Apologies if any spelling mistakes, im posting from my phone. Basically my 360, bought dec 05, has died, showing 3 red lights. Cust support insist i pay ?86 to have it fixed, which isnt fair-surely an electronic item should be expdcted to last more than about a year and 4 months? I spoke to a supervisor as well and gave every excuse under the sun, including vague mentions of laws i think i made up, he wouldnt budge. What can i do? Can the shop i bought it from (woolworths online) be expected to replace it? Are there any laws about this, as a console shouldnt break so soon. Thanks!
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I think there is an Eu law that dictates that all items sold within the EU must be fit for the purpose for 6 years.
They should replace it for you, Microsoft have admitted that their was an issue with the launch units, which is why they offered extended warranties to the americans.
The only problem is that the customer services probably won't give a rats ass, as they aren't even in the EU. -
Essentially what Boris said is correct.
Under UK law with The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended), all items must be fit for purpose when sold and of satisfactory quality. The six year thing comes in from EU legislation which defines the time you have to actually make a claim.
You're right, the system shouldn't break less than 18 months down the line and that's where the satisfactory quality bit of the Act comes in. Satisfactory Quality means that products must last a reasonable amount of time. There's no time scale set in law as the act covers all goods and the life expectancy of a car will vary to that of a toaster will vary dramatically. But trying to charge people ?80-odd pounds when the 360 system is inherently faulty is a serious cheek, especially for a piece of kit which should last much longer than it has (on a personal note I'd expect the system to last 5 years minimum).
That all sounds pretty good so far but (there's always a but isn't there) that's the key thing that nobody has yet challenged MS on. And this is where the consumer rights thing tends to fall down.
To push it you'd have to be able to prove that the system was faulty when it was provided to you. And doing that isn't going to be easy.
The way MS are behaving and saying they're dealing with things on a case by case basis, you'd need to trawl the internet and dig up as many stories and reports on the 360 breakdowns as you could, as well as being able to organise that into some sort of meaningful info / dossier.
Then you'd have to put that to MS and seeing as they refuse to communicate with anyone other than using the telephone that could be difficult.
You could take it to the small claims court, but again that would require a lot of work and hassle and in the end the question you have to ask yourself is:
"Is it actually worth it, or should I just pay the money to get it repaired?"
Sadly the second option is the easiest and until someone actually has the brass neck to take a stand, then MS probably won't budge on this long term.Comment
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I'm still very annoyed by this. Seeing as Woolworths online sold it to me, do I have any way of going back to them and saying that this product they sold me in December 2005 has already stopped working? I'm sure I'll be laughed out the shop if I start quoting the sale of goods act, as they'd probably just say I can only get a refund or replacement within 30 days etc.
I know I can probably try swapping this for a new one somehow, but I will not risk getting into trouble for that.
I am just so annoyed to have to waste £86 to get it repaired/to get a refurbished Xbox when so many of the consoles from the launch period have broken.Comment
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Same thing has happened to my PAL machine this week, had it about a year and 2 months. Since I had a NTSC-J machine as well I'm not too bothered about the PAL one but 86 quid seems a lot to pay.
Do they send out a different machine or actually repair the one you have? Would they repair/replace it if I opened it up and fiddled about inside to see if I could get it working?
Maybe I should use this as excuse to get an Elite when they are available.Comment
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Before you completely spare there are a few (somewhat crazy) options. Have a look at this video for information on "the tovel trick" (sic):
If that doesn't work, there's always this (slightly more extreme) one:
If you do try them, let us know how you got on !Last edited by Chunky; 05-04-2007, 21:37.Comment
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That's funny, my 360's wrapped up in a towel right now so I'll see how that one goes! I'm not technical enough to be able to open it up and do anything though...Comment
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Incredibly, the 360 works again after using the towel method!! I tried playing a few videos, a demo, had a go at Crackdown and no problems so far! Obviously I'll see how it goes, but I'm amazed it even works as nothing could make it work before-only sending to Microsoft for £86 seemed the only option.Comment
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Thats really odd, whats the reasoning behind wrapping it in towels (obviously to make it hot) but what does that do to make it work again?Comment
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Mine was 2 months out of date & M$ did a free replacement/repair after I appealed to their better nature. 360 is in transit as I type, I'm bbbaaaaacccccckkkkkkk!!!Comment
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In transit to where ? Your house in time for tonight ?Comment
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One of the main reasons behind the consoles breaking is that when they get really warm as they do, the solder joints (that hold on chips and wires and everything to the inside of the console) can melt again and basically loose connection betwween the things they are holding.Originally posted by chaoticjelly View Post
By forcing the console to overheat deliberately, by blocking off all the vents and keeping it well insulated, you can often cause this solder to melt again and if you are lucky, fall back into place.Comment
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On its way out?
Mine has just recently started freezing often after a small 'beep' it can be at boot up or after 10-20 minutes, when you switch it on the off again it sometimes seems ok other times it goes to the 3 red sectors, so far restarting it gets it back to green, is it worth doing the towel trick already or is that more for permament RLOD?
How do you appeal to a massive company like Microsofts better nature and avoid the repair/refurb price bignige? ... mention watchdog or flirt
TonyComment
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@ Yoshi, in transit to my house - apparently.Originally posted by tonyk100 View Post
Tony, just ask them to ask their supervisor if they could possibly make an exception and repair for free. Tell them you can't afford it. Took them all of 2 mins to say yes. It does vary from person to person though. Ask Yoshi!Comment
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Sorry to hijack, according to UPS' website tey deliver up to 7pm is this likely today, being Good Friday and all. Tried to call, but they've all gone home early. Tracking my parcel still says 'in transit'. Anyone help?!Comment
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