5 common consumer myths busted open - Video script
Don't be fooled by consumer myths! Emma Roberts finds out what the public really know about their consumer rights and sets the record straight.
Don’t be fooled by consumer myths! Emma Roberts finds out what the public really know about their consumer rights and sets the record straight.
Knowing your consumer rights can save you a bundle of cash and a lot of hassle, but many of us are still in the dark when it comes to getting refunds, repairs and replacements. I’m going to go Myth busting and see what people really know about their consumer rights. For example, what would you expect to happen if you tried to return a faulty product without a receipt?
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Actually, you don’t legally need a receipt to get a refund. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 states that a Bank or credit card statement showing the purchased item can be accepted as proof of purchase. But what are your rights if you knowingly buy an item with a fault, but when you get home you discover an additional fault?
Vox pop answers
If you find another fault with an item that is different to the described defect, you have the right to a full refund. What about sale items? Do you have the same rights as full priced goods?
Vox pop answers
Just because the price of a product is reduced, it doesn’t mean your legal rights are. The Sales of Goods act says that the product purchased must be of satisfactory quality.
Many of us shop online now, but do we have the same rights on the web as on the high street?
Vox pop answers
Actually, you get more protection when buying online than you do on the high street. Most online purchases have a seven-day ‘cooling off’ period in which you can return the item and get a refund for whatever reason. The seven days starts when you receive the goods but it doesn’t cover perishable goods, unsealed CDs or DVDs, newspapers and magazines and betting, gaming and lotteries.
Back to the high street , what happens if you have a faulty product but can’t prove to the retailer that it’s defective?
If you get a fault with a product within the first six months of ownership, you are entitled to a repair or replacement and what’s more is you don’t even have to prove the product is faulty.
So there you have it, the facts about consumer rights aren’t complicated, but once you know them you can save both time, money and your patience.
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Camerabox is notorious for this as you would have seen if you had used a search engine on the name. I strongly recommend that you do this before buying anything on the net unless you know and trust the retailer. Just check out the forums relating to that type of merchandise and you will see their reputation. Of course you have to allow for the fact that many more people will post about their problems than will satisfied customers. The retailers will often post favourable comments themselves too, so you have to watch out, but it isn't hard to get a sense of whether: a. The goods will be exactly the ones you chose (not grey imports or downright fakes. b. They will keep their delivery promises. This is important if, for example, you order a camera a couple of weeks before you go on holiday or your firstborn is due. It is common for them to show an item as "in stock" when it isn't. c. If things go wrong (can happen - even with the best) how well they sort it out
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[i]Fiona1965, [/i]This is where you have to be [b]very[/b] insistent on your rights. Any item which shrinks 4 sizes on washing is clearly not of merchantable quality. If you paid £35 for it, refunding only £15 is illegal. You, however, have to be prepared to stick up for yourself in order to get back the £20 difference. If you can't get satisfaction in person, say, from the shop manager, you have to start writing letters to their Head Office, keeping copies of receipts, quoting dates and peoples' names and so on. Many people can't be bothered to go to this much trouble for £20, so the Nexts of this world win, and, yes, it is a rip-off, but one that the general public allow to happen. It doesn't happen to me, as I'm prepared to fight the big companies for my rights, and they fairly quickly realize that they're not going to win. My biggest success was an arbitration award of nearly £5000 when a holiday company tried to rip me off, but it took nearly a year of letter-writing and submission of documents to the Arbitrators before it was resolved.
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[b][url=/profile/applemint.aspx]applemint[/url][/b], whether or not the card was Visa, there may still be the opportunity of your card issuer/Bank to undertake a [i][b]'chargeback'[/b][/i]? In law, for there to be a contract, there [b]has [/b]to be consideration. You saw the item you wanted and were agreeable to the price advertised, so you effected a payment. Camerabox debited your card but has failed to complete the contract and therefore they are legally [i][b]in breach [/b][/i]and you are due a full refund [i]plus [/i]any unnecessary costs. You could summons them and take them to the Small Claims Court, or if you are hesitant, state that that is your next course of action, unless they refund your money along with a reasonable element of compensation. Do they have a feedback section on their site? If so, then tell the truth so all can see (including them!), but DON'T embellish or provide false detail. Best of luck.
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28 July 2010