If the product breaks during the warranty period, the seller should provide you with a repair or refund. But how do you proceed if your complaint is rejected and, for example, the television is returned in an even worse condition than the one in which you took it to the complaint? This also happened to the people about whom the following report is about.
Mrs. Paletářová bought a new television in the Alza online store in 2019. There is a two-year warranty as standard. But Alza offers the option to pay extra for a warranty extended by up to three years. In this case, the television cost less than 11,000 crowns, and the extension of the warranty was another two thousand. And as it turned out recently, it paid off.
“There was actually a vertical stripe in the first third of the image, black, then some red, we have photographed everything,” Ms. Paletářová described the problems with the television.
The bar covered part of the screen, but the TV otherwise worked. To Mrs. Paletářová’s great relief, there was about a month left until the end of the extended warranty. Mrs. Paletářová went to claim her. “For that complaint, an online form is created, which we already created at home. We created it and went to the place where they gave us the serial number, and we took pictures of everything before we took it there,” added Mrs. Paletářová.
According to the experts, taking a picture of the goods before you take them in for a claim is absolutely essential. “If he doesn’t take a picture of it, it can also happen that the goods are returned to him damaged. And then it won’t prove that he didn’t pack the goods there with some kind of defect, with damage,” pointed out the head of dTest’s legal department, Petr Šmelhaus.
It is increasingly important to prove, for example with photos, what condition the goods were in when you claimed them. In many cases, you won’t even meet a store employee who would take over the claimed item from you and write a report with you on the spot. You can handle the complaint, for example, via the delivery boxes.
Ms. Paletářová did take the wrapped TV to the branch, but even there complaints are self-service. “No one checked it, nothing, we just put it there. They promised us that nothing would happen to the television. So we left it there,” Ms. Paletářová described the complaint.
“We accepted the claim and sent it to the authorized service center. However, during testing, the authorized service center found mechanical damage to the LCD panel, which does not comply with the manufacturer’s warranty conditions. Therefore, in accordance with the terms of the extended warranty, we rejected the claim for this product,” the spokeswoman explained Alzy Eliška Čeřovská.
“They returned the television to us. We plugged it in, it works, you turn it on, but we have stripes and, above all, we have a cracked screen,” Mrs. Paletářová described the condition of the television after its return. In the beginning, there was only a vertical bar across the screen, although it was distracting, it was still watchable. This was no longer possible with the television that Mrs. Paletářová returned from service. But what now?
“If the store accepts an item from us for a claim, it is responsible for it not being damaged. If we can prove that it was in a certain condition, then we can say that it was the store’s responsibility to keep the item in that condition. In other words , you return it to me damaged differently than I claimed it, you are responsible for that,” said Šmelhaus.
“The moment I found out, I immediately called Alzy’s helpline. They called me from the complaints office saying that they stand by the statement they sent me. I contacted them again on that account, saying that it’s not like this. I sent them photos, I called there several times, I responded to emails,” Ms. Paletářová recalled about her communication with Alza.
Mrs. Paletářová did not give up, she complained about the TV again, she also contacted us, and her stubbornness paid off in the end. “We have decided due to the positive and positive history of this customer that we will comply with his request and return the money at Alza’s expense,” Čeřovská said.
However, according to Alza, the pro-customer store dealt with the complaint of its own free will and informed the insurance company with which it handles everything about its decision shortly before we approached the company for the first time. Hopefully, when there is uncertainty regarding the legitimacy of complaints, as many traders as possible will act similarly.
Now let’s talk about what you should follow when making a claim in order to get what you are entitled to. Before you start disconnecting the device and packing it for a possible claim, it is a good idea to contact the seller. You can often use the option of letting an authorized service pick up the malfunctioning item directly from you. This way you avoid the risk of being responsible for the product being damaged on the way to the service.
“In the case of large electronics, it’s a good idea to communicate with the seller and use their shipping company, which they recommend. If we do this as consumers, the responsibility can be transferred to the seller,” advises Šmelhaus.
It is not your responsibility to send the item for a claim in the original packaging. You don’t even have to wrap it in the original packaging, even when you return it to the seller. “It can be recommended that consumers keep it for a while. If they were to return it in the non-original packaging, they will find it difficult to find a box for it. The seller will be happier because he will be able to repackage it and put it on sale,” Šmelhaus added.
By law, the merchant has 30 days to process complaints. The period begins to run from the day following the claim. If it ends on a weekend or public holiday, it is extended to the next working day. You can extend the deadline by mutual agreement. In the case of the so-called futile expiration of the period, the consumer also has the right to withdraw from the purchase contract. At the same time, failure to settle a complaint within the time limit is a misdemeanor, and you can contact the Czech Trade Inspection with a request to initiate proceedings.
The seller is obliged to accept the complaint and confirm its application in writing. The confirmation must contain identifying information about the seller or service, your first and last name. There must be an exact description of the goods and a description of the defect you are dealing with. “If there is something there that we don’t like, then never sign such a complaint protocol. Either we directly write there that it is not true, or we ask him to write a new one with what we agree with,” Šmelhaus said.
If the claim is justified, the seller must repair the item or give you a new one. If it is not possible to handle the complaint in this way, for example if the item is irreparable and the same item is no longer sold, you have the right to withdraw from the contract or receive a reasonable discount from the purchase price. However, if he offers you other goods of the same value or a voucher for another purchase, you do not have to accept such a solution and you can insist on a refund.
If the seller rejects the claim, they are not allowed to carry out non-warranty repairs without your express consent. Even if he rejects it as unauthorized, he is not entitled to ask you to reimburse the costs of the claim.
jal, TN.cz
2024-03-09 16:08:00
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