TV trouble — but Sony and Currys didn’t want to know

I BOUGHT a Sony TV from Currys for £689 and my son fitted it to the wall. Seven months later, a white line about 8in wide appeared on the screen.

I went back to Currys and was told I had to deal directly with Sony.

I spent 45 minutes on the phone with someone who told me to set up the TV again and send a photo. They said an engineer would come by the next day to arrange a replacement, so I waited in — but no one turned up.

I then received an email saying Sony had been trying to make contact, but I’d heard nothing. I called again and was then refused a refund.

At Sony’s request, I paid £66 for an engineer to visit. They said this type of TV was vulnerable at the side.

I am very upset by Sony’s attitude and refusal to listen. B. G., by email. YoUr case highlights an issue often faced by consumers who buy faulty goods: retailers referring purchasers to the manufacturer — but your contract is with the shop that sold the goods.

The Consumer rights act states you can reject faulty goods and claim a full refund within 30 days of a purchase (relevant to goods bought after october 1, 2015). after 30 days, you must give the manufacturer one opportunity to repair or replace the item. if this is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund or discount.

Your right to make a claim in the small claims court if the retailer refuses to repair or replace a product lasts for six years. However, after the first six months, the onus is on you to prove a fault was present at the time of purchase.

This does not mean a product must last six years; a lot rests on what is considered a ‘reasonable’ amount of time. But i think everyone would agree that a TV should function for longer than seven months.

You tell me sony said you should not have used a bracket to fix it to a wall. sorry, but if that’s the case, it doesn’t sound fit for purpose.

The good news is when i took your problem to Currys, it leapt into action. as this issue had occurred in July and we were by then into November, you’d already bought a new TV, so it gave you a refund for this of £698 and £66 to cover the engineer’s visit.

sony was rather more defensive. of the supposed weakness, it said: ‘it is not a problem we have found with our televisions and is not our official position . . . an approved service centre would not have offered this advice.’

it says it cannot reassess the damage because the TV has now been recycled. it adds: ‘We value our customers and their feedback and are reviewing this case.’ WE LEFT Virgin Media because we had received appalling customer service. Our last bill was on June 12 for £134.28. This covered payment up to July 12, but Virgin cut off our broadband on July 3, which meant we had no internet for ten days.

Now we have received a bill for £147.63 dated August 17. T. D., Kent. MEdia companies that can’t communicate properly with customers are a regular irritation in this column.

on august 30, you wrote to Virgin Media disputing your bill and you explained that it should contact you on your landline, not your mobile phone.

Five weeks later, it wrote back acknowledging your letters and saying that it had been trying to call you on your mobile phone.

such unmitigated daftness is hard to explain — unless it hadn’t bothered to read your letters. Virgin argued that a bill was outstanding because there was a 30- day notice period from June 21. it said the final balance was made up of charges from June 22 to July 21.

No mention was made of the fact it cut off your service earlier.

The good news is that it has now cleared the balance and apologises for any distress.

it admits it did not follow the disconnection process correctly when you called to cancel in May — and says the 30- day notice period should have started then. IN JANUARY last year, I sold a bangle for £ 1,299 online. I shipped it to America using Parcelforce Global Priority at a total cost of £99.15, including £55.80 enhanced insurance.

The item never arrived, so I put in a claim. When I dispatched it, I was not informed the package would not be covered for the full insurance.

I have been sent cheques to the value of £100.15 in compensation, but nothing regarding the value of the item, and I have had to refund the buyer. L. P., Hampshire. ENHaNCEd cover provides for loss or damage of items worth up to £2,500 per consignment — but this excludes certain items, such as jewellery.

royal Mail, which owns Parcelforce, says this is made very clear in its terms and conditions before the cover is bought.

on this occasion, it is offering a one- off payment of £300 as a goodwill gesture. i think this is the best offer you are going to get under the circumstances and suggest that you accept it.