Faulty Sony PSP - Retailer not accepting return

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poolergirl

Guest
I bought a Sony PSP in Game in the Square, Tallaght yesterday and when I got home found a crack on the front. I attempted to exchange it today but was told that they would not accept the return and that I had to return it to the manufacturer directly, as Sony would not reimburse them.

Now, I bought it from Game and therefore had a contract of sale with them, surely they are responsible for exchange?

Any advice appreciated!
 
poolergirl said:
Now, I bought it from Game and therefore had a contract of sale with them, surely they are responsible for exchange?
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You are absolutely right. For more information on your rights see:-



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If they stick to their line however, you'll have to consider taking a case to the Small Claims Court, which won't cost you much money (€15) but dependent on your circumstances you might lose out by having to take time off work.

Before you get to that, go back to the store, demand to see the Manager and quote the Act and mention the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Make a serious fuss (bring someone with you for moral support if needed). Don't be embarrassed to do this loudly in front of other customers - it might prompt them to do the right thing. If you don't succeed in the shop itself, see if there is a Head Office.
 
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Thanks for the responses. I did return to the shop with my partner and we asked to see the manager. Only the deputy manager was there. He repeated what the shop assistant had said and despite prolonged discussion stating that our contract was with Game and the item was bought in this condition etc. refused to budge. Basically, he stated that Sony would not reimburse Game for items with impact damage (even though it was sold in this condition and return was attempted the very next day) so it was not their problem. He then said that he had not the authority to do anything else and said that he would try to ring the area manager to see if he could authorise an alternative, but returned stating he could not contact him.

He then said that the area manager might be in the store today.

Basically, they are treating this as if we caused the damage - which we did not. Now I could understand this attitude if we had possession of the item for some time, but we bought the item at 6.55 p.m., got home around 8, had dinner, opened the item, checked to see everything was there, set it up and when playing the demo UMD noticed the small crack (under the screen and on part of the body of the PSP), it was not really noticeable with the PSP powered off. We then packed everything up went to bed, got up at 6 in the morning to go to work as most West Dublin residents do and brought the PSP back at the first opportunity the following evening. The crack is actually so small that if we had caused the damage I would not bother to bring it back. However, I will not accept to pay hundreds of euro on item which already has a flaw even if that flaw is small.

I will either call to see if the manager is there today or Monday (I might wait until Monday as then I can print some information from the ODCA website to bring with me as backup)

In the meantime I have logged the complaint with ODCA, Consumer Association, Game HO in the UK and Sony.

The one lesson I have learned from this is that I am going to check products I purchase for physical damage before I leave the shop, if at all possible to do so.
 
So much for their online returns policy:

"Faulty hardware may be returned for a like-for-like exchange up to 12 months of the despatch date"

See here. AFAIK its no different for returns of items bought in one of their shops.
 
In general, the retailer is wrong to tell you to contact the manufacturer. However this sounds like a cosmetic defect rather than a functional fault. They could argue the device is still fit for its purpose. Perhaps they are saying that, as the device is not 'faulty', they will not replace it, but the manufacturer may as a gesture of good will. Though that doesn't seem very reasonable given the cost of the device and how long you had it for before you reported the defect.
 
Thanks Sueellen for that link.

MugsGame - it is a small crack is on the front cover but also goes up under the outer cover of the screen and looks like that there is slight damage to the screen itself which can be seen when using the item and which may get worse over time.

The deputy manager that I spoke to didn't even see or ask to see the damage.
 
Fair enough -- if the screen is even partially damaged and it looks like the crack could get worse, you are definitely entitled to a replacement. If you paid by credit card, you may be able to dispute the transaction, as you didn't receive what you paid for.
 
MugsGame said:
Fair enough -- if the screen is even partially damaged and it looks like the crack could get worse, you are definitely entitled to a replacement. If you paid by credit card, you may be able to dispute the transaction, as you didn't receive what you paid for.
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How would I go about that?
 
Ring your credit card company and ask them the procedure. You have a limited amount of time to submit a written dispute form to them (used to be 90 or 60 days, but could be lower now). Also, if your credit card has a chip, and you entered a pin, they may say you can't dispute the transaction -- but I'd push it anyway.
 
Not to mention that if any problem showed up in the warranty period it could be blamed as user damage from that crack
 
MugsGame said:
Fair enough -- if the screen is even partially damaged and it looks like the crack could get worse, you are definitely entitled to a replacement. If you paid by credit card, you may be able to dispute the transaction, as you didn't receive what you paid for.
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That's terrible. While i agree Game are in the wrong here you cant use the disputed transaction procedure in this case. A disputed transaction is one where the card was used withouth your authorisation (lost or stolen) its not the credit card companies fault game are being difficult. Doing stupid things like that will mean they will take you less seriously if you ever do have a genuine transaction to dispute dont waste your own and the credit card companys time.
 
Nailer - I have questioned the disputed transaction avenue with my bank and safecard.ie and they are investigating if it is possible. You can claim chargeback in situations where the other party doesn't hold up their end of the contract i.e. if you order goods online and they don't arrive etc. - it is not authorisation only. You can claim chargeback for damaged goods in the US.
 
I put in a claim with the Small Claims Court on Monday. I used the Small Claims Court online process. €9 to put in a claim and very user friendly and efficient service - e-mail next day saying claim was accepted and you can log on to check the status on the website using a PIN.

Today I had a voicemail from the Head of Customer Service in their HO in the UK. It was too late to ring back today, so I will do so tomorrow morning. He said that it should never have got to this, that he can't understand why the issue was not sorted out in the shop at the time and that he will resolve the matter for me. I will keep you posted.
 
Some shops do inform you when you purchase that after a certain period of time you will have to contact the manufacturer directly for waranty related issues but in this case I think you are right to make them correct the problem.

If all fails try Gerry Ryan on 2FM he rises to the challenge in cases like this

Good luck
 
poolergirl said:
I put in a claim with the Small Claims Court on Monday. I used the Small Claims Court online process. €9 to put in a claim and very user friendly and efficient service - e-mail next day saying claim was accepted and you can log on to check the status on the website using a PIN.

Today I had a voicemail from the Head of Customer Service in their HO in the UK. It was too late to ring back today, so I will do so tomorrow morning. He said that it should never have got to this, that he can't understand why the issue was not sorted out in the shop at the time and that he will resolve the matter for me. I will keep you posted.
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That's good news. It proves once again that it's not just about having rights. It's being able to exercise them. Thanks for keeping us informed.
 
Result: Got a replacement PSP from Game Head Office in UK with 2 free games and a fully functional promo and also a carry cover for the games - they arrived yesterday. We also got to keep the charger, battery etc from the faulty PSP as spares. The HO customer service guy was extremely pleasant to deal with - the complete opposite to the store.
 
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