We have received many complaints regarding the so-called YLOD (Yellow Light of Death Fault) that is affecting a number of Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) owners and have created this guide to help them get their consoles fixed for free.
In the UK consumers have statutory rights that give them six years from the date of purchase to make a claim (five years Scotland) and these are in addition to any warranty provided by Sony. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 is fundamental and says that goods including the Sony PS3 must be:
Of Satisfactory Quality
This includes fitness for purpose and life expectancy taking into account the price paid and the nature of the item purchased. We believe that it is reasonable to expect a high-end consoles such as the Playstation 3 to last 5 – 8 years when used in the home environment with reasonable usage.
Get your faulty Playstation 3 fixed for free
If you have just got it then you could reasonably expect your money back or a replacement rather than a repair.
If the PS3 was bought less than six months ago it is assumed to have been faulty when it was delivered and the shop has to prove otherwise.
However, when it is more than six months since you made the purchase then you have to prove that the console is actually faulty and the retailer may ask for an engineers report. In practice, this is only likely to happen once the Sony warranty has expired.
After the warranty has expired it seems to be normal practice for retailers to simply shrug their shoulders and say they cannot do anything. There is no mention of your statutory rights! In these circumstances you need to stand firm and state that the PS3 is not of satisfactory quality and you are making a claim for a repair under the Sale of Goods Act and this is nothing to do with the warranty. Here is a letter that you can use:
| Dear Sir/Madam,
On 06/12/07, I bought a Playstation 3 60GB from Acme.com for £450 (including game) which is not of satisfactory quality. The problem is the device goes into standby a few seconds after it is switched on. Sony have quoted £145 to replace the Playstation 3 console with a refurbished model. A copy of the proof of purchase is attached. Please arrange for my Playstation 3 to be repaired or replaced or send me £145 within 14 days from receipt of this letter. Yours faithfully, Joe Bloggs |
In response to this they are likely to ask for an engineers report to prove that the item is faulty, which is reasonably and to be expected. All you need to do is find a local reputable computer repair shop and ask them for a report. If the engineer concludes that the fault was caused during manufacturing, the retailer should reimburse you for the cost of the report and should agree to a repair. If it is not economical for them to repair the console they can offer a replacement or a cash refund taking into account your usage.
Without an engineers report this is the type of response you will get:
| Dear Sir,
I represent the Executive Customer Relations Group within Acme.co.uk and in this capacity, your correspondence has been brought to my attention. The European Directive 1999/44/EC allows for a claim to be taken (under certain circumstances) for a period up to two years in accordance with European Law, and up to six years under UK law. Acme do not provide the warranty. We do, however, cover our obligations under the relevant legislation such as the Sales of Goods Act 1979 in the UK. Under the Sale of Goods Act, a consumer is granted recourse against a seller of goods if those goods were defective at the time of purchase. This may include, in certain circumstances, repair, refund or replacement but only to the extent that doing so is not disproportionate to the value of the goods, having regard to the use the customer has already had of the goods and the nature of the goods. You purchased your product approximately 20 months ago and, until recently, have used it successfully and reported no fault with the product. Given your satisfactory use of the product for a period of time which exceeded the manufacturer’s warranty period, it is not established that the product did not conform to the contract (i.e. was defective) at the time of purchase. However, although we do not have any obligation to do so under the Sale of Goods Act or otherwise, in this circumstance as a measure of good will we would like to offer you a choice of the following resolutions:
Please note that gift certificate funds are only applicable to items being dispatched from and sold by Acme.co.uk. Please reply directly to this letter to confirm if you wish to accept either of these offers as a full and final settlement in this matter and I will make the appropriate arrangements. Please note that the manufacturer is often in a better position than the retailer to deal with technical problems affecting their products. We would therefore encourage you to contact the manufacturer to see if they are able to provide you with any further assistance. The manufacturer’s correspondence details are below, should you wish to pursue this matter further: Manufacturer: Sony Yours faithfully, John Doe |
If the retailer won’t agree to repair or replace your PS3 and it is less than six years since purchase (five years in Scotland) then you will have to take them to the Small Claims Court.
It is worth bearing in mind that if you have paid by credit card, the credit card company is equally liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This is especially useful if the retailer is being unresponsive or has gone out of business.
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Hi
My PS3 recently stopped reading blu ray discs, so I’ve been reading through this website with interest. I purchased it from HMV less than 2 years ago and plan on sending them a letter quoting sales of goods act, etc to avoid having to pay Sony the £131 they want to repair it.
But first I thought I’d ring the local store where I purchased it. The store manager told me that it was their store policy to do nothing after the warranty period had expired. So unless I’m interpreting this incorrectly, the policy of HMV is to ignore a law that doesn’t suit them! How are big companies allowed to act in this way? Would it be worth involving trading standards in this?
The reason I ask is that I’ve got the impression that this sort of thing happens regularly but that most consumers do not know their rights and hence get screwed over by big companies who obviously know the law but choose to ignore it.
Hi Tony, some others have had success with HMV – try head office. You are quite right very few people actually know what their statutory rights are – including store staff!
Dear tony Please help.
Along the usual stories appearing about faulty PS3’s I am now the NON proud owner of such a device.
This machine was purchased and give to me as a gift in may 2008, by my best friend. He owns his own business, and used his business account with Ebuyer to purchase this machine, which was delivered directly to me.
In early December, the PS3 stoped reading discs (all) and I started to look online to see many thousands of people with the same problem.
As the device was a little over 18months old, has been used for less than 50 hours total, (we only own 6 blue ray films and 1 game) I was very unhappy that for such little use the console was dead. If I was a teenager, or someone who played the console for 10-15 hours a week, it obviously would have failed within a few weeks.
Although Sony do achknowledge that this is a failure in a small group of devices (less than 1% they claim) obviously my challenge to have this either repaired or replaced should be with Ebuyer.I did contact sony (so they have it on record that the device is faulty) they state that they are NOT obliged to offer a fix for free, even though they can at their discretion.
So I get back to my friend, who contacts ebuyer, who after a lot of squirming, state that as my friend has a Business account with them, they are only obligated to offer a 28day return warranty, when after this period should any item fail or need a fix, then its up to my friend to deal with the item manufacturer.
This device was paid for on his company credit card, so I guess we could have some recourse there perhaps. But I do find it a little hard to swallow (as does he) that they are trying to get out of this saying thats its a business to business account, and so they have no liablity.
Can you please advise, or offer any further assitance?
Many thanks
Marcus Vane
Hi Marcus, you are not covered by consumer law – neither the Sale of Goods Act not the Consumer Credit Act. These were introduced in the 70’s prior to that consumers and business had the protection of common law. You could use the same letter and process you just can’t mention consumer law. You can of course use the small claims process.
Thanks for your reply Tony.
Can I ask then, does it not apply to us then, because it was purchased for all intense and purpose as a business? even though it was a gift?
so that would make it no applicable to consumer law, as in this case the person making the purchase is a business, not a consumer?
Hi
We also have just experienced the YLOD with or ps3 bought just over two years ago from Toys R Us. Will be trying to get some sort of refund with the template letter but I just wanted to know if Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act applies only to credit cards or if it also applies to HP agreement/Store Cards as we took out a Toys R Us card which is actually supplied by Santander Bank.
Hello again! (I posted about a week ago) I have just contacted Blockbuster and as expected they want to charge me for a copy of the game that was stuck inside.
Since I already got a replacement console from argos (paying £100 for the 250gb) Is there anything further I can do, so not have to incur the cost of blockbuster?
Thanks
I am afraid not as you have accepted the offer from Argos in full and final settlement I guess.
Clearly the PS3 product itself has no stated MTBF or consumer rated lifespan this is the real issue. Consumer law needs to be firmer and more prescriptive in this area. The returns and historical data indicate a product not fit for purpose. Should individuals simply challenge Sony via the small claims on this stance with the first to win setting a precedent. Has this occurred to date.
I have a Sony 40gb PS 3 if it fails within 5 years I would anticipate a FOC (or equivalent replacement unit in a pristine condition or better status). No if buts or whatevers. Yes I would approach the original seller (and in parallel Sony to save time).
Sony will be desparate to avoid the precendent which would be a product recall which reading this forum seems to be close.
A simple email to the appropriate EU body will trigger an avalanche of emails throughout Europe and the Sony brand image will be compromised forever.
Sony are you listening. ~£150 repair cost, never ever will that ocurr for myslef. I’d pay for an X-Box and drag you through the courts kicking and screaming for every single penny I’d spent wih you including games and accessories.
Tony,
It would be impossible for consumer law to be more prescriptive as lifespan depends on many factors such as operating conditions and usage.
Unless you have bought the PS3 directly from Sony you have no contractual relationship with them once the warranty has expired. You cannot take them to the Small Claims Court.
Product recalls are only done for safety reasons not because of quality issues.
When you get a replacement retailers only have to provide a like for like console i.e. it doesn’t need to be new and a refund only needs to be partial.
Tony
I am closing this discussion thread as it is getting a bit unwieldy and difficult to follow. If you have any questions please head over to the consumer forums.