Medical Jewelry broken attempting to return

[jonny109]

Hi all,

Hope you are able to give me some advice. In September 2011 I purchased a Medical bracelet online from a company called Ice Gems I received the bracelet and everything was fine until a couple of weeks ago when the back place of the bracelet (this plate hold important medical information on it) broke from the bracelet rendering the entire product useless. I contacted Ice Gems via email explaining the above information and saying I would like them to fix it. They replied saying that because the bracelet was outside of there Guarantee period of 3 months from the date of invoice they said that they cannot help me. I then replied saying:
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The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.
This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.
The law also says I have six years from the date of purchase to claim damages for faulty goods.
My goods are not fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality and I wish to claim a replacement of my goods under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.
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Again they replied with the same story that because it was outside of there Guarantee period of 3 months from the date of invoice they said that they cannot repair or replace it, also The Guarantee forms part of the terms and conditions of sale for which I signed your consent at checkout.

My question: is that in breach of my statutory rights should they not still be legally obligated to replace or repair the bracelet regardless of there Guarantee period?

Thanks

 

[ALewis]

Simple and quick answer:
That term would be unfair according to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations - as nobody has the authority to remove or null your statutory rights.
And yes they are legally obliged to sort it out, and as it is within 6 months from purchase, the onus is on them to prove that the fault did not exist at purchase (which would be impossible) and hence getting you your repair/replacement

Please note: the six years from date of purchase is the time period to notify the seller of a fault. This does not mean that any fault within 6 years must be sorted. As this would be ridiculous obviously

Hope this helps.

 

[jonny109]

Hi ALewis,

Thanks for the reply. Yes I understand about the six years from date of purchase clause. Do you have any advice on what the best thing to do next to get them to replace the item?
Thanks

 

[trickygj]

jonny109

If you buy a product that turns out to be faulty, you can choose to 'reject' it: give it back and get your money back. However, the law gives you only a 'reasonable' time to do this – what is reasonable depends on the product and how obvious the fault is.

You have the right to get a faulty item replaced or repaired, if you're happy with this (or if it's too late to reject it). You can ask the retailer to do either, but they can normally choose to do whatever would be cheapest.

Under the Sale of Goods Act, the retailer must either repair or replace the goods 'within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience'. If the seller doesn't do this, you are entitled to claim either:

reduction on the purchase price, or
your money back, minus an amount for the usage you've had of the goods (called 'recision').

If the retailer refuses to repair the goods, and they won't replace them either, you may have the right to arrange for someone else to repair it, and then claim compensation from the retailer for the cost of doing this.

The six years that has been mentioned is the time limit on taking a claim to court and not necessarily restricted to Sale of Goods Act per se.

So in answer to your question, write to the retailer telling them that in accordance with SOGA 1979 you require them to replace or repair and if they fail to do this you will get it repaired or if that is not possible you will take them to the small claims (county) court for the full amount which will involved them in additional costs. If you think the fault is likely to occur on a replacement because it is poorly designed/manufactured you should request your money back.