, then I had to go to the manufacturer for the remainder of the 12 months).
So what I need to know now, is what protection do I have?
Consumer Direct advised me on the phone to write to both companies - Virgin to get them to agree to confirm the contract was in my name (they have agreed to this on the phone and say they will send a fax or letter when necessary). Second letter is to PowerPlay (now trading as BeValued) claiming a repair under SOG Act.
The man at BeValued was getting quite irate when I was asking for the address, and only gave it to me after I asked several times whether he was refusing to tell me. He said I'd just be wasting my time, there was no point in me writing as they won't accept responsibility for the machine, so there was no point in giving me the address.
My letter is ready to go. It's attached to this post, if anyone has any recommendations? I probably won't get the chance to send it for a couple of days...
Many thanks!
Phil