ASTRONOMICAL ALERTS Last updated: 10 April 2003

UK warranties

Sent:	Sunday, April 6, 2003 8:00:51
From:	marc_777uk@yahoo.co.uk (Marc Delaney)
Read an email on this ETX site about both a UK user's ETX drives
failing. He said the scope was out of guarantee and the dealer
apparently washed his hands off it. How long out of guarantee?

It is a little known fact that in Britain, thanks to European consumer
protection laws, the usual 12 months guarantee is NOT the cut off point.
It depends on the item in question. 12 months would be long enough for a
bottle opener, but far too little a time for an expensive item like a
telescope costing over half a grand! It would be expected to perform
very much longer than a year, so one would have a right in law,
regardless of guarantees, to have it repaired or replaced. That is why
guarantees in the UK have to say that they are "Additional to your
consumer rights". This was recently established in the British courts of
law when the judge ruled that a defective washing machine, which was out
of guarantee period, ought to have been working satisfactorily for
several years and ruled against the dealer who then had to replace the
machine as well as pay the costs of bringing the case to court. Most
people do not realise this consumer protection and meekly accept 12
months as the cut off period. The dealers will of course insist that the
12 month guarantee rules supreme, but the law in Europe (which includes
us) may well think otherwise!

Best wishes,

Marc (South Wales)

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