Help Wanted With Ethical Dilemma.

[Timbo21]

Hi All ,

Just wanted help with a bit of a dilemma.

I was about to purchase a piece of AV equipment (outside of the forums by the way). It should have an extended warranty from the manufacturer. I've been in contact with the manufacturer, & they have stated I would need a copy of the original receipt for the warranty to be valid. I've been in contact with the seller about obtaining a duplicate, since he does not have one. He said I could ring the retailer he bought it from. It turns out from speaking to one of the staff that the item was not sold through the shops system, which is why the seller has no reciept. It was the shops owner who sold it directly to my seller, so they must have done some deal losing the VAT, or something? I've got to speak to the owner of the original shop it was purchased from tomorrow to see about this. The member of staff I spoke to assured me the unit was brand new when purchased, but did state that it had been sold outside the system.

I was about to transfer the funds today, but am holding off until this is resolved. Additionally, I have found the same equipment, slightly older, but has all the correct documentation.

What should I do? Does the above sound dodgy? Or, will it be okay if they provide a receipt?

Thanks,

T.

Unless the price is irresistible and you have no worries about the product's reliability - I would stay way from this one. It sounds very dodgy to me and the last thing you want is the fear that your have bought stolen or returned faulty goods.

Ask for the product's serial numbers and contact the manufacturer. It may turn out that the product is a grey import, in which case you will not get the extended warranty.

[colinwheeler]

It could have just been a clerical error or maybe not. As long as they give you an orriginal reciept, it should be fine. Or at least that is my naive take on it.

[colinwheeler]

Originally Posted by jakal

Unless the price is irresistible and you have no worries about the product's reliability - I would stay way from this one. It sounds very dodgy to me and the last thing you want is the fear that your have bought stolen or returned faulty goods.

Ask for the product's serial numbers and contact the manufacturer. It may turn out that the product is a grey import, in which case you will not get the extended warranty.

These are possible but the OP said that the sales person you had spoken to said that yes it was one of thier peices of kit, new from the manufacturer but not sold in thier sales system.

I think this would cover the concerns above about stolen/grey kit.

[Timbo21]

Thanks guys.

The other one I found, which is a bit older & has all the right documentation is a bit cheaper also. What do you reckon? Go with the slightly older, cheaper one with correct documents? Or, is that sort of uncool due to previously agreeing a deal?

Thanks,

T.

[colinwheeler]

Depends if they are friends of yours but it does not sound like it from the questions you are asking. Go back on the deal if you feel at all uncomfortable. If it is not too much older then yeah go for the cheaper one. I would definitly considder it.

[Timbo21]

Cheers Colin,

No they're not friends, or even acquaintances, but obviously I agreed to a deal, but on the other hand it's not quite as simple as I first thought.

The cheaper one was from a sevenoaks, as oppose to a private retailer, which instills more confidence in me, & it's £75 cheaper & only 9 months older. So it would stll have just over 3 1/2 years warranty left.

[Astaroth]

Personally if the store will give you a proof of purchase that doesnt mention words such as "ex-display" or "seconds" then I would be happy with the first one you found - it is between the seller, the store and the tax man over any fiddling of the books.

Legally, if you have agreed to the sale without stipulating any condition of sale on either the warrenty or proof of purchase then it may be slightly more ropey grounds as a contract of sale is effectively made when you make an offer and they accept it. Depending on if it is written or not will dictate how easy it is to enforce but I would be surprised if many people do attempt to enforce such things.

Morally, I doubt you will significantly inconvenienced the seller by pulling out the sale and you have what you feel is a justified reason for doing it so you havent just messed him about intentionally.

Couldnt make out from your last post if you have found somewhere cheaper still or not.

Take the latter Timbo. As long as there is no financial comeback on you for breaking the deal, then don't worry about it. No receipt between a retailer and customer suggest something is amiss.

[colinwheeler]

Go with the older one.

[Timbo21]

Originally Posted by jakal

Take the latter Timbo. As long as there is no financial comeback on you for breaking the deal, then don't worry about it. No receipt between a retailer and customer suggest something is amiss.

It's just a private ad I responded to. The latter one I've got a better gut feeling about, even though it's not the colour I wanted (black rather than silver). However, I do like to keep my word on things, but If the guy never got a receipt in the first place makes me wonder of the likelihood of me getting one.