You just bring up the sales of goods act. They have no ground to stand on if the fault was caused by something in the manufacturing process which, as long as you haven't opened up or damaged the device, will always be the case.
They only just recently changed stances to acknowledge the 2 year EU regulation for gadgets, but they are very reluctant to tell their customers about it for obvious (greedy) reasons.
It's the main reason so many european countries are suing them.
If only it were that simple :/
In principle, yes we do have statutory protection under the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) from inherent defects, which means we have a right of redress against the retailer should the product fail and not last a "reasonable time" due to an inherent defect (upto a maximum of 5 years).
There are 3 key points, which anyone that has tried to enforce these rights will have probably experienced sooner or later, to make them realise its not quite as clear cut as those posting on forums suggest:
1) The failure has to be due to an inherent fault. Within the first 6 months, the onus is on the retailer to prove it was not an inherent fault. After this its up to the consumer (YOU) to PROVE it WAS an INHERENT FAULT. And no, simply stating the product is sealed, therefore it must be an inherent fault will not be sufficient proof (unless the retailer is feeling particularly generous) LOL
2) SOGA applies between you the consumer and the retailer, not the manufacturer or anyone else. If the retailer is no longer trading you're SOL. If the retailer is unscrupulous (DSG group for example) you're likely SOL unless you fancy taking them to small claims court :/
3) SOGA does not define "reasonable time". It places a maximum length of liability as 5 years, many people confuse this as the definition of the length of "reasonable time", IT IS NOT. It will be up to you to argue what a reasonable time is, so for example if you've had your laptop on 24/7 for 19 months downloading torrents, that could very well be considered a reasonable time for the product to have lasted.
If you have the time, inclination and technical expertise (to prove an inherent fault, either yourself or pay an engineer) the SOGA provides excellent protection. In many instances you will be forced to take the retailer to court and the onus will be on YOU to prove the fault was inherent (after the first 6 months) and what one would consider a reasonable life time for the product.
NOTE: it is still less then most warranties which will cover ANY defect, not just INHERENT DEFECTS, usually without quibble. Additionally I would strongly advise purchasing using a credit card (CC), as the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) then applies (for purchases over £100), under which your rights are even stronger. Moreover, the credit provider is jointly liable, so if the retailer goes bump (or tells you to get lost), you can exercise your SOGA rights agains the CC provider
I'll give you a short real world example:
My friend bought a Samsung LCD TV. A couple of years in, it started to show failed lines across the display. It was out of warranty by this point, but he took it back to the retailer on my advice, quoting SOGA (I won't bore you with the blurb). They told him not their problem (they didn't believe it was an inherent fault).
I had one of my engineers examine it (I run an embedded design company) who confirmed my initial diagnosis the ACF tape had failed, likely due to incorrect application during manufacture (usually the issue given the displayed fault). I called the retailer giving them the engineers reports and they then changed their stance to the product had lasted a reasonable time. At this point my friend had two options, take them to court or buy a new TV. Fortunately he bought it using a CC, so I chased them on his behalf and they agreed to cover him under the SOGA. But it was a long drawn out process and in many instances the CC provider could have taken the same line.
I'm not saying one should buy an extended warranty, nor am I saying one shouldn't try to exercise their rights under the SOGA. I'm just providing a more realistic appraisal of your rights under the SOGA so one can choose the level of indemnification they require. As opposed to:
"Should have just ordered it online. The 3 year AppleCare WARRANTY is free of charge.
Not that it matters much anyway."
A 3 year manufacturer warranty like the HE warranty trumps the SOGA hands down, so it very much does matter. If you can get it for free, one would have to be an idiot to suggest it doesn't matter since you're covered by the SOGA anyway :/
And this is coming from someone who has the technical expertise and a reasonable grasp on whats required to enforce ones statutory rights. If you had to find out about the SOGA on a forum and couldn't diagnose a fault as inherent or not without paying someone to do it for you, whats the likelihood when it comes to crunch time you will actually follow through and not just eat the loss?
