Designed to last only slightly longer than the warranty?

23 February 2015 - 14:27 By On Your Case with Wendy Knowler
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File photo.
File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

Thabani Mashego bought a laptop from Dion Wired in Woodmead in 2013. A few months after the 12-month warranty lapsed, the laptop “crashed”.

The supplier diagnosed a problem with both the hard drive and the motherboard, the total repair bill being more than he paid for the laptop.

“I am upset that this product that was just over 12 months old crashed on me - surely we can expect a product to last longer than just over 12 months?” he asked.

Question: “Do I have any kind of recourse in this matter?”

Answer: The Consumer Protection Act requires suppliers to honour an “implied” 6-month warranty on all items bought, in terms of which consumers have the right to choose the remedy: refund, repair or replacement.

The Act doesn’t require manufacturers to offer any other form of warranty beyond that, but those which do have the right to dictate the length and terms of that warranty, such as limiting it to 12 months and insisting on repairing rather than replacing or refunding.

So as unfair as this seems, you have no legal right to demand that the laptop is repaired free of charge.

NEED HELP?

You can contact Wendy Knowler with your consumer issues via email: consumer@knowler.co.za or on Twitter: @wendyknowler

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