Any good Phantom dealers in the UK whose T&C are lawful?

[fly-catchers]

Hi,
Does anyone know of a good reliable Phantom dealer in the UK who treats faulty returns correctly?
I have used two DJI dealers so far who while correctly replacing faulty goods have steadfast refused to cover the cost of returning the faulty goods. They direct you to their T&C's which say that all return postage is at the cost of the customer. However this should only be applied to returning goods under the distance selling agreement where you decide you don't want the item. If the item is faulty them no matter what the company T&C's say, should refund any return postage costs. In my case these have been on smaller items but have still cost me over £13 in all. If you had to send the actual Phantom back the cost would be a whole lot more! :twisted:

cheers

bill

 

[Pull_Up]

Hi. Not quite... slightly grey area thanks to the use of the phrase "reasonable amount of time" in the Sale of Goods Act...

Per the Trading Standards UK website:

A FULL REFUND
You are legally entitled to a full refund if you have not yet 'accepted' the goods. Acceptance takes place when:

you inform the trader that you have accepted the goods;
you use the goods in a way which is ‘inconsistent with the trader's ownership’. For example, if you have altered the goods in any way or customised them then you may have accepted them. For example taking up the hem on a pair of trousers;
You keep the goods for longer than a reasonable time without telling the trader that you have rejected them. You are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods and this should take place within a reasonable time. The law does not give an explanation of what is 'reasonable time' and ultimately a court would make a decision based on the facts of each case. You should, therefore, contact the trader as soon as you find the fault as a delay may mean you lose your right to a refund.

Full refund includes costs of all P&P - but if you've been deemed to have accepted the goods then you are not entitled to a full refund. Up to you if you feel it's worth fighting for the £13 or challenging the T&C in court...

 

[The Editor]

Hi. Not quite... slightly grey area thanks to the use of the phrase "reasonable amount of time" in the Sale of Goods Act...

Per the Trading Standards UK website:

A FULL REFUND
You are legally entitled to a full refund if you have not yet 'accepted' the goods. Acceptance takes place when:

you inform the trader that you have accepted the goods;
you use the goods in a way which is ‘inconsistent with the trader's ownership’. For example, if you have altered the goods in any way or customised them then you may have accepted them. For example taking up the hem on a pair of trousers;
You keep the goods for longer than a reasonable time without telling the trader that you have rejected them. You are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods and this should take place within a reasonable time. The law does not give an explanation of what is 'reasonable time' and ultimately a court would make a decision based on the facts of each case. You should, therefore, contact the trader as soon as you find the fault as a delay may mean you lose your right to a refund.

Full refund includes costs of all P&P - but if you've been deemed to have accepted the goods then you are not entitled to a full refund. Up to you if you feel it's worth fighting for the £13 or challenging the T&C in court...

Ummmm.... no. If the goods are faulty then you are entitled to a FULL REFUND including P&P costs whether you have deemed to have accepted the goods or not. Using precedent a 'reasonable amount of time' is considered to be the first six months of ownership of the item. So, if that item develops a fault in the first six months of you owning it you are entitled to a full refund of all costs.

SOGA 1979 c54 part 5A Section 48B

 

[The Editor]

Hi. Not quite... slightly grey area thanks to the use of the phrase "reasonable amount of time" in the Sale of Goods Act...

Per the Trading Standards UK website:

A FULL REFUND
You are legally entitled to a full refund if you have not yet 'accepted' the goods. Acceptance takes place when:

you inform the trader that you have accepted the goods;
you use the goods in a way which is ‘inconsistent with the trader's ownership’. For example, if you have altered the goods in any way or customised them then you may have accepted them. For example taking up the hem on a pair of trousers;
You keep the goods for longer than a reasonable time without telling the trader that you have rejected them. You are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods and this should take place within a reasonable time. The law does not give an explanation of what is 'reasonable time' and ultimately a court would make a decision based on the facts of each case. You should, therefore, contact the trader as soon as you find the fault as a delay may mean you lose your right to a refund.

Full refund includes costs of all P&P - but if you've been deemed to have accepted the goods then you are not entitled to a full refund. Up to you if you feel it's worth fighting for the £13 or challenging the T&C in court...

Ummmm.... no. If the goods are faulty then you are entitled to a FULL REFUND including P&P costs whether you have deemed to have accepted the goods or not. Using precedent a 'reasonable amount of time' is considered to be the first six months of ownership of the item. So, if that item develops a fault in the first six months of you owning it you are entitled to a full refund of all costs.

Unfortunately Trading Standards usually do not know their a*se from their elbow!

SOGA 1979 c54 part 5A Section 48B

 

[fly-catchers]

Looking at all the Phantom dealers web sites they all seem to stress that the cost of returning an item is at your cost. But as The Editor quite rightly saids- if the item you are returning is faulty them you should get all costs reimbused.
" Returning faulty goods
If you receive faulty goods and wish to return them, The Distance Selling Regulations are in addition to your other legal rights.
So, if your goods are faulty and don’t do what they're supposed to, or don’t match the description given, you have the same consumer rights under the Sale of Goods Act as you have when buying face to face.
Any terms and conditions that say you must cover the cost of returning an item wouldn’t apply where the goods being returned are faulty."
Quoted from "Which" site.
I realise that £13 is not that much- but its still £13

bill

 

[Pull_Up]

TheEditor: you may like to inform tradingstandards.gov.uk (from where my quote was lifted) that they are giving incorrect information on their website, then! Although I think the main thrust of my point is that in order to take advantage of a legal precedent you need to put that in front of a court... Even taking them through the small claims track will cost you £25 up front which you might get bsck if/when you win.

I have found a lot of traders respond well to a phone call and a chat, rather than going straight for the indignant "I know my rights" type letter.

The other problem in the case of complex electronic devices is ascertaining whether it's the goods that are at fault, the environment or indeed the user. Most dealers aren't out to fleece people with genuine issues (they wouldn't last long if they did) but some purchasers are somewhat unwilling to read manuals, disclaimers and take precautions so I can see both sides of the concern.

 

[Pull_Up]

Although looking up s48B it appears to only apply to repair or replacement, not refund...

 

[Wedeliver]

Here in the good ol usa we are all armed so we get all the money back plus!

 

[discv]

I think the 'get out' may well be, when buying on line, is that you are required to check the box confirming that the buyer has read and agrees to the T&Cs.
So maybe the answer would be to place the order by phone, then pay by credit card or Paypal invoice.

To address the OP question- I have found Firstpersonview keen to please.

 

[noiseboy72]

I found that Heliguy were very reasonable, arranging for a faulty TX to be picked up by sending me a pre-paid label, and when I had serious issues with the video downlink, they paid for the whole rig to be returned to them, fixed and sent back via insured courier.

Can't ask more than that.

 

[JamesFarley]

I think the 'get out' may well be, when buying on line, is that you are required to check the box confirming that the buyer has read and agrees to the T&Cs.
So maybe the answer would be to place the order by phone, then pay by credit card or Paypal invoice.

To address the OP question- I have found Firstpersonview keen to please.

No matter what the T&C's say, they cannot take precedent over consumer legislation

 

[discv]

No matter what the T&C's say, they cannot take precedent over consumer legislation

Would that still apply even if you had indicated accepting the T&Cs? I suggest not.

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

What were the faults the OP observed? Could it be that the dealer didnt think they were manufacturing faults? Its very hard for the dealer to tell with these machines until they get their hands on them.

 

[fly-catchers]

What were the faults the OP observed? Could it be that the dealer didnt think they were manufacturing faults? Its very hard for the dealer to tell with these machines until they get their hands on them.

The most recent issue was a faulty charger to replace the stock Phantom charger. After a couple of uses the LCD display started to flicker and them blank out. And them went off completely. I sent it back to FPV's repair centre who confirmed it was faulty and I have been sent a new one. No issues with their speed of replacement but I still feel I should not have to out of pocket by over 6 quid for having to send it back. I did say I was happy with a credit note as I wanted to buy some more batteries. But they aren't budging.

On the other occasion with another company a Phantom battery arrived with a defective plug- badly soldered!

I suspect that in this area of product most of these on-line companies would use the same T&C's alas!

bill