Do you need a receipt to return a faulty device within warranty period?

[fredrussell]

My 6 month old Standard Horizon vhf has lost one line of the display. I can’t for the life of me find the receipt though. It was bought online, by my brother as a present, so he will have a record of the transaction. Do faulty SH devices go back to retailer, or do they normally go to a service centre?

 

[CLB]

I would have thought some proof of purchase will be required, otherwise how can you prove that the unit is within its warranty period?

 

[PaulRainbow]

You'd generally need some form of proof, doesn't have to be the invoice.

However, call SH and i'll bet good money they will just tell you to send it back. Better to deal directly with them at this stage, the supplier would only send it to them if it was sent back to them.

I've always found SH to be excellent with repairs/warranty issues.

 

[prv]

Legally, your brother has a claim against the supplier because goods sold by retail to a consumer must be satisfactory and last for a reasonable length of time, which for a good-quality VHF transmitter is obviously a lot longer than 6 months. They are required to repair or replace, and could try to recover their costs from Standard Horizon, but they cannot insist that it's not their problem and that you need to go to the manufacturer yourself. You might need to prove when the product was sold, but there's no requirement that this be a specific document like a till receipt (and why would you have a paper receipt for a gift bought online anyway?). An online purchase should leave an ample electronic "paper" trail, but a copy of a bank statement showing a debit card charge of the relevant amount (and with other transactions blanked out for privacy) is typically fine for in-person purchases.

That's the legal situation as I understand it - in practice I second the advice to approach Standard Horizon directly who have a reputation for putting things right regardless of where the actual liabilities lie.

Pete

 

[jamie N]

Would the serial number not be cross referenced with both the supplier, and SH? Had this precise issue with an AIS, and the supplier couldn't have been more helpful.

 

[macd]

You might need to prove when the product was sold, but there's no requirement that this be a specific document like a till receipt (and why would you have a paper receipt for a gift bought online anyway?).

+1 to that, and to the rest of Pete's post.

Many retailers (B&Q springs to mind) state in their terms and conditions that a receipt is absolutely required on return of faulty goods. This has no standing in law, which merely requires evidence of purchase. True, that would usually and most simply be a receipt, but there are other means.

 

[lpdsn]

+1 to that, and to the rest of Pete's post.

Many retailers (B&Q springs to mind) state in their terms and conditions that a receipt is absolutely required on return of faulty goods. This has no standing in law, which merely requires evidence of purchase. True, that would usually and most simply be a receipt, but there are other means.

It's different with High St/out of town retailers as they have the issue of shoplifters returning stolen goods for a refund. (I worked for one in the 90s and their policy was to take the hit from the shoplifters to avoid pi$$ing off genuine customers - most shoplifting was considered to be by staff anyway so they dealt with it by paying a bonus to staff in shops that didn't exceed their quota.)

I doubt it is much of an issue with a VHF radio. I certainly had no problems getting an Icom HH radio repaired without a receipt. It was even out of warranty, and I told them how long I'd had it, but they still repaired it for free. SH have a very good reputation so I'd be surprised if they mess the OP about.

 

[han34]

I returned a chart plotter to Standard Horizon and they just checked the serial number to check it was within warranty. Give them a call at their Basingstoke HQ. I have found them very helpful.

 

[fisherman]

Unlike B&Q who asked me to prove I had bought the product from them.....it was their own brand.

 

[macd]

It's different with High St/out of town retailers...

I don't believe so. The same law applies. They are entitled to require evidence of purchase. They are not entitled to define that evidence as a receipt and accept nothing else.

 

[lpdsn]

I don't believe so. The same law applies. They are entitled to require evidence of purchase. They are not entitled to define that evidence as a receipt and accept nothing else.

I'm not talking about the law I'm talking about the reasons behind their policy. Many places will accept goods back without proof/evidence of purchase (so above any statutory rights) but that comes at a cost. I'm saying that I expect Standard Horizon will be much more accommodating than B&Q because they are much less vulnerable to theft and fraud than B&Q.

 

[ditchcrawler]

My Standard Horizon 2100 radio lost a few lines of the screen when the radio was about 26 months old i.e. out of the 2 year warranty.

I contacted them and they repaired it free of charge and I only paid the postage and packing one way. Their response was first class as others
have reported.

 

[Cookie Jar]

As others have posted, any proof of payment will legally suffice (be it a purchase receipt, bank statement or even chasing the shop to provide you with THEIR record of the transaction based on the card number used in the shop...which your brother being the card holder will have to be the be one requesting).

Serial Numbers do not prove anything, as the warranty is valid from the moment you purchase the item, not from when it was first produced.

That said, some items are not mass produced in the hundreds of thousands, so If SH has exchanged items based on the serial Number, I´m pretty sure they either have a track record of which serial numbers went to which countries and which are still under mandatory warranty, purely based on manufacturing date (manufacturing date being younger than the warranty void minimum period)... or they are really super nice.

 

[Joker]

No doubt someone will correct me but ...

the two year warranty period is meaningless.

' If a TV or fridge packs up just one day after an initial one-year guarantee, customers are told they have to pay for the repair - but the truth is that retailers may be liable for up to six years.

Consumer experts say retailers are exploiting ambiguous legislation to wriggle out of their responsibilities. Ministers, however, claim the law is quite clear. The Sale of Goods Act offers protection against faulty goods even when the manufacturer's guarantee has run out. The act says goods must last a reasonable time - and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase.'

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/mar/25/consumernews.howtocomplain

Link's a bit ancient, but it's still valid AFAIK.

 

[jamie N]

"Serial Numbers do not prove anything, as the warranty is valid from the moment you purchase the item, not from when it was first produced."


The outlet which sold the unit will absolutely have a record of the serial number in their stock records.

 

[Tranona]

No doubt someone will correct me but ...

the two year warranty period is meaningless.

' If a TV or fridge packs up just one day after an initial one-year guarantee, customers are told they have to pay for the repair - but the truth is that retailers may be liable for up to six years.

Consumer experts say retailers are exploiting ambiguous legislation to wriggle out of their responsibilities. Ministers, however, claim the law is quite clear. The Sale of Goods Act offers protection against faulty goods even when the manufacturer's guarantee has run out. The act says goods must last a reasonable time - and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase.'

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/mar/25/consumernews.howtocomplain

Link's a bit ancient, but it's still valid AFAIK.

The Sale of Goods Act was replaced by the Consumer Rights Act in 2015 and has different provisions for faulty goods including a more structured set of rules derived from EU directives.

The 6 years is rather misleading as that only sets an absolute limit (which can vary from state to state). The most important things to remember are that the fault must be there from the beginning - that is the failure is due to a design or manufacturing fault. Crucially within the first year you do not have to "prove" this - the retailer is bound to repair or replace (which may be done by the manufacturer but the responsibility is with the supplier). After one year the consumer has to show that there was a fault.

In practice many manufacturers either have longer warranties than the statutory 1 year or are generous with their interpretation, but it would be a mistake to think that you automatically have a 6 year quibble free guarantee. This is particularly important if you are relying on the requirement that the item should last for a reasonable time.

 

[Cookie Jar]

The outlet which sold the unit will absolutely have a record of the serial number in their stock records.

Most probably yes, but not necessarily when which one of those S/N´s was sold. The same article bought in the same store by two different consumers and spaced 12 months apart... will have 12 months difference in warranty expiration date.

 

[fisherman]

No doubt someone will correct me but ...

the two year warranty period is meaningless.

' If a TV or fridge packs up just one day after an initial one-year guarantee, customers are told they have to pay for the repair - but the truth is that retailers may be liable for up to six years.

Consumer experts say retailers are exploiting ambiguous legislation to wriggle out of their responsibilities. Ministers, however, claim the law is quite clear. The Sale of Goods Act offers protection against faulty goods even when the manufacturer's guarantee has run out. The act says goods must last a reasonable time - and that can be anything up to six years from the date of purchase.'

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/mar/25/consumernews.howtocomplain

Link's a bit ancient, but it's still valid AFAIK.

Absolutely. Freezer packed up after two years, Littlewoods gave me three quarters of cost back after some argument and an engineer report said "it's not working". Then a local engineer told me he should have defrosted it, which I did, and it started working again, still going + 12 years. Sorry about that. (thermostat sender was encased in thick ice, just moved it)

 

[benchmark]

yes you do need receipt or any other proof of purchase for most products.

There is however a wide difference in warranty customer service at both extremes for diffent companies and the regulations in the region they find themselves.
Some brands like Fortress honor the warranty for a lifetime and dont care about a receipt while others like Raymarine require you to register the item online in exchange for an extra years warranty for your private details, i have even heard of som brands i wont officially name her ;-) that state in fine print that the warranty is invalid if the item is sold to another person whos name does not appear on the receipt.

 

[prv]

The outlet which sold the unit will absolutely have a record of the serial number in their stock records.

Really? They don't just get a pallet of the things and put them on the shelf? Is the serial number even marked on the outside of each retail box for them to record? Seems a bit unlikely to me.

Pete