Television Guarantee - SORTED

steveledzep

I'll try to keep it brief.  Three weeks ago my LG 50" 1080P tv developed a fault with 4 bright spots on the screen.  It benefited from a 5 year guarantee with the retailer which expires in November.
A visit from a local tv engineer was arranged and he diagnosed a replacement screen required.  He said he'd cost it up and contact the retailer with the price.
Tuesday last week I received a call from the retailer advising that my LG was an uneconomic repair and they proposed replacing with today's equivalent LG tv.  The guy told me that the guarantee would still expire in November in line with the original purchase.  I asked if I could upgrade to a larger screen and pay the difference.  I was told no problem and advised the price of the replacement as an allowance against any new one I chose.  The guy went on to explain that as I was choosing a different tv, the new one would come with a fresh 5 year guarantee.  We discussed how it was a "no brainer", but I couldn't say what replacement I wished to order at that time.  I called about an hour later to place my order.  The guy was unavailable, but the lady said she'd process it as my details were on her screen.  We confirmed the 5 year guarantee and I ordered a Samsung 55" 4K UHD tv with a small additional payment.  The Samsung was delivered Tuesday this week, it's fantastic.
I had nothing in writing so asked for confirmation of my 5 year guarantee but I am being told that it expires in November in line with original purchase.
I am able to name the people I spoke with and at what time so they can check their recordings.  Up to now I've had 3 different people deny me the full guarantee.  I've dealt with 7 people in total, 2 verbally and 5 by email.
I acknowledge that I've done rather well out of the deal, but it irks me that 2 representatives confirm verbally the fresh guarantee but I am denied it.  What if I'd agreed a £2k payment for a super dooper mega screen on the strength of the fresh warranty ?
What do you guys think ?  Do I drop it or pursue them for the 5 years ? (sorry to go on a bit)

tony99

Tell them if they don't sort the five year guarantee you'll smash the fucker

boogieman

It’s a new product so you’d get the manufacturer’s warranty, whatever the retailer is telling you. I’m not sure where you stand on the new five year extended warranty though. 

steveledzep

Yes, only had it a couple of days so haven't registered it with Samsung yet pending the outcome.  Once registered, I'm sure Samsung will try to flog me an extended warranty.  Don't want to give up that easily though.

Strat_a_tat_tat

I'm not a legal expert, but I think a verbal contract is still a contract... it's just more difficult to prove.

underdog

Situations like this I've always managed to solve by complaining on social media where everyone can see it, I use Twitter for such things, had problems with sky, Argos and BT solved this way when nothing else worked

beed84

Regardless of whether or not it was paid for, surely an extended warranty should show up on a receipt/invoice? Also, if it was confirmed after seeing your details on a screen, perhaps they have a log of what's been discussed – you can request a copy of that information if so.

If you're really bothered, since you've been passed around numerous represenatives I'd maybe escalate it to management, politely explaining that you've been told conflicting information by their staff and try to reach an amicable resolve. 

steveledzep

Thank you for responses so far.  Yes, I'm of the opinion that a verbal contract applies too.
Don't use FB or Twi''er et al, abhor them all.
Don't have an invoice as such, it's a record of the exchange of tvs, that's why I requested written confirmation of the guarantee.  I will escalate the matter, just interested in what angles you guys can generate to help me.  More thoughts are welcome please.

Simon_M

I don’t really get why you wouldn’t get a new warranty. It’s a new product and should therefore be covered by the manufacturers warranty. If that’s 5 years then you get 5 years. Doesn’t really matter what it says on the receipt.

steveledzep

Simon_M said:

I don’t really get why you wouldn’t get a new warranty. It’s a new product and should therefore be covered by the manufacturers warranty. If that’s 5 years then you get 5 years. Doesn’t really matter what it says on the receipt.

I get the standard (12 months) warranty from the manufacturer when I register the tv.  The five year guarantee is one supplied by the retailer in lieu of the 12 months from the manufacturer, that's why I'm in dispute with the retailer.

Cols

steveledzep said:

Simon_M said:

I don’t really get why you wouldn’t get a new warranty. It’s a new product and should therefore be covered by the manufacturers warranty. If that’s 5 years then you get 5 years. Doesn’t really matter what it says on the receipt.

I get the standard (12 months) warranty from the manufacturer when I register the tv.  The five year guarantee is one supplied by the retailer in lieu of the 12 months from the manufacturer, that's why I'm in dispute with the retailer.

Verbal agreements are binding but unfortunately difficult to prove in case of dispute.  I’m assuming that there weren’t any e-mails mentioning the 5 year warranty.

I would ask for the retailer’s procedure for making a formal complaint, and put it all in writing.  The two tacks you might take would be a) “This is not the kind of service I expect from your fine and upstanding company” or b) I have been missold the new television on the basis of the promised 5 year warranty.  Customer Services might have more latitude to offer sweeteners to smooth things over.

Technically all they’re obliged to offer you is the manufacturer’s warranty.  If they were feeling especially cheeky they might have claimed that the replacement TV amounted to a repair and therefore only apply a 3 month repair warranty.

ICBM

I think the problem is that you actually bought an insurance policy against repair or replacement, not a warranty on the product - that’s what an extended warranty really is. The term of that policy is five years, so even though the object it applies to has been changed, the term is still the same.

I know it may seem like splitting hairs but I think if you read the small print of the warranty you’ll find they’re right - telling you it would be restarted from the date the new TV was supplied was incorrect, and there is no ‘verbal contract’ since the warranty will actually be provided by a third-party company.

It’s a very long time since I had a similar problem - it was with a VHS video recorder, which should show that! - but that was the case then, and I had to accept it. You will at least get the standard manufacturers’ warranty on the new one, and the remaining period of the original extended warranty still applies if it covers anything not covered by the manufacturer.

thermionic

I agree with ICBM - what you bought is a 5-year insurance policy and if you want it to apply to your new tv you’ll have to buy another policy. You’re getting a new tv that comes with a manufacturer’s warranty so you’re doing quite well out of it.

richardhomer

You should have bought from ‘The Eternal Telly Store’....

steveledzep

thermionic said:

I agree with ICBM - what you bought is a 5-year insurance policy and if you want it to apply to your new tv you’ll have to buy another policy. You’re getting a new tv that comes with a manufacturer’s warranty so you’re doing quite well out of it.

Yes, I've already acknowledged that I'm doing rather well out of it, BUT I was told that the new tv would have 5 years and now that is being refused.
No, I haven't bought a 5 year insurance, this retailer provides a 5 year guarantee for new tv sales.  It may be that the retailer buys a policy themselves, in which case I doubt it would be on an individual tv basis more a blanket policy for all of their sales.  Otherwise, the retailer takes each claim on the chin, which I doubt.
I'll respond to them by email later today and let you know what happens.  I suspect I'm going to have to let it go, but I think it's worth a fight.

Sesh

My father has replaced his TV similarly in the last few weeks. He got the original from John Lewis with a 5 year warranty. When the original TV was seen as diagnosed as beyond economic repair the was offered an equivalent replacement which would only have 18 months warranty as that was all that was left on the original warranty. However, he opted to take the money and add some to buy an upgrade, which also restarted his 5 year warranty. Sounds a pretty similar situation to the OP, but with the right solution.

Was the warranty free or did you pay. If it was free then I'd expect it on the new TV as it is effectively not a replacement under warranty. I'd be tempted to threaten to return it and ask for a full refund. You can either go back and buy the TV you want again or take the cash elsewhere.  

Lodious

I had the same situation with John Lewis, they said if I swapped like for like there was 1 year warranty, but if I upgraded to a bigger TV I'd get another 5 year warranty. I took this option and the new TV came with the 5 year warranty.  

steveledzep

Response by email sent this savvy.  Be Monday before I get a response I guess.  Thank you for your help and ideas guys.

steveledzep

Got a reply from Customer Service yesterday (Sunday?).  It wasn't a reply as such, it was a forwarding of a standard response template.  No responding to the points I'd made, in fact not a shred of evidence that my email had been read !
I sent a reply asking for their procedure to escalate my issue to senior management level.  No response today.

TheBigDipper

I'm another one in the "insurance policy" camp, I'm afraid.

The manufacturer will "guarantee" their product and replace it if it fails. They are in control of their product quality and it takes some worry away from the purchaser. Failure will be paid for by them, not the retailer. 

The retailer will "insure" the purchaser against a fault developing in the product for a longer period, but it is insurance. You've claimed. If it were a car, the policy would have been cancelled by now, as your TV was "written off". Your new TV may well be replaced if it fails before November, but I'd bet the retailer will use the manufacturers guarantee to do so. 

Just to confirm - at the time of the original purchase, did you pay extra for that 5 years support? Or was it thrown in as freebie? If it was a freebie thrown in by the retailer I'd expect to find some weasel words somewhere that says they only do this for new purchases (where you spend money on the goods) and not on replacements where you don't. I'm sure they'll decide that an upgrade (like you've done) is a grey area. Don't be surprised if they try and sell you insurance for another 5 years at your cost. 

The bloody frustrating thing for you is that you've been told what you wanted to hear, but it's not been backed up in writing and they're not standing by it. Expect to be told that the member of staff was wrong, they're very sorry and they obviously have a training issue, but tough - the 5 year insurance won't be extended past November. There will be some daft reason given why they can't bypass their policy. 

steveledzep

When I read the above post from @TheBigDipper ; this morning, I thought that was a fair summary and reasonable prediction of the outcome.
However, I have received an email confirming that I am correct and my five year guarantee will run from 16th April 2019.  My initial dealings were with their Technical Department but Customer Service hadn't bothered to check what agreement we had reached.
Particular thanks to @Lodious and @Sesh who had correctly identified John Lewis as my supplier, not too difficult as there aren't many retailers offering standard five year guarantees on tvs.  If it wasn't for their similar situations, I may have shrugged my shoulders and just settled for the good deal I've had anyway.  NGD - New Guarantee Day  .