Me vs Comet.co.uk - Defective Infocus IN76

[EdinburghGary]

Hello,

had my InFocus IN76 for 6 weeks, turned itself off on Sunday morning midgame, hasn't come back on since - seems no power is reaching the unit.

Called Comet, they sent Engineer who then on the day of his visit, told me to go to Infocus.com to arrange repair, as Comet engineers do not repair Audio / Video equipment....

I have spoken with their customer services team, and this is the ONLY option they are giving me - go to infocus.com and deal with it yourself...I have argued and argued and it has got me absolutely nowhere except in a blind rage.

As you can guess, im not amused.

Called Consumer Direct (run by United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry - Government), and they have told me the following...

Under the sale of goods act 1979 as amended, the product can be described as defective as it is not durable. I have to offer Comet three options:

1:
Repair the unit

2:
Offer a like for like replacement

3:
Offer a refund

The government department has stated that I have a contract with Comet and noone else at this point, and it their legal responsibility to sort it out, without me ever having to speak to InFocus.

Wish me luck!!!

Gary.

[Veolia]

That's completely fair.

I've had the same done a few times. What you have is a manufacturer's warranty and TBH nobody is better equipped to fix a problem than Infocus. The Comet monkeys wouldn't know where to start TBH.

Ring Infocus, arrange collection, wait a short while and then get the machine back good as new. Whats the problem with that?

[T0M]

Personally after only six weeks I would EXPECT a replacement or refund NOT a repair regardless of who does it.

I wouldn't be convinced that after repair it wouldn't go again, develop another fault because of repair, or anything else, it would spoil ownership.

Just my view.

[EdinburghGary]

Originally Posted by Veolia

That's completely fair.

No, its completely unfair. My unit is 6 weeks old, and should not be defective. Secondly, I should not have to risk getting a reconditioned unit, when I could have originally paid over £500 less for a reconditioned unit. And lastly, my CONSUMER RIGHTS state, that COMET MUST deal with it. Having this basic right denied is completely unfair.

Originally Posted by Veolia

I've had the same done a few times. What you have is a manufacturer's warranty and TBH nobody is better equipped to fix a problem than Infocus. The Comet monkeys wouldn't know where to start TBH.

Ring Infocus, arrange collection, wait a short while and then get the machine back good as new. Whats the problem with that?

I have just had a "top level manager" call back, god knows what top level means, but they certainly have more authorisation. She has said "on this time, as a good will gesture, we will replace the unit if I can take it to my local store." Funny thing is, she only offered this after I gave her the Consumer Direct government case number.

So, instead of a lengthy repair process & potential reconditioned unit from inFocus, I can go to Comet after work and hopefully leave with a brand new inFocus in76 and an additional 12 months warrenty, no postage, no hassles, just 360 gaming and a few beers .

[EdinburghGary]

Originally Posted by T0M

Personally after only six weeks I would EXPECT a replacement or refund NOT a repair regardless of who does it.

I wouldn't be convinced that after repair it wouldn't go again, develop another fault because of repair, or anything else, it would spoil ownership.

Just my view.

Your view is SPOT ON

Just for the record, this minor law applies to all electrical products regardless of which store you buy them from. By UK law, you NEVER EVER EVER have to deal with the manufacturer within the first 12 months of ownership, the store you buy it from has a full and comprehensive responsibility to get your unit Fixed, Replaced or Refunded.

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

Gary.

[pixelpixel]

I would give your local store a ring to make sure they have it in stock.

[EdinburghGary]

Originally Posted by pixelpixel

I would give your local store a ring to make sure they have it in stock.

Done, and

It will be with them on Monday. Ah well, Just means my Pioneer is going to get some attention again! At least for this weekend.

Gary.

[Veolia]

Originally Posted by EdinburghGary

No, its completely unfair. My unit is 6 weeks old, and should not be defective. Secondly, I should not have to risk getting a reconditioned unit, when I could have originally paid over £500 less for a reconditioned unit. And lastly, my CONSUMER RIGHTS state, that COMET MUST deal with it. Having this basic right denied is completely unfair.

I'm somewhat more easy going than yourself I suspect. Life's just too short to get worked up over a trivial thing such as this.

[Veolia]

Originally Posted by EdinburghGary

Done, and

It will be with them on Monday. Ah well, Just means my Pioneer is going to get some attention again! At least for this weekend.

Gary.

Infocus could have swapped the parts out for new quicker than that They're very good for customer service you know.

Another good point here is that folks should consider buying from someone who's a projector specialist and has confirmed excellent service such as Discount Electrical who also happen to be very competitive on price. You ask for trouble when buying from "pile 'em high and shift 'em quick" Comet.

[MarkP80]

Another good point here is that folks should consider buying from someone who's a projector specialist and has confirmed excellent service such as Discount Electrical who also happen to be very competitive on price.

- I quite agree. I'd get the refund from Comet and take my money straight to a specialist where you know you will get good after-sales service. There are a few with such feedback mentioned on this forum.

Some of the big retailers are notorious when it comes to dealing with faults.

Cheers,
MarkP

[BigGEORDIE]

Hi Gary. Sorry to hear of your troubles, and good on you for sticking up for your rights. Just one question , did you buy from Comet online or actually at a store ?. The reason I am asking is that if I had bought from a store and returned there with it broke after six weeks I would have been gobsmacked if they said " go away and phone Infocus". However if purchased online I would not expect to be able to return it to a local store. But having said that, I would still expect Comet to do the leg work in either case.

[Epoman]

I had a similar issue with Comet a few weeks back when my Canon printer gave up the ghost. I purchased from them online. I contacted Canon who told me to take it to my local Comet store and they would either refund me or give me vouchers for a new one.

Prat at the store however gave me 30 mins of grief insisting that it was not their problem and that I should post the printer out to the manufacturer at my own cost and deal with them directly.

Not one to be fobbed off I calmly persevered but even the manager did not give in until I finally told them I was a solicitor and started quoting the Sale of Goods Act at them. They then agreed to take it in and forward it to Canon.

Canon were as good as gold and I had my printer repaired and back within a week.

[Knyght_byte]

its a bit of a quandry really....to get projector prices down, selling them via stores such as DSG group etc would help.....the trouble is with a projector, you really need the people selling it to you to be knowledgable and understanding........

btw, for anyone buying an infocus, if you plan on using it like i do, for TV, film and computer and will likely knock up a couple thousand hours use in a year, go to their website and get the silver lamp warranty so you get a full year coverage on it instead of just three months......i got lucky with my first bulb and it gave me 3,200 hours in a year....given that i figured having to pay £300 odd for a replacement it was worth the warranty to make sure i was covered for a similar amount for the next year...lol

[benji_m]

Originally Posted by Knyght_byte

its a bit of a quandry really....to get projector prices down, selling them via stores such as DSG group etc would help.....

Im not sure that's really true.

They have never beaten the web on price for all the time they have been selling projectors.

Some of the well know web players sell Panasonic projectors at well below cost. Not even DSG could compete with those prices in store and make any money. It would be a disaster!

The only way projectors will get any cheaper in this country is if manufacturers reduce the price or Government reduces tax. Retailers are already selling them on an almost unsustainable basis, DSG probably would make more money on a £115 fridge than a £1000 Panasonic projector!