Does using a warranty end your contract with the retailer?

QI bought a £150 Fitbit activity tracker from Currys in May, but now the wristband is coming away from the watch. Currys has offered to return the device to Fitbit for me, which is fine, but it says that the fault is “cosmetic”, and so isn’t covered by Fitbit’s warranty. This means Fitbit will charge Currys for the repair, and then Currys will pass on that charge to me, which I’m not happy about. If Fitbit exchanges this for me, does this end my contract with Currys? And should Currys give me a full refund? Simon Reilly

ASimon asks a really important question about warranties. The crucial thing to remember is that using a manufacturer’s warranty doesn’t end your contract with the retailer. So Simon can let Currys return the item to Fitbit confident that it doesn’t affect his rights with the retailer.

The warranty has got nothing to do with Currys, so we’re not sure why it thinks the fault isn’t covered. Certainly, in cases we’ve investigated Fitbit has replaced devices that have faulty wristbands. In our mind, the wristband is an integral part of this device, not “cosmetic”. If it breaks, the device is unusable. So under the Consumer Rights Act, Simon’s activity tracker appears to be ‘not fit for purpose’ and ‘inherently faulty’. With so many complaints about this problem on the internet (watch this Youtube video as an example: www.snipca.com/21880), we think Currys will have to refund Simon, or repair it for free.

Currys could charge Simon for a repair only if the fault was caused by ‘fair wear and tear’ or ‘accidental damage’. Because Simon has owned the Fitbit for less than six months, Currys has to prove this is the case. Simon would have been automatically entitled to a full refund within 30 days of purchase, but four months on he must now give Currys a chance to repair the device.

What can you do if a company won’t answer your phone calls or reply to your emails? That’s the predicament Jack Pilkington finds himself in. In Issue 483, we explained why he was due a refund from Laptops Direct ( www.laptopsdirect.co.uk) for a laptop that was missing a Bang & Olufsen speaker system, and had the wrong size hard drive. Jack did get through to the company on 30 June, when it said he was outside the 30day deadline for a refund. But this wasn’t true – Jack still had six days left to claim a refund under the Consumer Rights Act for goods that are ‘not as described’.

Like Jack, we’ve had no luck contacting Laptops Direct since then, not even through its Twitter account (@laptopsdirectuk). Taking a company to the small claims court should be a last resort, but we think Jack now has no alternative. First, he needs to get his invoices in order because he’ll need to attach this proof to the claims form. This form is relatively easy to fill in (do so on the Ministry of Justice’s website: www.snipca.com/21886), but you need to be succinct. For further help, visit the Citizens Advice website: www.snipca.com/21884.

We’ll guide Jack through the process, and update readers in forthcoming issues. There’s always the chance that the threat of legal action will prompt Laptops Direct into refunding Jack.