PS3 Developed fault... Where do I go?

[Jorumian]

Hi folks,

I'm wondering if someone can help me, this afternoon I went to play on my PS3 with my son. We stuck a game in and it started loading fine... but then the game seemed to hang. So we have reset the system (and also completed a system update) however now whenever I put any disk into the PS3 it will not recognise it.

I think the disk reader mechanism, or the driver is faulty.

My question is who do I go to? I bought the item from HMV in May this year and I do still have the receipt. However on the back of the receipt it mentions something about 28 days for returns. Despite this, I am sure when I bought it the sales person told me to keep the receipt as it was my "12 month guarantee".

Can I expect HMV to replace this for me or do I have to go to Sony?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ian

[Jorumian]

And the motto of this story is, read some of the other articles on the site before you post something...

Catriona's articles have pretty much answered this for me... Guess I will be getting in touch with HMV tomorrow to get this sorted!

[Tony]

I bet they will try to get your to make a warranty claim. Don't let them fob you off it is their responsibility under the Sale of Goods Act. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Tony

[Jorumian]

Hello,

I called HMV this morning and spoke to a three week old about my problem. He went and spoke to somebody before informing me that they'd change my system, provided I had a "Reference number from Sony".

I said to them that I didn't feel I had to contact Sony as under the Sale of Goods act it was their responsibility to sort this out for me.

His reply was "Errrr...we need a reference number from Sony.."

After five minutes of hearing the same response, despite pointing out that I was a member of a consumer website and was well aware of my statutory rights as per the sale of goods act etc... I got the impression I was about to make the poor lad cry. I asked to speak to his boss, who perhaps a little to conveniently, was "unavailable." I asked him for Sony's number, he didn't have it but told me where I could find it.

Anyway, I sat down here and wrote a stinking post about how terrible it all was and that it was a disgrace HMV didn't know the law... and was about midway through it when the phone rang. It was the manager of HMV who apologised for being away and then proceeded to explain to me why they have this "system" in place, which basically boiled down to "Well, we don't have the time to sort all this and it's much quicker for everybody to go through Sony." He assured me that I would not incur any costs to have the PS3 fixed and that if it was unfixable, Sony would give me a reference number and I could come to the store quote it and pick up a brand new replacement the same day. He then gave me the number to contact Sony and told me if I had any problems to ring him.

I didn't know what to think really. On the one hand he had passed the buck onto Sony and as Tony had said, was making me make a warranty claim. On the other hand, he was genuinely trying to help I felt.

Anyway, I called Sony. Explained the problem. They are sending a courier this Friday to collect the machine and have said it will be back with me fixed within two weeks of that date, more likely a lot sooner, or if the machine is not able to be fixed, they'll send a new one as a replacement. (Not sure if that means a new machine direct from them or a number to collect one from HMV).

So all in all, I don't know what to make of that... It is being sorted and it hasn't cost me anything, bar a phone call or two... I feel kind of happy... but also a little annoyed that HMV passed the buck... then again I felt the manager did go out of his way to help me... but I wonder if that was because he'd been told I seemed to know where I stood as regards my rights and what I should be able to expect from HMV?

If there are any further developments I'll let you know.

And thanks to Catriona & Tony for their posts, advice and the site, as without it, I would not have had a clue where I stood really.

[scotchlass]

It's good that the pS3 is getting repaired/replaced but I am now a bit concerned that many, many shop staff are not aware of the law such as the Sale of Goods Act?

Quite scary

[Jorumian]

Hi Scotchlass

The impression I received was that the first young lad I spoke to didn't really understand the gist of what I was saying... Whether that is by genuinely not understanding the law, or company policy I am not too sure. I certainly don't think he understood what the Sale of Goods act meant.

The manager I think DID have an idea, and I am sure that is why I received a call. Had I not mentioned it I am not sure I would have done. Which may be doing them a disservice but I am not convinced. His argument seemed to be, "Well yes you can bring it here legally and we'll sort it... but it a lot more time to do that than if you went direct to Sony..." I guess since this is "dead" money to them, that customer satisfaction isn't a burning issue once they have your cash. Either that or they just cannot be bothered with the additional time and expense of resolving these issues in house.

I also think a lot of retailers hope that people are not too clued up on their rights and fob them off in the hope they will go away and deal directly with the company who made the goods, rather than those who sold it to them. I'm sure Tony's posted something along these lines before and I am certain it is a very common practice.

[Tony]

It is good that the your PS3 is being replaced, the best retailers would offer you a loan while it is being repaired. See the following:

(2)If the buyer requires the seller to repair or replace the goods, the seller must—

(a)repair or, as the case may be, replace the goods within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience to the buyer;

(b)bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage).

From: Sale of Goods Act 1979 (c. 54)

However, to expect a replacement a reasonable person needs to feel that without it you would be subject to "significant inconvenience". Hard to justify for a PS3 : )

Most people are ignorant of their consumer rights - including the shop owners. This is not just me saying it, it is what the OFT found in their market study - http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/rep...ion/oft921.pdf

[Jorumian]

Yes, I did wonder about that to be honest... As you say though, it is hard to justify for a PS3... "My life won't be the same now I can't play Grand Theft Auto..." Even I am not that sad! lol

What also kind of amuses me the most, is that for a long long time I was undecided between getting an Xbox 360 or the PS3. My brother has the 360 and I really enjoyed playing on it. But in the end I chose the PS3 as it seemed far less likely to break down...

What do I know eh? lol

[Tony]

I still think the PS3 is more reliable than the Xbox, from what I have read Microsoft had many problems with the Xbox360. I wonder how HMW would react if the fault had developed outside the 1 year warranty period - I would expect a games console that costs £300 to last more than a year.

Tony

[Jorumian]

Oh I totally agree, the 360 Red Ring of Death epidemic was what totally put me off that system and comparably the PS3 has far fewer instances of problems...

Just typical of my luck that mine was one of them!

As you say, it would have been interesting to see what HMV's response was had the 12 months passed or indeed Sony's. As you say a £300 console should last a lot longer than just 12 months. Especially considering I have had a PS2 and a PS1 for years and years and never had one problem with either.

What irks me the most is that I hardly used the PS3. It was used on average less than an hour a week since I bought it, and many weeks it was not used at all. If I had used the machine for 8 hours a day constantly since I bought it then fair enough, I could understand it breaking down. But I don't think it has been used for more than 24 hours total since I got it. So its quite disappointing it broke so soon.