How long should I expect to wait for a repair?

[iemslie]

Hi all I have a bit of a problem. To cut a long story short, I returned my turntable (Clearaudio Concept) due to a fault with the motor. The turntable is a current model and still under 2 years warranty (an in any case should have lasted longer for the cost in my opinion) The Hi-fi store received it on 4th June and in this time the item has been passed to the UK distributer (I’m guessing) and then shipped back the manufacturer for repair. I’ve received little to no correspondence from the store regarding the progress, and vague information when I’ve taken the trouble to contact them on the phone. So I’m not particularly impressed with the level customer service so far. Regardless, I’ve been pretty patient and not grumbled when I’ve had to contact them for an ‘update’. My question though, is how long someone should reasonably expect to wait for an item to be repaired and returned. Consumer law/ SOG doesn’t provide any 100% clear guidance on this it seems. I’d be interested in opinions on this. Perhaps I’m being unreasonable? Or perhaps the store needs to buck their ideas up. Any thoughts much appreciated; even from the store I bought it from (they do post to this forum) Cheers

 

[BigH]

I would have thought 6 weeks is long enough for a repair unless they are waiting for parts. I would phone the store again and speak to the manager, explain the situation and ask them to find out when it will be returned to you.

What is the problem with it?

 

[floyd droid]

Bit of a how long is a piece of string question , however..................

Goto the Clearaudio site and click on their contact us doo dah.

Tis all self apparent.

Maybe you will get some joy going down that route.

Or give em a bell , the number is at the bottom of the page , thats what I would do.

 

[floyd droid]

I would have thought 6 weeks is long enough for a repair unless they are waiting for parts. I would phone the store again and speak to the manager, explain the situation and ask them to find out when it will be returned to you.

What is the problem with it?

Its the motor H.

 

[Macspur]

It's been a while since I owned a TT, but I would have thought over a month is long enough to expect at least some indication as to when the problem will be fixed.

Has the store offered you a substitute as a gesture of good will, to tide you over?

Mac

 

[iemslie]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

I'd already contacted Clearaudio who told me to take the TT back to the shop for repair/service. Unfortunately they could not repair it within the 2-3 weeks they quoted for turnaround and were told to ship it back to Germany.

What's got my goat really is that it's always been me contacting them to find out what's going on. 1st contact was to arrange for them to recieve the TT, next it was to see what progress had been mader after the 2 to 3 weeks quoted were up, then chasing up after being told another week...and so on.

Just think it would be refreshing if they emailed me with some meaningful details, when the timeframes they advised has lapsed and saved me the trouble.

I'll be getting in touch with the shop again today, see what's going on.

Didn't receive a temprorary replacement, so starting to miss playing my records now (especially because a few I've ordered arrived in this time)

Right, where's me phone?...

 

[richardw42]

Have you approached the shop about a temporary replacement. I'm quite surprised they haven't offered anything up.

Id phone the shop and hint about no further custom, unless they do something for you.

 

[iemslie]

Thought a little update might be in order.

Well tomorrow will be week 9 without my turntable.

I've been in contact with the shop, the distributor (now ex-distributor, I've been told) and Clearaudio.

The most recent contact was from the shop today, who called me after I sent an email demanding to know when the turntable would be returned to me repaired.

I was told that the distributor had received a motor from Clearaudio and would be fitting it tomorrow and send the turntable back to me.

I was pleased to hear this until I was told that the distributor had never fitted a motor before (but thought he could do it!).

A few hours has passed now and I'm starting to feel a bit uneasy about all this.

It's been a pretty poor experience up to now and I'm concerned that the fitting of the motor will result in damage to the turntable, won't be correctly completed or might not be safe - you'd expect a qualified person to service something like this wouldn't you?

Anyway. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do in this situation. I'm considering calling the shop and rejecting their proposal to repair and demand a new turntable or a refund or an equivalently priced alternative.

I'm also thinking of taking some legal advice and possibly making a case against them under Sale of Goods act.

Does anyone have any experiance of a similar problem to this that might have any views?

 

[Al ears]

Personally I think the shop is probably doing all it can.

You will have little chance of getting a new deck I imagine as repairs or a replacement (not necessarily new) is all that they are obliged to offer.

For the Sales of Goods act to come into play I think you would have to prove it was an inherrent fault in all decks... tricky that!

Having said that 9 weeks is excessive for a manufacturer of this notability.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Sale of Goods Act requires goods to be of "merchantable quality" and "fit for purpose", but basically applies to new or nearly new goods only. For new or nearly new stuff you're entitled to a REFUND, not a replacement. It is your choce whether to spend the money on an identical replacement or not, not the store's. Also, your contract is with the store, not the manufacturer, importer or anyone else, so if the goods are "new" then its up to the retailer to make the refund. The same principle applies to used goods sold second hand, marked as such, or ex-demo stuff for that matter. Basically if something goes belly up in the first week or two you're covered, but again you're entitled to a refund, so don't go expecting a trader to replace a three year old amp sold as second-hand with a brand new one.

Once the goods are "used", however, your rights diminish rapidly, and that's when the guarantee kicks in. If you bought the TT from a BADA dealer you should be covered by BADA's 2-year warranty programme, otherwise you're reliant on the manufacturer, and eight weeks might seem long but is probably not unreasonable if the unit has to be shipped overseas for repair.

Make a few phone calls, be nice, see what happens. If you don't get any joy, then try your local trading standards officer first.

 

[BigH]

As its cover by the 2 year warranty the manufacturer should repair it, it maybe worth checking with them that what has happened to yout TT is alright with them and still covered by their warranty. Sale of goods act does cover you upto 6 years but after 6 months the onus is on you to prove there is a fault. Also the contract is with the retailer so you would have to take it up with them.

I think they should have shipped it back to the manufacturer, you may want to enquire why they did not and just did nothing for 8 weeks.