Sony BDP-S5000ES

[professorhat]

Sorry to hear your BDP gave up the ghost,but you should have been been aware that the warranty period was only 1 year back at the time of purchase.Of course extended warrantys are always an option also... It is not commercially viable to fix everything for everyone,else we'd all end up paying way more for our electronic gear!

Sorry, but according to the Sales of Goods Act, that's just not true. When you spend nearly £1,000 on a piece of electrical hardware, you are well within your statutory rights to expect that product to last more than 1 year, and defintely more than 2 years. What the manufacturer provides as a guarantee and what your rights give you are two very different things.

I'd be very surprised if Sevenoaks (a reputable dealer), once reminded of their duties under the law, don't recognise this, and offer to repair or replace the unit free of charge. If they don't, it sounds like they just need the threat of legal action - I can't believe there is a judge in the land who wouldn't agree that something of that price should not be expected to last longer than it has - remind the manager of the store of this and, unless there are exceptional circumstances we're not aware of here, he or she will probably capitulate.

See here for some templates on how to complain to the retailer if this becomes necessary.

 

[6th.replicant]

Prof is correct.

SOGA decrees that the retailer is responsible for a product for up to six years after purchase date. If there's a fault, the retailer is obliged to repair the item; if repair is not possible, then the retailer must supply a new replacement.

'Tis the law :read:

In short, extended warranties are a wate of money and, therefore, a con :shame:

 

[KiwiMoto]

if it is the law why don't all products have to offer a mandatory 6 year warranty?

 

[professorhat]

To be fair, the Sales of Goods Act doesn't mention the 6 year figure as a guarantee that all things sold will last that long - there is only a 6 month figure i.e. anything that breaks within 6 months is down to the retailer to prove that the issue isn't related to normal wear and tear break down (e.g. being dropped), whereas after this time, it's up to the consumer. However, the Act does mention durability being one of the aspects of a product being sold. What this means in the amount of time you can expect a product to last is up for debate, and will generally depend on one of two things:

* How much the goods cost;

* What would be considered a reasonable amount of time for goods of that type to last.

So whilst you may struggle to get a £20 DVD player fixed for free after 2 years, any sensible person could rightly argue that a £1,000 Blu-ray player could and should be expected to last longer than this period, and it shouldn't be too hard to obtain evidence to back that claim up.

Generally, with a reputable dealer like Sevenoaks, I would expect them to "do the right thing" on this occasion and fix it even though it's just out of the manufacturers warranty period because it presents good customer service and any right minded person would expect a device that costs this much money to work for longer than 2 years. However, if they don't, you do have legal options to get this done and I would say they are worth pursuing in this instance. Whether the OP chooses to or not is of course up to them.

BTW, I personally don't think all extended warranties are a rip off - for one, if you want an easy life and don't want the potential hassle of having to jump through legal hoops, you may think the price is worth it for peace of mind - it's all about perceived value. If paying £80 protects your £1,000 purchase for 5 years hassle free, you might consider that £80 well spent. Also, some extended warranties offer replacement devices whilst yours is being fixed, so depending on what you use it for, this could again be money well spent.

 

[richardw42]

Just wanted to say what a great post. Factual and to the point.

 

[KiwiMoto]

I was tossing up between the Sony S5000ES and Pioneer BDP LX91 a couple of years ago.I've had a very good trot with Pioneer over the last twenty years or so,and the 91 is built like a brick!I have had a few Sony duds over the years and I guess I"m a little 'Sony shy" now.Mind you i've also had a couple of Musical Fidelity lemons in the past but i still love A.M! :cheers:

 

[Frank Harvey]

One of our regulars who owns an LX91 reckons it's better for Bluray playback than his Oppo, but he keeps the Oppo for it's universal features.

 

[KiwiMoto]

One of our regulars who owns an LX91 reckons it's better for Bluray playback than his Oppo, but he keeps the Oppo for it's universal features.

Any Disney or 20th Century Fox features on the Oppo,or just Universal?