overclockers.co.uk and UK consumer law
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:34 pm
Two weeks ago today my trusty (until then) 19" CRT decided to die and leave me in the position of needing a new monitor. So I hop on the net get reading the reviews etc and decide on the DELL 24" Widescreen 2407 WFP.
I order it from overclockers.co.uk and it arrives a few days later, Thursday. Within minutes of turing it on I've noticed two major faults.
1) There is horizonal banding almost constantly in games.
2) The fixed scaling options of the monitor are greyed out at 1600x1200 so any game that doesn't support a native 1920x1200 is strectehd horizontally by 20% and there is no option to fix it!
I fill out web note on the ocuk site Thursday Night explaining these problems and that I'd like for them to arrange to collect it back as faulty goods and I'd like a refund or the chance tyo pay the extra £100 to get the Samsung 244T instead.
They reply Friday afternoon that this is how wide screen monitors are supposed to work.
I reply right away politely pointing out that yes it will stretch, but every monitor under the sun has fixed aspect ratio options to correct it, including this one but they're broken.
They reply on saturday, contact DELL about a replacement.
I reply again that it is a design flaw and that the DELL support forums are lit up with people having this flaw and dell saying it's a bug that there is no fix for, so a replacement won't do anything for me. (see this: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums ... e.id=64176)
Wednesday comes, no reply so I phone them on the 10p / minute line as sales say I need to use that line. £1.50 worth of holding later I get to speak to a chap and I explain the issue to him, he says he's not sure this qualifies as faulty, he'll need to speak to the manager about it and call me back when he's in the office later today. I wait all day, no call back.
I decide f**k it, this is aheadache, I'll just send it back under the distance selling regulations (2000) mentioned on their site: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/support.htm
So 9:00 AM Thursday I send a note from their website saying I'd like to return it under the distance selling act (I'm still within the 7 working days here, plus I consider my first request on the thursday night the first indication that I'd like to return it anyway). They respond on Friday at 6:00 PM:
"Dear David Rozenski,
This is not a design flaw in the monitor sir. We can not accept it back, please refer to Dell
Regards,
Matthew Street
Technical Support
Overclockers UK"
I respond that tonight saying I'm no longer after an RMA as indicated by my last communication (the one I sent Thursday morning), todays message:
"Hi,
I'm no longer trying to get an RMA. I want to do this that is specified on your site:
"Under the Distance Selling Regulations (2000) you have the right to cancel the contract relating to your order at any time up to the end of 7 working days after the goods are delivered. To exercise your right of cancellation, you must give written notice to Overclockers UK by letter, fax or WebNote giving details of the goods ordered and date received"
I am trying to do the above, I hearby give you notice that I am cancelling this order and returning to goods to you at my expense for a refund. Will you please acknowledge this request?
This matter has dragged on ever since I took delivery of the monitor last Thursday, all I want to do is excerise my right under the afore mentioned regualtions. I don't want to invole a third party, please don't force me to so.
I've been a loyal customer for years and frankly find this treatment baffling!
Thanks,
David Rozenski"
...and now I wait for thier reply. If they again refuse to accept it back for a refund or replacement with a different monitor what can I do, do we have any legal experts here or anyone up to speed on consumer rights?
Cheers.
I order it from overclockers.co.uk and it arrives a few days later, Thursday. Within minutes of turing it on I've noticed two major faults.
1) There is horizonal banding almost constantly in games.
2) The fixed scaling options of the monitor are greyed out at 1600x1200 so any game that doesn't support a native 1920x1200 is strectehd horizontally by 20% and there is no option to fix it!
I fill out web note on the ocuk site Thursday Night explaining these problems and that I'd like for them to arrange to collect it back as faulty goods and I'd like a refund or the chance tyo pay the extra £100 to get the Samsung 244T instead.
They reply Friday afternoon that this is how wide screen monitors are supposed to work.
I reply right away politely pointing out that yes it will stretch, but every monitor under the sun has fixed aspect ratio options to correct it, including this one but they're broken.
They reply on saturday, contact DELL about a replacement.
I reply again that it is a design flaw and that the DELL support forums are lit up with people having this flaw and dell saying it's a bug that there is no fix for, so a replacement won't do anything for me. (see this: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums ... e.id=64176)
Wednesday comes, no reply so I phone them on the 10p / minute line as sales say I need to use that line. £1.50 worth of holding later I get to speak to a chap and I explain the issue to him, he says he's not sure this qualifies as faulty, he'll need to speak to the manager about it and call me back when he's in the office later today. I wait all day, no call back.
I decide f**k it, this is aheadache, I'll just send it back under the distance selling regulations (2000) mentioned on their site: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/support.htm
So 9:00 AM Thursday I send a note from their website saying I'd like to return it under the distance selling act (I'm still within the 7 working days here, plus I consider my first request on the thursday night the first indication that I'd like to return it anyway). They respond on Friday at 6:00 PM:
"Dear David Rozenski,
This is not a design flaw in the monitor sir. We can not accept it back, please refer to Dell
Regards,
Matthew Street
Technical Support
Overclockers UK"
I respond that tonight saying I'm no longer after an RMA as indicated by my last communication (the one I sent Thursday morning), todays message:
"Hi,
I'm no longer trying to get an RMA. I want to do this that is specified on your site:
"Under the Distance Selling Regulations (2000) you have the right to cancel the contract relating to your order at any time up to the end of 7 working days after the goods are delivered. To exercise your right of cancellation, you must give written notice to Overclockers UK by letter, fax or WebNote giving details of the goods ordered and date received"
I am trying to do the above, I hearby give you notice that I am cancelling this order and returning to goods to you at my expense for a refund. Will you please acknowledge this request?
This matter has dragged on ever since I took delivery of the monitor last Thursday, all I want to do is excerise my right under the afore mentioned regualtions. I don't want to invole a third party, please don't force me to so.
I've been a loyal customer for years and frankly find this treatment baffling!
Thanks,
David Rozenski"
...and now I wait for thier reply. If they again refuse to accept it back for a refund or replacement with a different monitor what can I do, do we have any legal experts here or anyone up to speed on consumer rights?
Cheers.