Question Faulty TV replacement from John Lewis - advice?

bunyboy

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Hi All,

My Panasonic 40EX700B TV developed a fault (strange faint horizontal banding) and I've now been told that they can't repair it and have offered a replacement. The TV is only a year old and I don't know what to do about replacing it as there are limited options and what they offered me is not good enough (and at 43" is too big for the space)...

My TV cost £449 a year ago and they are offering me a £389 priced Samsung replacement or something of equivalent value, or I can upgrade and pay the rest.

I'm arguing that I should get my full £449 back, plus more for the inconvenience.

But other than that, what TV should I choose? I was quite happy with the TV and wasn't planning on upgrading for 5 years. Now I have to and can't figure out what would be a good replacement. Any advice?

Specs I want:
  • Pref 40"
  • At least 3 x HDMI (one Arc)
  • Component ports (or an extra HDMI)
  • Great picture, or at least the ability to tweak it so it's good. Ie able to turn off all the auto backlight etc settings
There doesn't seem to be many options from John Lewis, so they've kind of screwed me...
 
I'm arguing that I should get my full £449 back, plus more for the inconvenience

Think in law it would never be worth that because you have had some use from it ie one year!
 
Think in law it would never be worth that because you have had some use from it ie one year!

Yeah, I know.. but I now have to spend a lot more than that to get something with similar specs. And I had no intention of doing that. If I'd known it would've only lasted one year, I wouldn't have bought it.

Plus, there's the shambolic repair visit dates that JL messed up and have promised me a "goodwill gesture" of some sort..

The only TV on their site that fits the specs of mine is £699 and they've said no to giving it to me, but I'm pushing back. I'm also wanting to cover myself and see if there are other options that would be good and I've not spotted...
 
Depreciation always will be a factor in the replacement. Lets be honest as well, £449 for a TV is buttons over a 5 year period(your estimated life span). If it were me I would add some cash to it and move on, its not worth worrying about at that value.

I had a Samsung go on the fritz a few years back with John Lewis and they did what you are going through, I just added a few hundred quid to the pot and then picked something I wanted. They were absolutely fine about it.
 
Depreciation always will be a factor in the replacement. Lets be honest as well, £449 for a TV is buttons over a 5 year period(your estimated life span). If it were me I would add some cash to it and move on, its not worth worrying about at that value.

I had a Samsung go on the fritz a few years back with John Lewis and they did what you are going through, I just added a few hundred quid to the pot and then picked something I wanted. They were absolutely fine about it.

They've offered that too. But me to add onto the TV priced at £389. The problem is that I don't want to spend £699 and that's the only TV that is the size I need and has the ports I need, of anything they are selling. So they've got to meet me halfway here at least - they sold me a TV that I bought because of it's specific specs, it's faulty and they need to give me something with the same or better specs and they aren't offering that.

I'm potentially happy to throw some money into the pot -- and that's what I'm asking here, is there anything that they sell, with the specs I'm after, that you would recommend? Am I missing out on some good TVs?

I think the 40" size is almost dead, which is part of the problem, but I don't quite have the space in the alcove the TV goes to fit 43" TVs. Perhaps something smaller than the average size will just fit but I doubt it...
 
have you measured some of the 42 or 43" TVs as you might find with the smaller bezel on newer models they will fit?
 
have you measured some of the 42 or 43" TVs as you might find with the smaller bezel on newer models they will fit?

The width is the issue, I just looked and the average of a 43" on JL is 97cm width with a couple which are 96.5cm. The problem is that I have a 94cm width space, with maybe a bit of wiggle room to get 95cm but that would be risky. The average 40" is around 90cm wide I think so I could go a little wider but not as much as the current 43" TVs seem to need.
 
Dunno what else to tell you, other than board the alcove up, get a wall mount and hang the TV. Id get the best TV I could afford and worry about where its going later lol.

good luck though.
 
A 43" diagonal screen is 95.2cm wide. Allowing a 5mm border 94cm would need a 42" screen, and 5mm isn't much on a big screen like a TV.

If they're not willing to attempt a repair or replacement* then you do have the right to ask for a refund. It can be reduced by a reasonable amount, but as they haven't fulfilled their obligations for dealing with it in a timely and convenient manner and promised you a goodwill gesture it does seem reasonable to expect the full amount.

*The government's guidance (page 48) for the consumer rights act states that a replacement is the same model. They are allowed to offer alternatives as they are currently, but you're not obliged to accept them.
 
I assume that the £699 TV you are looking at is the TX-40GX800B, which is the new 2019 Panasonic LED. Why not ask if they will give you the 2018 model, the TX-40FS503B which is £418?
 
I assume that the £699 TV you are looking at is the TX-40GX800B, which is the new 2019 Panasonic LED. Why not ask if they will give you the 2018 model, the TX-40FS503B which is £418?

Yeah, that's the one. I need it to have 3 x hdmi's and component ports, which as far as I can tell that £418 model doesn't have... There is a GX700B which JL don't sell but is elsewhere for £599 - that one seems to be the 2019 version of what I have. It's a few specs lower than the £699 but loses nothing of what I need...

(not that JL can offer me a model they don't stock)
 
Ah yes, I see. I would ask JL to settle by giving you £400 cash and buy the GX700 at RS, or they can get one for you (they deal with Panasonic so they should be able to get you one unless it is a RS exclusive model) and you can pay £199 extra. Good luck.
 
A bit of a complex situation that you'd hope some goodwill from both sides would help resolve.

Once a product is 'used' for a significant period of time, if you went to court, you'd expect a deduction from a refund to account for the use you've had of the item for the period of time you used it. £60 would seem reasonable.

The added complication is the 5 year warranty. It'll have some wording around the same or similar specifications. The problem is that John Lewis can provide a TV of the same or similar specifications at a similar price to what you paid - except it doesn't fit in the space you've got at home. TVs have moved on, they've grown in size, and so I'm not sure JL is acting unreasonably in this case not to give you a £699 TV instead.

However, I think you can make an argument that the Samsung they've suggested isn't equivalent. The 7100 is a low-end Samsung model, whereas the EX700 was more mid-range. The Samsung UE43RU7400 (at £449) is probably the closest spec'd and similarly-priced model - and crucially I think has the port selection you are looking for.

I would use the ports argument, and the disparity in where the EX700 sat in the model range vs the 7100, to argue you're at least entitled to the Samsung UE43RU7400 - especially as they've messed you around.

I think it's then up to you to decide whether you perhaps need to look at something like a wall mount that extends outside the alcove you've got, so you can 'hang' a larger TV and fit something like the Samsung, or whether you really do want to pay the extra £250 for a TV that fits - leaving you the risk that you might find nothing that'll fit (of any decent quality) should you need a replacement down the road...
 
It sounds fair to me you spend peanuts you get peanuts...

Sorry, £449 is not peanuts!
If £449 fell out of my pocket and got lost I would not regard that as peanuts and move on

But the OP should have a reasonable expectation that it should last more than a year. Even more expensive sets go wrong!!!
 
A bit of a complex situation that you'd hope some goodwill from both sides would help resolve.

Once a product is 'used' for a significant period of time, if you went to court, you'd expect a deduction from a refund to account for the use you've had of the item for the period of time you used it. £60 would seem reasonable.

The added complication is the 5 year warranty. It'll have some wording around the same or similar specifications. The problem is that John Lewis can provide a TV of the same or similar specifications at a similar price to what you paid - except it doesn't fit in the space you've got at home. TVs have moved on, they've grown in size, and so I'm not sure JL is acting unreasonably in this case not to give you a £699 TV instead.

However, I think you can make an argument that the Samsung they've suggested isn't equivalent. The 7100 is a low-end Samsung model, whereas the EX700 was more mid-range. The Samsung UE43RU7400 (at £449) is probably the closest spec'd and similarly-priced model - and crucially I think has the port selection you are looking for.

I would use the ports argument, and the disparity in where the EX700 sat in the model range vs the 7100, to argue you're at least entitled to the Samsung UE43RU7400 - especially as they've messed you around.

I think it's then up to you to decide whether you perhaps need to look at something like a wall mount that extends outside the alcove you've got, so you can 'hang' a larger TV and fit something like the Samsung, or whether you really do want to pay the extra £250 for a TV that fits - leaving you the risk that you might find nothing that'll fit (of any decent quality) should you need a replacement down the road...

I agree that they aren't acting unreasonably in not giving me a £699 tv, but it is in fact the closest in spec. Thanks for the advice regarding the Samsung, I'll definitely argue that the UE4RU7400 is closer to the TV I originally bought.

I already have a wall mount, this is the space between the outside wall of the house and the fireplace. That's why width is the only problem. I have all the depth and height in the world, it's the damn fireplace that stops it going any wider. And to be honest I don't want the TV to start to overwhelm the room (I have a projector if I want bigger) and 40" works perfectly... I thought I was safe for 5 years...

Do you think it's unlikely a TV will last 5 years? My last Panasonic (32" bought in 07) lasted 7 years and still works fine now.
 
Can you perhaps put the tv at a slight angle and hence get more width into the fixed space, at the same time improving viewing angle? You are only looking for a small amount of extra width?
My first 42" LG is still going strong at my daughters house. About 9 years old now. Tuner failed a few years ago but still shows a picture from an external source so perfectly useable (and 3D, one of the first!)
What about just getting a refund and finding a good secondhand 42". That used to be the normal size a few years ago? I bet you could find one for under £100?
 
Can you perhaps put the tv at a slight angle and hence get more width into the fixed space, at the same time improving viewing angle? You are only looking for a small amount of extra width?
My first 42" LG is still going strong at my daughters house. About 9 years old now. Tuner failed a few years ago but still shows a picture from an external source so perfectly useable (and 3D, one of the first!)
What about just getting a refund and finding a good secondhand 42". That used to be the normal size a few years ago? I bet you could find one for under £100?

I've already got it at a slight angle as is. I could angle it a little further but I'm still not sure a 43" would quite fit, plus it would most definitely then have the bottom left corner of the picture obscured by the mantlepiece around the fireplace, from anywhere except one spot on the sofa.

If I had to go 43" (which it seems likely when I want to replace this TV I will) then the easiest option would be to replace the mantlepiece with something much thinner and flatter. And that's fine when I want to replace the TV, but I don't want to do that yet. And unless JL want to pay for the mantlepiece replacement as well, they'd better give me a suitable 40" TV or a refund.

Thanks all!
 
Sorry, £449 is not peanuts!
If £449 fell out of my pocket and got lost I would not regard that as peanuts and move on

But the OP should have a reasonable expectation that it should last more than a year. Even more expensive sets go wrong!!!
All I am saying is he can’t expect more than what he paid for it. I didn’t get more when my TV went faulty at John Lewis I got £500 less which I thought was reasonable. This OP is totally unrealistic in his valuation of his TV after owning it for a year he got a fair price for the money he paid and my current TV is £500 so I know it’s not peanuts but I wouldn’t expect more I would easily settle for a little less.
 
Fair enough, it was that word 'peanuts' which sounded condescending, I get it you weren't!
 
All I am saying is he can’t expect more than what he paid for it. I didn’t get more when my TV went faulty at John Lewis I got £500 less which I thought was reasonable. This OP is totally unrealistic in his valuation of his TV after owning it for a year he got a fair price for the money he paid and my current TV is £500 so I know it’s not peanuts but I wouldn’t expect more I would easily settle for a little less.

I'm not disagreeing with the valuation price, but what I am disagreeing with is them thinking that the TV they offered is similar to the one it is replacing.

From the options available on their site, the TVs that are similar now cost more than mine did - but I think that's their problem and not mine.

They say it's about offering similar spec TVs but it's really about offering TVs that are of similar value to what they think mine is now worth. It's about cash value and not specs. And they should really be upfront about that.
 

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