Bought a TV, the stand broke, warranty?

[Schtumple]

So yeah, I bought a TV about 3 months ago, the stand was a bit dodgy, it was quite difficult to keep the TV to actually stand up by itself, it would wobble a lot and couldn't adjust the viewing angle as it would simply fall over, but, it was quite cheap given it's size (£189 28") so I persevered figuring it's a cheap TV, this is what I get, a cheap product.

A few days ago whilst I was out the TV decided it'd had enough and the stand broke, as in, the plastic snapped in several places, in falling on the floor, it cracked and broke the screen by landing on a tin.

My question is, do you think they'll take it back and replace it, as the fault isn't my wrong doing, or, do you think they'll just turn around and fob me off with something like "Oh, well, you obviously have a Nintendo Wii and broke the screen yourself" (I don't and didn't...) despite the fact the stand is clearly defective.

Damage:

^ TV held in place using tape, couldn't stand up by itself anymore, have had to leave it on it's side as it just keeps falling over now.

 

[miles01110]

Call and ask, or take it in and ask. You don't have anything to lose.

 

[ashman70]

You should have taken the TV back as soon as you discovered the stand was 'dodgy' the fact that you kept in for so long and didn't return it, would, in my opinion, preclude you from any warranty. Common sense should also come into this, you knew there was a problem and that the TV could in fact fall over on its own, but you did nothing about it and just waited for the inevitable to happen. Now that it has, you want a refund?

 

[wordoflife]

There's really no way to tell what they will do. But hopefully you can convince them that it did it by itself.

 

[jsolares]

the stands on the panasonics i have are not actually plastic, the 32 is a metal plate screwed to a metal plate, and all covered in the plastic, and the 50 plasma had two big metal things that were inserted in the base and were screwed on, and attached to a metal plate again covered in plastic.

i removed both bases when i wall mounted them, there's no way they would've been woobly unless someone removed the screws.

was it an open box? sounds like someone removed the base to wall mount it, returned it but lost the screws or the metal part so just put the base together so they could return it.

 

[mobilehaathi]

You can try, but they might accuse you of dropping it yourself.....

 

[blueroom]

What model/make was it?

Warranty unlikely, probably be told to go through your homeowners insurance.

 

[Schtumple]

You should have taken the TV back as soon as you discovered the stand was 'dodgy' the fact that you kept in for so long and didn't return it, would, in my opinion, preclude you from any warranty. Common sense should also come into this, you knew there was a problem and that the TV could in fact fall over on its own, but you did nothing about it and just waited for the inevitable to happen. Now that it has, you want a refund?

It was cheap and an unheard of brand, quality generally goes out the window when those 2 factors collide. It's still a faulty product at the end of the day, it's not like it fell over every 5 minutes then this happened, the stand physically broke.

The brand is Hanspree, FYI the stand isn't made of metal at all, it's (cheap and tbh a little flimsy plastic).

It'll suck if I get told it's my fault, not really sure what to do in that case as I bought it from ebuyer.com, so can't exactly travel up to their site (200+ miles from me/no free time for that).

It sucks that if you just try to preserver with what appears to just be a cheap crappy product it's apparently your fault when it breaks, madness, if you pay a sum of money for a product and that product breaks, you should expect to be given a refund, not be sub-textually labelled stupid.

 

[blueroom]

That's the problem with buying cheap & crappy. You get what you pay for.

What has the seller said they'd do about this?

 

[Schtumple]

That's the problem with buying cheap & crappy. You get what you pay for.

What has the seller said they'd do about this?

It's not a seller, it's a website, I lodged a returns enquiry and have been told I need to call management to discuss the issue (auto response, so nothing special), but I'm guessing this means I'll deal with a really horrible "manager" who'll twist my words around and tell me (somehow) I broke it and there's "nothing they can do, have a nice day".

 

[blueroom]

Don't show them that wooden stand in your photo though that is obviously too small for the TV. It would appear the TV fell off the tiny table and the base fractured from the fall. Just saying.

I tried searching for other Hannspree TV owners with the same problem, I found nothing. So proving it was a defect in the manufacture or design would be difficult and costly.

They'll probably tell you it wasn't secured properly and you voided the warranty.

Anyway good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Schtumple]

Don't show them that wooden stand in your photo though that is obviously too small for the TV. It would appear the TV fell off the tiny table and the base fractured from the fall. Just saying.

I tried searching for other Hannspree TV owners with the same problem, I found nothing. So proving it was a defect in the manufacture or design would be difficult and costly.

They'll probably tell you it wasn't secured properly and you voided the warranty.

Anyway good luck and keep us posted.

Don't take everything from one photo :roll eyes: The stand is huge and is more than big enough to carry the TV, it's 2ft in depth and 4ft wide... I just placed it there as I'd put other stuff on the stand since the TV fell.

I'm guessing that's what they'll say tbh, it's a shame, I've taken apart several Macs and put them back together sucessfully, yet they'll say I couldn't turn in 4 screws correctly, it's a ridiculous excuse, but that's the way of the world these days, assault your customer with slander until they back down because they won't want to admit they sold a fault product.

 

[richard.torble]

Some interesting 'advice' here.

It's actually quite simple. The stand broke after three months. They retailer (not the manufacturer) has a legal responsibility to sort the problem out for you. They can either have it repaired or replaced (the retailers choice). It's unlikely that they will repair that, it won't be economically viable. The retailer can't just fob you off with "you must have thrown a Wii remote at it". The Sale of Goods Act backs you up mate. If the item breaks within the first six months, its considered not 'fit for purpose'. Speak to the 'manager' and get them to sort it.

 

[Schtumple]

Some interesting 'advice' here.

It's actually quite simple. The stand broke after three months. They retailer (not the manufacturer) has a legal responsibility to sort the problem out for you. They can either have it repaired or replaced (the retailers choice). It's unlikely that they will repair that, it won't be economically viable. The retailer can't just fob you off with "you must have thrown a Wii remote at it". The Sale of Goods Act backs you up mate. If the item breaks within the first six months, its considered not 'fit for purpose'. Speak to the 'manager' and get them to sort it.

Cheers fella, that's what I hope I don't have to bring up, to those doubting me I'm not a moron, I just put up with the wobbliness because I assumed where it was so cheap they were all like that, putting 4 screws into a TV base isn't hard and I KNOW I didn't muck it up.

It's as if the base was too small for the TV or something if that helps anyone get an idea of the problem? Pressing the power button would cause it to wobble a lot, but not fall over, but moving it meant having to balance it again as it would rock around a lot.

I think the plastic may have just been too flimsy in the base neck of the TV as that's where it's all snapped and broken.

EDIT: Something I forgot to mention, the box was a bit worse for wear, but there were no signs that the TV had received any damage other than the front clip of the TV back neck being missing

 

[noisycats]

I'm lost as to why you would continue to use a wobbly product, especially when you noticed it faulty right from the start? It is not like it deteriorated over time. Did you expect the stand to "firm up" eventually?

It seems the inevitable (falling off the table) was written on day one, but for whatever reason you chose to ignore it.

At what point of longevity would you have become satisfied with the stand? 1 year? 2 years? Or would the stand eventually failing, regardless of the age, cause the same "hey, it was wobbly from the start!" argument?

Not trying to bust your chops, but you really own this situation. Having said that, file a claim against your credit card. They generally offer buyer protection for 1-2 years.

 

[Schtumple]

I'm lost as to why you would continue to use a wobbly product, especially when you noticed it faulty right from the start? It is not like it deteriorated over time. Did you expect the stand to "firm up" eventually?

Because in the UK returning products is generally a complete and utter nightmare, "managers" will happily make up facts about your situation so they can write it in a report that clears them of having to replace a product, I've seen it down at places I worked, I deemed the hassle of returning too great when the TV still functioned perfectly, except for being a bit wobbly.

Sadly that's pretty much the state of affairs in this country, you grit your teeth and bare it because the alternative is a lot of stress that will undoubtedly give no positive results.

 

[ucfgrad93]

You should have taken the TV back as soon as you discovered the stand was 'dodgy' the fact that you kept in for so long and didn't return it, would, in my opinion, preclude you from any warranty.

I hate to say, but I agree with you. The OP should have taken care of this when he found out it wasn't working properly.

 

[firestarter]

Some interesting 'advice' here.

It's actually quite simple. The stand broke after three months. They retailer (not the manufacturer) has a legal responsibility to sort the problem out for you. They can either have it repaired or replaced (the retailers choice). It's unlikely that they will repair that, it won't be economically viable. The retailer can't just fob you off with "you must have thrown a Wii remote at it". The Sale of Goods Act backs you up mate. If the item breaks within the first six months, its considered not 'fit for purpose'. Speak to the 'manager' and get them to sort it.

This.

OP - the sale of goods act is your friend.

- The stand was not fit for purpose and that is your reason for returning
- Since you're returning within 6 months, it's for the retailer to prove that the stand was OK, not you
- You stand a very good chance of refund/replacement

Because in the UK returning products is generally a complete and utter nightmare, "managers" will happily make up facts about your situation so they can write it in a report that clears them of having to replace a product, I've seen it down at places I worked, I deemed the hassle of returning too great when the TV still functioned perfectly, except for being a bit wobbly.

Sadly that's pretty much the state of affairs in this country, you grit your teeth and bare it because the alternative is a lot of stress that will undoubtedly give no positive results.

It's not necessary to 'grin and bear it' at all.

Do some research, know your rights and grow some backbone. The law in on your side, so there's no reason to be fobbed off.

 

[stevep]

You've got the Sale of Goods Act on your side. Any item sold must be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose. As another poster has mentioned, in the first six months the onus is on the seller to prove their product met these demands, not on the buyer. Also, there is a presumption that a product wil last a reasonable time. This obviously varies according to the product but it is reasonable to expect a tv and stand to last more than a few months, and further, that a stand sold with a tv was capable of supporting that tv.

To the OP - do not assume you will be fobbed off, and persevere if necessary. If your first talk with the company you bought it from is not satisfactory you can do several things:

1. Contact your local trading standards office - they are incredibly helpful and often if they (or you) just indicate that they will become involved there will be a miraculous change of opinions.

1a. Do a trawl of the web to see if there are reports of similar failures for your exact model. Log them, citing the sources, and use this to support your claim that this is a known fault with the product. You will need to print this evidence out if you want to use it in court. If you get to step 2 below, you can mention that you have some evidence that there is a 'latent design or manufacturing fault with the product'.

2. Write a registered letter to the company. Keep to the facts, definitely no abuse or bad language. Say you are not happy with their response and you are seeking legal advice on your consumer rights with the local Trading Standards office, and with the Citizens Advice Bureau, with a view to lodging a claim with your local small claims court.

3. A small claims court procedure is very simple to do on-line.
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...t/taking-a-dispute-to-the-small-claims-court/
It costs about £40 I think, which you can claim back off the defendant if (when) you win. Because of the cost and inconvenience of a company having to send someone to your local court to defend their case, they quite often settle before the hearing.

In a recent dispute with Play.com over faulty goods I got as far as 1 above before they saw the light and gave me a full refund (they have a 30 day limit on refunds which they seem to think absolves them from their responsibilties toward their customers. It doesn't )

Finally, US consumer law is very different to the UK, where the odds are stacked heavily in favour of the consumer.

Edit. I'm assuming from your op that you bought the stand and tv together, as part of a matching package, ie the stand is designed to go with the tv. Thus any damage to or failure of the tv as a direct result of failure of the stand is not a seperate issue (in other words, if the stand fails it is entirely reasonable to expect collateral damage to the tv).