In this week’s edition of his newsletter, Martin Lewis has taken aim at big tech, claiming many of us are being ‘fobbed off’ when products break down.
The Money Saving Expert (MSE) founder called out companies like Apple and Samsung that can ‘take the mickey’ by refusing to help customers after their warranty expires.
‘In the UK, you have statutory rights with the retailer that outweigh any firm’s policy,’ he says. ‘And never is it worse than when you’ve a warranty.’
Although Martin notes that warranties (which are especially common with tech products and white goods) aren’t necessarily a bad thing – and can sometimes make it easier to sort issues – they don’t trump our legal consumer rights.
Thanks to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, even when the standard 30-day return period has passed, you’re entitled to a repair, replacement, or full or partial refund if goods are faulty.
Yet people are often dismissed by retailers with ‘sorry, you’re out of warranty’ — and may end up backing down because they aren’t aware of their legal protections.
According to the financial guru, knowing your statutory rights ‘can save you time and money’. And he has a handy mnemonic to help: SAD FART.
When you buy a product, it must be:
Satisfactory quality
As
Described
Fit for purpose
And last a
Reasonable length of
Time
If not, it’s faulty, meaning you can enforce your statutory rights regardless of any warranty or whether you bought the item at a discount.
Keep in mind though, the legal definition of what counts as reasonable is pretty vague, and what you think may differ from the seller’s perspective. In these cases, it’s all about presenting them with a dose of common sense.
Martin uses two products to illustrate the issue: a 20p plastic whistle that broke after six months of heavy use and a £1,400 phone that stopped working after 25 months of normal daily use.
‘There’s no hard answer, but in my view, the first lasted a reasonable time, the second didn’t,’ he says. ‘So even if it was out of warranty, I’d want it repaired or replaced.’
On top of this, Martin highlights that your statutory rights are always with the retailer – aka whoever you paid – rather than the manufacturer.
He adds: ‘If you think an item’s faulty and the store says “you must go to the manufacturer”, they’re talking balderdash, baloney, and another “b” word I can think of.’
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