Your rights as a console owner

Not exactly sure if this is the proper place to put this, and I hope this won't be seen as advertising because I just want to make sure that anyone that needs to know or that might need to know this information in any future time does so.

Recently my PS3, which was an original 60GB, broke down on me due to YLOD. I've had numerous friends with the issue and have known many friends over the net that have had the same problem. A lot of those know their stuff about handyworks and about DIY and have fixed their PS3s with their own work and a number of items. It's all down to how the PS3 (or at least the older versions) are put together and how poorly they are done so.

But I'm not much of a handyman myself and didn't want to take up the job myself incase I ended up worsening the console in trying to fix it. I contacted the store I bought it in, and brought my receipt along with me even if the purchase was over 3 years ago and asked my rights. They immediately, with a suspicious and quite ridiculous speed I might say, told me about only having a 1 year warranty and warned me off to Sony, saying they had no business with any of Sony's "deals" which they made for people that have had this problem with their PS3s beaking down.

I contacted Sony who were also very quick to note that I had nothing to cover myself in regards to monetary value. Sony said that I could either go straight to them, or to a local store and pay them €160 to have my PS3 "fixed", which would never actually be fixed, but would instead be taken in, and I would be given a "newerW 60GB model with "newer better parts". Along with this I would be given a pretty poor and pathetic 3-month warranty.

I was annoyed and irritated because I thought I was getting ripped off. I had paid €600 for this console just 3 years ago and it had never lived up to what it was supposed to with all of the freezes, disconnections of necessary accessories and other problems, and didn't even last a decent amount of time, especially when you think of the price. It's clearly faulty, everyone knows of the problems particularly with the PS3 early versions and having your console shut down mid-game, and in the process getting your game-disk stuck in the console. So I had a look about on websites for my national consumer agency and asked around about my rights as a consumer and if I should be covered in this case. I came upon some EU legislation that noted something very similar to what we in Ireland have (and what the UK have) called the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, which states a number of things in regards to your rights as a consumer, the main ones which related to this case were as follows:

"Consumer goods must be in conformity with the contract of sale.

(they are in conformity if):

* they comply with the description given by the seller and possess the qualities of the product which the seller has held out to the consumer as a sample or model;
* they are fit for the purposes for which goods of the same type are normally used;
* they are fit for any particular purpose for which the consumer requires them and which was made known to the seller at the time of conclusion of the contract, and accepted by the seller;
* their quality and performance are satisfactory, given the nature of the goods and taking into account the public statements made about them by the seller, the producer or his representative."

(EU sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees) http://europa.eu/legislatio...

I looked at my situation and thought "I am not happy with the quality and performance of the good, and I am reasonable to think so especially for the time I have had them and the price, and the good wasn't fit for the purpose intended because of all of the problems I have had with it which restricted me from using it for what I intended and for what I expected". (Some of that may sound a little stupid but in the letter of the law it's right and it's correct when you think about it.)

But I was still unsure of whether this really applied to me, and whether realistically this could apply to me at such a stage (i.e. 3 years after purchase), so I contacted more of the state bodies related to consumer protection, and a friend then linked me to a site which cleared much of it up for me.

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/f...

If you can get proof that your PS3 (or Xbox or Wii indeed) was/is faulty and that that is the reason you are having similar problems like myself which is ruining your experience and satisfaction of the purchase, if you're covered under one of the Acts mentioned above or something similar in your country, and you're in a relatively decent time period of purchase, i.e. 1-6 years considering the prices we pay for these things, then get your ass down to whatever store you got it from and demand they fix it. I know I dragged this out and probably some of that doesn't make sense, but I've known so many people that have had the same problem and been so annoyed with Sony for charging us to get our consoles fixed when it's their fault for not putting the things together properly and then charging us extortionate prices for them.

I hope that'll help some people anyway, I could never find the particular information I was looking for and wanted to prove I was covered by this law and that link confirmed it for me. I have spent hours the past few days and today in particular trying to find the right info and thankfully I have done. As cheesy as this may sound, we can't let companies like these have their way with us and rip us off so often for the money and loyalty we give them. I hope that'll be of some use to some people either now or somewhere down the line, just wanted to get that out there. Powah to the people.

- Just as a late edit, It's always good to make sure of your rights with your consumer agency yourself too. You don't want to let someone touch your PS3 perhaps too early incase you're alleged to have done the damage (if any) yourself.

[gamerdude132]

To me, this was just a sob story. Why wouldn't you get a new friggin' PS3 that doesn't suck? Same goes for everyone else. If you got a crappy piece of hardware from a couple years ago, GET A BETTER ONE.

[Nate-Dog]

Like I said, I paid €600 for a console that is I believe to be faulty. I know a number of people that are pretty handy with DIY work and all of them have noted something to do with how badly PS3's are put together and the need for thermal pasting.

I never said I'd get a new PS3 that doesn't suck, I was trying to state that what Sony expect you to do in this case is pay an extra €160 (or the equivalent in different currencies) to get your PS3 fixed from a problem which has it's source at Sony and it's manufacturing of the product. I didn't think it was fair, and my consumer's agency agrees that they or the retailer ought to repair it at their cost, replace it or give me a partial refund.

As for "get a better one", well money doesn't grow on trees and if everyone is supposed to pay €600 for a console that is only supposed to last 3 years (or less in many cases) then I doubt I'll be gaming much longer. If you've got the money to splash with no worries or agitation then good for you but I don't and I'm sick of getting ripped off.

Edit @TheBlackSmoke: Warranties and guarantees are only in addition to your statutory rights though, i.e. they're not the be all and end all which is something I'd say most people (including myself before I decided to fact myself up on consumer protection acts) think.

I wasn't putting this here as a sob story or as a general rant or moan just incase most people think I did, I'm just trying to advise people of what your rights are as a consumer and what you're entitled to if you're in a similar situation as me and don't feel like you're being treated fairly.

[TheBlackSmoke]

You make a good point but I still believe that you should be responsible for knowing this would happen before you buy anything.

When I bought my PS3, at the checkout the guy specifically said to me that the PS3 is under warranty from sony for a year and I have to keep my receipt to claim on it. I acknowledged this and bought it. If after warranty the PS3 breaks down I fail to see why sony should fix it for free.

Now if you want to talk about the build quality or the cost of repair then that's another issue. As far as I know PS3 failure rates fall in line with industry standards for electronic devices so there is no known epidemic of failure unlike the 360 which M$ then had to address with the 3 year warranty.

I agree that the repair/replacement fees are too high (no doubt to encourage you to buy a new one) but again, its my choice.

Im all about consumers rights but consumers need to also have some responsibility for their decisions. You only seems to feel like you are being treated unfairly because it hasn't gone your way hence why others say "sob story". Maybe if it died just outside of warranty I would see your point, but 3 years.... you had thousands of hours from that PS3 Be thank-full for that.

Anyway hope you work it out, would be a crime not have a PS3 with what's coming up.

[TheBlackSmoke]

Electronic products break. That's just how it is. When you bought it you knew it had a one year warranty, if you cant accept that then you shouldn't of bothered with it.

Yeah it sucks when anything breaks but think of how many hours of enjoyment the PS3 has given you in the course of 3 years. surely forking out £250 for another 3 years of entertainment cant be too bad.

I just dont think this argument should be directed at sony. Every product on earth that has a warranty will lead you down the exact same path. In the end it depends how much you value the product in order to get it replaced/repaired.

[darthv72]

Do you know how many times that has been stated and people freak out and go ape shit? I know that, you know that, everybody knows that.

You tell that to a 360 person and they will come back with, my original nintendo still works or whatever. It is easy to say that but not so easy to accept. I can accept it because it isnt just electronics that break. If it breaks, you fix or get it fixed. It has been that way for ages but some are just in denial.

The forums used to rampant with haha's and lol's to those who's system broke from those who's didnt. Until it happens to them. Funny how perceptions change when the shoe is on the other foot.

While I dont agree with how some companies handle their service requests (especially $$$) I understand that they are providing a service when need is required. Need has a funny way of costing..kind of like convenience.

The old phrase. There is a price to be paid for convenience.

[gamerdude132]

@ Nate-Dog
Sucks, man. But that's like your TV breaking cause you decided to buy the cheaply-made one for an expensive price. It just happens.

But I'm with TheBlackSmoke. It happens. Just deal with it.

[tplarkin7]

We should never rely on government oversight to correct the wrongs of private business. There are other forces which check private business such as avoiding the brand in the future, private media oversight, private consumer product reviews, etc.

[ubiquitious]

I've read about some of these perks are relating to consumer rights in the EU.

Realistically though, I don't see anything major happening. A lot of us are hardcore gamers that put serious use into our systems. For them to break after 3 years means... paying $800 over 6 years for two consoles (possibly), compared to $400 over 3 years for one console. In the long run it isn't an incredible amount of money out of our pockets, but if every consumer got a full refund SONY and MS wouldn't have any money left.

I've had my fair share of consoles break on me and I'm pissed too. I'm curious to see what the final outcome of your situation will be.

My real fear is that SONY and MS are noticing that they can pretty much get away with selling people electronics that are doomed to fail. Why not do the same thing next generation? It means some bad publicity in exchange for more $$$ in their wallets and inflated console sales numbers.

[ps3free]

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