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What Are my Rights on a Faulty Television?

By: Chris Nickson - Updated: 29 Jan 2024 | comments*Discuss
 
What Are My Rights On A Faulty Television?

Q.I bought a 37" LCD TV,17 months ago from a well known electrical retailer. The TV now keeps turning itself off. The shop guarantee ran out 5 months ago,do I have any rights?.

(Mr Tony Graham, 22 September 2008)

A.

If your TV is faulty you can reject it for a full refund within 30 days of purchase. If it's more than 30 days but less than 6 months since purchase, it's presumed the fault was there at the time of purchase (and it is up to the retailer to prove otherwise). The retailer should replace or repair the product at this stage - although the retailer can usually choose which of these options to take.

After 6 months the onus is on you the purchaser, to prove there was a fault when the item was purchased and the failure isn’t due to misuse on your part. The simplest way to prove this is to ask a qualified television engineer to provide a report for you. If you can prove the fault is not down to you (the expert opinion will be needed) then the retailer should still offer some sort of recompense depending on the price you paid and how long you would expect the item to last. At this stage however, it's likely you might need to use the court or small claim court to pursue your case if you want to suggest that the TV is not satisfactory or fit for purpose.

You'll need to do some research on the length of time an LCD TV of this standard/price would be expected to last and prove that you used it according to the instructions. Citizens' Advice will be able to advise you further.

It's also worth checking too see if there is an additional "manufacturer’s warranty" that applies to the television.

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Bought a Philips Ambilight TV in 2021 been great, only really got used of a night time as no one’s normally in til kids finish school, 28th 2023 me and my partner come home after being out for a meal to sit and watch tv after and how it the tv just goes off sounds still on, been back and forth with Curry’s for 4 weeks now trying to get this dealt with they admit I have my consumer rights but are trying to charge me £125, if I hadn’t have save soent so much on the tv I may have just forgot about it but it was a lot of money and I’m not paying anything more and won’t back down or be fobbed off let’s hope we can see some consumer justice
Pabs - 29-Jan-24 @ 2:58 PM
The consumer rights act 2015 states if the goods are faulty i.e.. an inherent fault (a manufacture’s fault) which is nothing to do with wear and tear or misuse. If goods have not lasted for a few years (up to 6 years depending on the price paid) then it is a manufacturer’s inherent fault (component has not lasted as long as expected), therefore, we are entitled to a remedy by law. The remedy will be either a free repair, or a refund taking into account usage. The retailer is entitled after six months to ask us to prove it is an inherent fault, ie we have not damaged it. This could be an expert report. However, if the expert reports states that we have not caused the fault, then we would be entitled to the remedy, plus any out-of-pocket expenses including the report costs. If remedy is refused, then the retailer is in breach of contract which is breaking the law. Therefore, we will be entitled to take the retailer to the small claim court. The retailer is not entitled to ask us to get an uplift code etc, as this will have nothing to do with the manufacture. Nowhere in the consumer rights act 2015, does it state you need to go to the manufacturer for an uplift code. If they insist, then get them to quote the consumer rights act section that states you need to go to the manufacture for an uplift code as by law you don’t need to give any uplift codes. If the retailer states it's their policy, then state their policy does not override our statuary right under the consumer right act 2015. A lot of retailer's state "sorry there is nothing we can do as the warranty has expired". By stating that, they are in breach of contract as they are denying us our statuary rights. We only have a contract with the retailer so they can't by law fob us off by telling us tocontact the manufacture. If they do they are only trying it on so jerk their responsibilities to save them money (most likely, as relying on we don't know consumer law) or they are ignorant to the law! If the retailer still refuses to sort the issue out after a year, then the options left are to go to the small claims court, or if purchased with a credit card and the goods are over £100 then do a section 75 claim for the retailer being in breach of contract. When doing the section 75claim you must quote "breach of contract". the claim could be denied for the first time just to save the credit card company money. My advice would be don't take no for an answer. Keep pushing for the section 75 claim. The credit card company are within their right to deduct reasonable usage.
Consumer Champion - 16-Dec-23 @ 8:37 PM
We purchased a 70” Samsung tv January 2021, by December 2021 it had to have a screen replacement due to defects in the screen. Now March 2023 it is stuck in boot loop and will not stay in. Samsung have said it’s out of warranty (12 months) but the tv was nearly £1000 this should not be happening. How can I get help with this?
lewis brooker - 6-Aug-23 @ 9:29 AM
My mum purchased a 55 inch Hitachi tv in August 22. It has since become faulty with no power whatsoever. Argos will only offer a repair which you have to jump through hoops to even get a technician out. I have demanded a refund or replacement and they are refusing saying its their policy only to repair it. Are they legally obliged to replace or refund if under a year old?
Emmo - 26-Jul-23 @ 2:31 PM
We purchased a Phillips Ambilight 50” Tv (50PUS8105/12) in February 2021. Last weekend, 25Apr 2022, when we put it on, we had the sound and ambient lights at the sides but no picture. Contacted Phillips who have washed their hands with the matter as it’s 2 month outwith the Warranty. I’d advise anyone to buy extended warranties with the LED tellies. AND DONT BUY PHILLIPS BRAND!!!
Bk69 - 26-Apr-23 @ 12:07 PM
Hi I bought a Philips TV Dec 2020 and it died 2 weeks ago... only 3 months outside of warranty the TV was £600 its immaculate condition and hasn't been moved since day of installation. No consoles or any hdmi devices have been connected to the TV. Philips refuse to help due to being outside of warranty. I'm pretty sure their TVs are supposed to last more than 2 years please help!
Sean morris - 19-Apr-23 @ 2:07 PM
Hi I bought a new Toshiba 55” tv from Argo a but when we tried to start it up it was full of lines with the top right corner outed a square area. We returned to aegis today but they refused to give us a refund saying it was accidental damage. They showed us finger prints on the top right hand corner. There was tiny writing on the box saying don’t touch the screen. But honestly we didn’t see it. How much impact would it take to slide the tv out of the box. Where do I stand with this.
Babs - 8-Apr-23 @ 5:20 PM
I purchased 2 Toshiba TV,s from Tesco for just under £900 and both have now broke and just outside the warranty period. Is there anything I can do. One breaking fair enough but 2 that isn't right at all. If anyone can help. Neither Tesco or Toshiba want to help.
Mark - 8-Mar-23 @ 7:07 PM
Bought a JVC 50 inch it was delivered 12th January,have to keep resetting it, then next time you watch it can only get BBC1…no other programmed except Netflix & prime!Keeps saying no signal but all the other tvs in the house are unaffected. Can I ask for a full refund?
Juliachoo - 19-Jan-23 @ 6:31 PM
Bought a jvc from Currys on Sunday 2023 took it home put it on the wall to find picture quality was terrible could watch it at all next day took back to Currys for a refund which they refused as I had opened the box what can I do ?
Caz - 10-Jan-23 @ 10:11 PM
What a useless article this is. The very last throwaway line is the only thing that really matters: the warranty. Suggesting that someone should add burden to the courts over a broken TV before suggesting that they check their warranty is ludicrous! The short version is simple: if it's in warranty then it should be repaired or replaced like for like where possible as long as the damage to the device is due to a fault with the device itself.
JohnnyS - 23-Dec-22 @ 9:18 PM
Bought an LG tv 3 years ago. Backlights have failed. I agreed to pay £150 to have LG repair it. Sent away and then returned-lights fixed but remote didn’t work. Sent away again and this time they returned it with the screen smashed and frame completely snapped. Purchased through Argos card and although the purchase is on my account there is no detail of the transaction. LG have refused to accept anything Argos send them as proof of purchase, won’t do anything until they have proof of purchase. Ultimately I’ve paid £150 for them to break my tv
Jim - 2-Dec-22 @ 1:04 PM
Bought a brand new Samsung UE70TU7100 70” 4K TV in Jan 2021 and it’s stopped working in Aug 2022. I had paid £649 for it in an offer. Now Samsung says it’s out of warranty and sonic direct says I’m to contact Samsung. Really upset the tv has died after 17 months. Keeps going off persistently, I can hear the sound but the screen is blank. Apparently it’s a known fault in Samsung TVs but is there anything I can do? I hadn’t had it insured as I wasn’t expecting it to go this soon.
Nadz - 18-Nov-22 @ 9:54 AM
I bought a bush 50 inch beginning of 2021 and it was faulty,after ringing Bush and doing tests on the TV they said it needed replacing,argos the seller didn't have the same model,so sent me a 50 inch Toshiba to replace it, 15 months later it has a big purple line running through it and after ringing Toshiba they admit it's not fixable but because its just over 12 months they won't replace it, neither will argos,what can I do? Please help
Juddy - 28-Aug-22 @ 12:42 PM
Purchased a samsung ue43au8000 TV September 2021 started with a fault in December 2021 rang samsung tech advice went through the retuning process told that this will cure problem been on the phone to them at least twicea month until May 2022 when after a lot of hassle from the customer services staff who finally agreed to send out an engineer to look at it l have had 2 engineers come with new pcb's that have been faulty another engineer came put a new board in and managed after about an hour to get it to work great!!! A couple of weeks later tv goes wrong again?? but l thought it was fixed clearly not yet another engineer came without another faulty pcb he left next day 2 engineers arrived together down loaded new soft ware through his phone onto my tv (l don't have or want the Internet and have googled to check and it says any smart tv will work without the internet) that was thursday of last week hmm lovely come Saturday at 5pm the tv locked up again unplugged from the electric so it could reboot immediately rang tv engineers missed them by about 4 mins rang samsung yet again explained what had happened by this time l asked for a refund but oh no yet another engineer is coming out 2moro should have had a call back from a manager within 48 hours never happened spoke to 4 different people told them l'm unhappy and want a refund because clearly there is something more wrong with the tv than just a faulty pcb sansung are absolutely refusing to offer me a refund even though the tv is faulty had a 6yr guarantee on it they won't give me an UPLIFTnumber so the dealer l bought the tv can give me a refund WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS PLEASE
Nicjo - 23-Aug-22 @ 5:51 PM
Boughta Samsung UE43AU8000 TV on 25/11/21 from Richer Sounds c/w 6 Years guarantee. On 29/05/22 which is 6 months later, the TV stopped working. Richer Sounds say to contact Samsung with TV details and pictures of TV. Samsung have now said that they will not fix TV as warranty does not cover it. They haven’t even sent out a TV engineer to look at the TV to see what the fault is.
Paul - 3-Jun-22 @ 12:10 PM
Hi, I bought in November 2020 58" Hitachi smart TV in Argos. I had one year warranty. In May 2022 my TV has panel failure. Argos told me that they can't help. Do I have anychance Hitachi will have longer warranty. Many thanks
Misha - 2-Jun-22 @ 10:26 AM
Purchased My 58inch hitachi tv on 13/11/20 around 18 months ago screen the screen has frozen and now gone black and white. I rang Argos and they have told me that I am out of warranty by 6 months. What are my rights?should they give me a replacement or repair . The tv is hung up on the wall so no one has damaged it so is definitely manufacture fault. I also still have receipt.
Charlieb1990 - 1-May-22 @ 10:48 AM
My 65" Samsung I bought in May 2020 with an rrp of £1299 has had faults and bugs cropping up for several months and getting worse and now it's giving me purple squares and green lines that move even when paused when I try watch any streaming app. The home button still bring up the browsing options and homepages of apps, but when I start to stream it goes wierd. It went from crashing once or twice a day to several or a dozen times a day now, it fails to load some apps, thinks I want one source when I'm selecting another, had to select bbci player 9 times before it would stop giving me nintendo switch and gave me bbci players. Samsung say they only give 12 months to TVs regardless of price paid (so even their ultra expensive 8k crystal LED and their 98" £17,999 TVs also only get 12 months too, yet their phones including their cheapest one gets 24 months... Never buying Samsung again as my galaxy s20+ has had signal faults and my previous s8 had issues too. Will be switching to Toshiba and iPhone as my £299 48" Toshiba TV (gave to my parents when i got this samsung) has lasted 7 years of constant use and perfectly fine besides the brightness dimming a little revently, and my 32" Philips I got in 2008 lasted 8 years before being stored away and it still works, which I might have to revert to if this samsung fully packs in.
Ol - 24-Mar-22 @ 11:01 AM
Hi i have a 65" panasonic TV, paid for on a weekly basis for 2 years. Not even a month after finishing paying for it I get multi colours all over the screen. Has not been damaged as it sorted itself out but its doing it again now. Perfect home saying its not their problem but panasonic said I have to pay for it to be repaired but surely that's not fair, it should still be under some sort of warranty
Kay - 7-Mar-22 @ 10:22 AM
I bought a 40inch Panasonic tv 18 months ago it turns on I get sound but no picture, what are my consumer rights, I bought it at Argos
GDAD24 - 16-Nov-21 @ 4:14 PM
I purchased a Toshiba 43 inch smart TV on 22/9/19 from Tesco Dunfermline.This month the screen went blank and has remained like this. Tesco say it can’t do anything as the warranty of one year has run out. Surely a television sound last longer than 22 months? Otherwise it’s not fit for purpose , is it ? I don’t know where to turn, it seems so unfair.
Greta - 27-Aug-21 @ 5:36 PM
Purchased a Samsung QLED 65 TV through VERY in September 2019, today the screen went blank and is now persistently going on and off, I am assuming there is a fault in remote updates for the Smart TV however I’m unable to get in to settings through the remote as it doesn’t stay on long enough, looks like it’s well and truly broken! Samsung states 1 year warranty, but for a TV under 2 years old at a cost of £1200 shouldn’t just go surely? What are my rights, who should I be contacting? VERY or SAMSUNG? Thank you!
dkatmk - 22-Aug-21 @ 7:35 PM
I purchased a 43” LG TV from curry’s in 2019 and all was well until the screen went blank out of nowhere. There is still sound but no image, I’m assuming it’s a burnt tube or fuse in the TV that is causing this however I’m not sure whether this is classed as a Manufacturer Fault. Can someone help?
John22 - 19-Aug-21 @ 3:01 PM
Purchased Samsung 55” TV 27 months ago and screen is turning black. Started as a line and is getting bigger. Samsung said out of 2 years warranty so would be charged:with no guarantee they can fix plus he payment I don’t feel happy going ahead and feel 2 years is a short period for a tv with a brand like Samsung to break.They offered us 15% off a new one that we have to purchase through there website.Sorry don’t just have 100’s in the bank to purchase a new one. Do we have any rights? We purchased through a catalogue who have also said out of warranty nothing they can do.
Sazza - 14-Aug-21 @ 6:14 PM
I spent £2k for a 50” Samsung tele about 7 months ago, and the screen just gone recently, afterwards I contacted to the Samsung and they fixed twice and still didn’t work and they just took back for third time. I asked for refund or replacement as I don’t want to keep this tele after being fixing that many times. But when I contacted to the the head office they are saying they will keep just fixing as many as they need it. Is any way I can get refund or replacement for this issue. Thank you in advance
Ali - 6-Aug-21 @ 10:29 PM
Hi.. I purchased a sony bravia from Aol... And there is a cple of issues hair line right across the screen and the sound goes sparodically silent... Reported the failts to Sony and sent a software up date usb stick to down load.... After this didnt help they asked if i had a warranty which i dont.. The tv cost 800 and only 2 n half year old it should be working perfectly .They are not accepting liability or taking it further i feel totally disappointed and let down..and will be persuing the matter further . Voncen customer
Iris - 6-Jul-21 @ 5:07 PM
Hi I bought New 55cm LG TV after 7 days I realized that the screen has movement, what must I do?
Fassie - 28-May-21 @ 2:33 AM
Currys changed me 95 to diagnose an issue ,they said if its a manufacturer fault I will be refunded the fee. I have been refunded but they only offer 328 as compensation, and told me its down to me to prove its a manufacturer fault... we they've admitted that when they refunded my 95. the tv is 33 month old sony bravia costing almost900. The 328 is not acceptable as far as I'm concerned as the unit should last a reasonable amount of time.The customer service is shocking so I've escalated the issue with Dixons cdl.and still no answer.
Sm - 27-Apr-21 @ 1:01 PM
I would like to know my rights if a SONY tv bought in good faith can no longer connect due to new policy agreement I do not want to sign. This was not part of the agreement on purchase
okihug - 6-Apr-21 @ 12:18 PM
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