Ebay - seller dodging warranty obligations
Discussion
Can anyone tell me where I stand / where I go next with a seller issue
April 2017 I bought a tool - an 'impact gun' from Ebay. One of the lithium-ion batteries won't take a charge at all. The other will take a charge, but it isn't as good as new (I've used this in the garage every couple of weeks, so not hammering it for 8 hours a day).
I phoned the ebay seller from the phone number on their invoice. They have told me they offer a 90 day warranty on their products, and directed me to the manufacturer as listed in the instructions.
I have called the 'manufacturer' who state they are an importer, and sell wholesale with no warranty. They will sell me a replacement battery, however the cost of the new battery is over 50% of the original purchase price. That's not an expense I want.
Ebay do not want to know - the item is over their 30 day warranty, therefore it's not their problem.
Have I got a leg to stand on with moneyclaim? Any suggestions as to my next step besides sending a turd in a box to the seller?
April 2017 I bought a tool - an 'impact gun' from Ebay. One of the lithium-ion batteries won't take a charge at all. The other will take a charge, but it isn't as good as new (I've used this in the garage every couple of weeks, so not hammering it for 8 hours a day).
I phoned the ebay seller from the phone number on their invoice. They have told me they offer a 90 day warranty on their products, and directed me to the manufacturer as listed in the instructions.
I have called the 'manufacturer' who state they are an importer, and sell wholesale with no warranty. They will sell me a replacement battery, however the cost of the new battery is over 50% of the original purchase price. That's not an expense I want.
Ebay do not want to know - the item is over their 30 day warranty, therefore it's not their problem.
Have I got a leg to stand on with moneyclaim? Any suggestions as to my next step besides sending a turd in a box to the seller?
How are they dodging their "warranty obligations"? The warranty they offer has long since expired, so they have no obligation to dodge.
They may or may not be dodging their legal obligations - but that's different, and only a court can decide that one when you launch a small claim. You would have to prove the fault was present at the time of sale, because it's over six months since sale. Trying to pass the buck to the manufacturer is a non-starter, since you bought from them, so your contract is with them.
They may or may not be dodging their legal obligations - but that's different, and only a court can decide that one when you launch a small claim. You would have to prove the fault was present at the time of sale, because it's over six months since sale. Trying to pass the buck to the manufacturer is a non-starter, since you bought from them, so your contract is with them.
Suggest you have a read through this:
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation...
A few points for you from the above:
"Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are against the retailer – the company that sold you the product – not the manufacturer, so you must take any claim to the retailer."
"If you discover the fault within the first six months after buying the product, it is presumed to have been there since the time of purchase - unless the retailer can prove otherwise".
"If a fault develops after the first six months, the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time of delivery.
In practice, this may require some form of expert report, opinion or evidence of similar problems across the product range."
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation...
A few points for you from the above:
"Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are against the retailer – the company that sold you the product – not the manufacturer, so you must take any claim to the retailer."
"If you discover the fault within the first six months after buying the product, it is presumed to have been there since the time of purchase - unless the retailer can prove otherwise".
"If a fault develops after the first six months, the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time of delivery.
In practice, this may require some form of expert report, opinion or evidence of similar problems across the product range."
broken biscuit said:
I've now managed to charm the manufacturer into sending me a battery on 'exchange'. This hopefully will resolve it, but lesson learnt - do not buy any electricals or anything you would expect to last a reasonable amount of time from ebay - after 30 days you are on your own!
Well done! 
broken biscuit said:
I've now managed to charm the manufacturer into sending me a battery on 'exchange'. This hopefully will resolve it, but lesson learnt - do not buy any electricals or anything you would expect to last a reasonable amount of time from ebay - after 30 days you are on your own!
TBF, you seem to be complaining that what (I presume) was clearly stated as a 90 day warranty before purchase won't replace the battery after nine months...TooMany2cvs said:
TBF, you seem to be complaining that what (I presume) was clearly stated as a 90 day warranty before purchase won't replace the battery after nine months...
In essence I am - this was a near £90 purchase, used fortnightly if that, and if the batteries won't charge, there's no point having the item. I don't expect that less than a year after I bought it, there is no support offered by the seller. Their warranty is 90 days, but the items they sell have no manufacturer/distributor support, so if/when they go wrong after 90 days you are on your own. That is poor in this day and age.Batteries are going to be classed as 'consumables', so warranty on them is never going to be great. The retailer can't know for sure if you've been hammering them all day every day in a commercial role, or it's had light DIY use.
There are lots of cheap batteries coming out of who knows where (probably China). Often, they are at best crap and fail prematurely, at worst a fire risk. I try to stick to the major brands for anything that has Li-ion batteries these days. They're much more likely to be using quality, branded cells inside their products.
There are lots of cheap batteries coming out of who knows where (probably China). Often, they are at best crap and fail prematurely, at worst a fire risk. I try to stick to the major brands for anything that has Li-ion batteries these days. They're much more likely to be using quality, branded cells inside their products.
broken biscuit said:
In essence I am - this was a near £90 purchase, used fortnightly if that, and if the batteries won't charge, there's no point having the item. I don't expect that less than a year after I bought it, there is no support offered by the seller. Their warranty is 90 days, but the items they sell have no manufacturer/distributor support, so if/when they go wrong after 90 days you are on your own. That is poor in this day and age.
How much is the same gun outside of eBay? I presume it is a make and model that is sold by a UK distributor, whom is officially licenced?
Would it be fair to say also that you bought it from eBay (i.e. a grey market supplier) because it was cheaper on there?
4x4Tyke said:
The goods need to be satisfactory quality and eBay commonly try to ignore UK consumer law, so you always need to use a credit card so you can issue a charge back for no compliance.
Ebay doesn't "ignore" anything - it's just a marketplace.Satisfactory quality is a relative term. You can't expect Hilti quality for Black & Decker prices.
4x4Tyke said:
The goods need to be satisfactory quality and eBay commonly try to ignore UK consumer law, so you always need to use a credit card so you can issue a charge back for no compliance.
The chargeback scheme is operated by the credit card companies, so it may be available for an eBay transaction, but the more robust Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1975 would not apply, because the purchase was less than £100 (but also because most eBay purchases require the use of PayPal, which is a third party payment processor that stands between the consumer and the seller). Chargeback needs to be initiated within 120 days of the fault having been discovered and, as it is not a government-mandated scheme, if the CC company doesn't want to help, there's not much recourse against them (apart from the Ombudsman Service).Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff