Re-writing the law (Comet.co.uk)

Member Name: Bullbags

Product:	Comet.co.uk
Date:	28/10/02 (785 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: You pay peanuts, you get monkeys, Rude, bullyboy staff, No customer service function at Head Office it would appear

I bought a Sony VCR from Comet in July 2002 after my last one bit the dust. I bought it on credit. Around 1 month after I'd bought it the VCR packed up completely - not even so much as a digital clock display. I took the VCR back to the store I'd bought it from and said I wanted a replacement. They said that they could only offer me a repair as I took it back after 28 days (35 days to be precise). I explained that I had been laid up ill but they didn't seem to care. They said they could send the VCR away which could take 3 weeks or send out an engineer. I had to agree to the engineer option and they sent one to me 10 days later on a Saturday morning. The engineer was very prompt and got the VCR working again (apparently a chip had crashed!) but he also did some soldering on the machine which I found very unnerving.

When I next used the VCR it made a terrible clicking noise on rewind which it hadn't done before so I made a note to take it back to the store again when I had chance (I was just about to go on holiday). when I got back from my holiday I wanted to watch a video and put a cassette in the VCR and it wouldn't do anything, no Play, Rewind, Fast-Forward and it wouldn't even eject the cassette. I was livid, this was exactly 4 weeks after the VCR had been 'repaired' by the engineer.

I took the VCR back to the store again and demanded a refund/replacement. Coincidentally there was a couple in there also complaining to no avail. Again the Store Manager (a most unpleasant jobsworth) told me I could only have a repair. Fortunately I studied Consumer Law at University and as part of this studied the Sale of Goods Act 1979 which says that the goods should be of Merchantable Quality and Fit for the Purpose for which they were intended. I don't think a VCR which can't play video cassettes fulfils either of these requirements! The Store Manager still said that the company had a policy of 3 repairs b
efore replacing the goods. They said they could send an engineer out the following Saturday and gave me a time slot of 12-6pm. I work 2 jobs and quite frankly don't have a spare 6 hours to wait around for an engineer and kept saying I wanted a replacement. I finally had to agree to have the VCR sent away for a repair which could take 3 weeks. I said I didn't want to keep paying interest on my VCR for the time periods in which I couldn't use it so the Manager said to call the Finance company, give them his name and explain the situation.

I called the finance company who said they needed paperwork from the store to confirm this. This was getting ridiculous and very time-consuming. I put in a call to the store at 9.30 in the morning and asked someone to call me back urgently. They called me back at 4.30pm! In the meantime I verified my consumer rights with the DTI website which confirmed that I am right, I DO NOT have to accept a repair. I AM entitled to a refund/replacement. I took the Remote Control and cables back to the shop and wrote a letter to them and their head office saying I am no longer in possession of the goods and as such have cancelled my Direct Debit to the Finance Company.

I got a very unprofessional letter back from Mr. Jobsworth saying that I am still the owner of the goods (even though I don't have them - they're back at the store now after repair) and I am liable to the finance company for them. I have had a letter from the Finance Company saying they will investigate further (they have a legal obligation to me under the Consumer Credit Act 1974). I have heard NOTHING from Comet Head Office. I shall now be taking this up with the small claims court.

In summary - don't be bullied by these stores, they have a legal right to you under the law (which they CAN NOT re-write) for up to six years.

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