Brought two Hitachi Televisions from Argos two years ago.

One will not turn on and the other has black blotchy marks running down the screen.

Can I take these back to Argos and use the Sales of Goods Act, and if so what do I need to tell them, as I need to understand it better.

Went in earlier and just explained the situation, and was told that all they would do is get in touch with somebody to repair it, and that it would be at our cost to have it repaired...is this correct?

As I have only had them a couple of years, would this come under not fit for purpose, I would have thought they should last at least 4-5 years minimum.

The SOGA gives you the right to take them to court, where YOU have to prove they "weren't fit for purpose" - but as they are one of the cheapest nastiest sets you can buy two years odd life isn't unusual, many of the Vestel sets fail after a couple of years.

It really depends if you want to pay to take them to small claims court?, which even if you do will usually only award you a percentage of the repair costs.

Often though, the cost of them going to court to fight the claim means they settle out of court instead.

I bought a tv(phillips) from hydro electric shop, stopped working after 18months, went to local hydro shop where i bought it and was advised to contact main office(perth) stating sales of goods act.

At the same time as i was contacting hydro, i also phoned phillips uk and explained problem, they gave me phone number of their local service centre, which was in the town where i live, i contacted them and paid to have tv examined, turned out the tube was faulty(service centre said £400-tube + £100 labour).

Both hydro & phillips tried to say the other company was liable, i also hassled phillips for tube only lasting 18months, after approx 6weeks phillips supplied tube foc and hydro paid labour charge.

IIRC, it is up to the retailer to decide the final procedure with what to do with an item, you still have the right to request a refund, replacement or repair, though.

If they choose to go for a repair, then they are OK (legally) to charge you a deposit/diagnostics charge. If the faults are down to the manufacturers using a component that is not up to the job - it's a Vestel, so this isn't uncommon - they then must refund that deposit money back to you and proceed with repair at their own expense, not yours.



This site will give you all you need to know. It's mainly aimed at retailers, but is extremely helpful to consumers, too.

http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

Assuming the TV was cheaper than the tube itself, why not just authorise a new TV instead of a repair requiring a new CRT? Seems a silly decision on their part.

They probably had plenty of spare tube`s id imagine.

The thing is the tube doesn't cost Philips £400, although it's quite likely to cost the service agent £400, who then claims it back from Philips - but as Philips made the tubes as well as the set using it, obviously the cost of the tube is less than the entire set to them.

As for the tube getting replaced free out of warranty, Philips had MASSIVE!! premature tube failures on their later range of sets - and replaced MANY. MANY thousands of tubes because of it. It was after they became Philips/LG Displays, so 'may' have been down to the LG influence?.

But it was such a big problem that the nationwide service company that did Philips warranty work went bust - because they had to pay £400 per tube, and then wait (often months) for Philips to pay the warranty claims.

Download the appropriate letter on this link, and address it to the manager of the local Argos, take the sets in, ask for a manager, and hand them the letter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/th...ter_downl.html

Tell them what will be an acceptable resolution - if you expected the sets to last 5 years, which seems reasonable, then maybe you will accept a credit note/ refund equivalent to 3/5ths of the purchase price? If you are content with a repair, tell them it needs to be at their cost.

If they want to have the sets examined by someone on their behalf, they have a right to do so within a reasonable time span – make sure you get a receipt.

The fact that two sets have gone faulty (assuming they are the same model) is in your favour and supports an argument claiming they have inherent faults that have shown up after only two years use.

Last time I had this kind of issue with Argos over a power washer, they just replaced it with a new one once the initial resistance was dealt with.

Make sure that you are speaking with a manager that has the authority to deal with the matter.

Don't waste your time reading the dozens of post that will accumulate on this thread arguing and bickering over the in's and out's of SoGA.

Thanks for all the advice, will go back and see how I get on.

And don't forget to let us know the outcome.

Sorry forgot to reply with an update.

They replaced one of the TV's which was the one with black blotchy marks running down the screen, they offered another Hitachi instead, but I wasn't prepared to accept another one, so I ended up paying an extra £50 for the Panasonic TX42A400B, which I am more than happy with.

As for the other TV they have said that is wear & tear and are not prepared to do anything with regards to that one, to be honest that set is my dad's and he's not fussed, so isn't going to pursue that any further...which is up to him. He hasn't brought another tv as yet as he had another spare one.

But thanks for everyone's advice.