SOGA - is this a reasonable request?

[Ganglandboss]

I bought a closed circuit rebreather in April 2013. It is a piece of diving kit that recirculates the gas you breath, and uses electronics to replace the oxygen you metabolise. The brains of the unit are in what is called the 'head', or sometimes 'lid'. This contains three oxygen sensors, the batteries and controllers. These then connect to a waterproof handset that goes on your wrist, as pictured below.



Since buying it, it has had very light use (fewer than 30 dives) and I wash the handset religiously with fresh water after use, as stated in the manual. As you can see on the photo, there are three piezo buttons. One of these has stopped working.

I have sent it to the manufacturer requesting a repair and a general service of the lid. When you send kit off to them, they assess it and then quote for the works. I have been quoted as follows:

Lid Service £50.00
3 new co ax connectors £15.00 due to corrosion and broken lugs
Replace button 1 £50.00
Delivery £7.00
VAT £24.40
Total £146.40

I don't mind paying for the service, the lugs or delivery etc., but part of me is thinking the button should not fail so soon as it has done. I have asked them to explain the cause of the failure, but they say the part is a sealed unit and they cannot tell the cause.

Is this a repair I should expect to be covered FOC under the sale of goods act?

[Phud]

Gangland, between a rock and a hard place, I say this because it looks like the note you received highlights more electrolysis and corrosion.

However after such limited use I would agree with you, but think they might say its not been cleaned thoroughly

[anonymous-user]

2 year warranty by any chance?

[esxste]

If it was purchased in April 2013, I think you're out of luck anyway. I might be wrong, but isn't the statutory warranty on goods only valid for 2 years?

[Muzzer79]

I think you'd be hard pushed to get a free repair/replacement after owning it for more than 2 years.

[anonymous-user]

Phud said:

However after such limited use I would agree with you, but think they might say its not been cleaned thoroughly

Which, to be fair, could be the case if it is corroded.

[Ganglandboss]

Phud said:

Gangland, between a rock and a hard place, I say this because it looks like the note you received highlights more electrolysis and corrosion.

However after such limited use I would agree with you, but think they might say its not been cleaned thoroughly

The corroded connectors are not on the same part.



The little things that look like party poppers are the oxygen sensors. The corroded parts are the connectors that sit on top of them. The big plastic tray it all sits on is known as the lid because it sits on top of the scrubber canister, which is the big grey thing between the two cylinders in the picture below. During the dive, condensation forms from your breath, and from the chemical reaction occurring in the scrubber material. When you open it up (the recommendation is to remove it at the end of the day and air it off), droplets are visible. I understand these are going to be subject to corrosion, and replacement is inevitable now and again.

The button I am concerned about is separate to the lid, sealed and is connected by a waterproof cable.

[Ganglandboss]

garyhun said:

2 year warranty by any chance?

It's a one year manufacturers warranty, but my understanding is goods have to be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose, so I'm hoping I could argue this. The manufacturer can tell it has had only light use, as the software logs every dive, so they can check the total hours of use very easily.

If I cannot use the SOGA, I will probably still try and get them to do it as a gesture of goodwill. I paid about £5,500 for the unit, so it is peanuts in comparison. Part of the reason for the light use is because of another issue with the equipment. The O2 sensors are a consumable part, but have a one year warranty and should last up to 18 months when they are taken out of the packet. A lot of them were failing prematurely, so the manufacturer stopped selling them and worked with their supplier to rectify the issues and produce an alternative. Mine failed during the warranty period, so they were replaced under warranty, but it took several months due to the backlog of people waiting for replacements.

When I got a set of the new sensors, they lasted two days before failing; somewhat inconveniently, this was after day two of a five day trip. People were complaining left right and centre because the new ones were complete sh*te and failing straight out of the packet. I got a new set and no surprise, they failed too. The manufacturer went to another supplier, and theirs are perfect. I now have a set of the decent ones, but it has taken a long time to get it resolved. I am hoping they may appreciate my patience and sort the broken button out FOC.

[Phud]

Gangland, I am happy with the yellow peril and your unit buttons are on the hand console.

If its stopped working I would suggest you contact AP and ask them to have a look, just think if you have not dried it out, stored it not sure that they will roll over, lots of folks have issues because they do not store re-breathers correctly. Not saying you did or did not, it sounds strange that a sealed unit fails, and I would ask then to look into it and give you the information.

[Ganglandboss]

Phud said:

Gangland, I am happy with the yellow peril and your unit buttons are on the hand console.

If its stopped working I would suggest you contact AP and ask them to have a look, just think if you have not dried it out, stored it not sure that they will roll over, lots of folks have issues because they do not store re-breathers correctly. Not saying you did or did not, it sounds strange that a sealed unit fails, and I would ask then to look into it and give you the information.

Apparently its not uncommon. This has been discussed on the AP mailing list, however, I don't know the exact numbers, or whether the others have been as thorough in their maintenance regime. As I say, I have asked for an explanation of the cause, but they say the piezo buttons ate sealed units.

[bladebloke]

I think after so much time the odds of successfully pushing that the implied terms under SOGA have been breached would be an uphill battle, legally speaking. You'd need to show that the goods didn't conform with the requirements to be satisfactory quality and fit for purpose at the time you bought it. Which gets harder and harder as time goes by. To give you an idea, the act provides that issues arising within 6 months of sale raise a presumption that the defect existed at the time of contract. After that you have to prove that they existed at that time. 7 months in - doable. 2 years in, difficult!

Thinking practically, you appear to be concerned about a £50 repair for something on a £5,500 unit. As you've pointed out, it's tiny in relation to the cost of the unit, so sounds quite reasonable. The other things, to somebody who knows nothing about diving equipment, sound like service items, basically.

If you went in hard on the legal aspect, the supplier would know full well that there's no way you'd consider legal action for the sake of £50, and would most likely ignore it as a result. Best bet is goodwill, IMHO. Maybe ask them to meet you half way?

Good luck

[Ganglandboss]

Yes, I think that's how I'll play it. Thanks to everybody who offered advice.