Moan of the Day – Warranty/Guarantee Rights

When a product is replaced, should the replacement be covered only for as long as the warranty/guarantee afforded to the original product, or should the new product be covered for a year from the date it replaced the faulty product?

I am presently trying to get a product I bought replaced due to a fault that has occurred, through no fault of mine – even though they would like to think the opposite – after only 3 months of use. This has caused me to research my rights as a consumer, and to what the warranty actually covers. During this research I was astounded to read that the replacement product does not come with its own new warranty, it comes under the same contract as the original purchase.

Apparently a manufacturers warranty can have whatever terms they like – of course within reason – on the goods as there is no legal obligation for manufacturers to actually give any kind of a warranty. So that is why some will give a new warranty from an orginal purchase date and others from the replacement date.

On one of the forum sites I visited someone commented, “think about it, you could take it back every 11 months for a lifetime warranty”. Surely decent people wouldn’t do that? Surely we just want an item to be in good working order? And it could’nt be replaced if it wasn’t faulty again, so it makes no sense why a new warranty can’t be issued. In New Zealand they allow a replacement product to receive a new warranty.  On same forum another informed readers that if you were to get a refund for the original item you could then buy another of the same product, which would come with a full warranty. That’s certainly worth bearing in mind.

The way I see it is, if the replacement product I receive is also faulty I should be able to take it back to the retailer and ask for a repair, replacement or refund as a new item. Does anyone else agree?

For info:  The Sale of Goods Act offers protection against faulty goods even when the manufacturer’s guarantee has run out. The act says goods must last a reasonable time. That can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase (five years in Scotland).

 

Moan of the Day – Are you paying for Surface Water?

Did you know that you might be being charged for Surface Water Drainage by Southern Water?

Now it might not just be Southern Water. (I’m with them so that’s why I’ve only mentioned them.) We found this out because we recently had to have Southern Water out due to flooding in the garage. Through discussions it turns out they aren’t actually responsible for the Surface Water Drainage. However, we have up until this week, been charged by them for this service.

On the old paper statements we were informed as to what exactly they were taking payment for. Everything was itemised. On our new statements it just says “Wastage”. Apparently, it is each home owner’s responsibility to question their bill. But how can you question something you don’t even know you are being charged for?

To find out whether your property/road should, or not, be paying for Surface Water Drainage, simply go onto the Southern Water site. Set up a login, and fill in a form specifically for working out whether you should be paying for Surface Water or not. It’s as simple as that. They will only back date you to 2015 – which I think is appalling – but we have just received a refund of £69 for 2 past years, and the current year. Surely that’s not to be sniffed at?

Don’t sit back and do nothing. It is your money and not theirs.