They don't make things like they used to

Is it just my bad luck or is everything you buy rubbish these days?

I could make a huge list of stuff I've bought from new that has packed in prematurely. The latest addition to that list would be my 5 month old son's pushchair which has a metal bar that holds his seat in place that has literally sheered in two. It wasn't cheap neither. It's going back to the shop and I'm going to demand a full refund but that's beside the point, everything seems to be of such poor build quality these days, or is it just me?

 

It's cheaper to replace than repair, but that's the wonderful capitalist society we live in now. "Status anxiety" means we will always want the next model, the best product...but at the cheapest cost.

I know the TV my parents had when I was growing up lasted them nearly 20 years. Hard to imagine these days.

 

It's called 'built in obsolescence'. IOW, there are designed to be binned after a certain amount of time!

That's why most of our land-fill sites are now full up!

 

For comments, but safety should come into it somewhere. I had a car stereo once that after less than 1 month, suddenly turned itself to full blast on its own, overheated, and nearly torched my car while I was driving along. And as for my son's 'travel system' (the posh term for pushchair and car seat), I had to replace the car seat after 3 months because it just wasn't safe, the seatbelt slid off it one time. The pushchair physically snapping, that could have been dangerous if the wife hadn't noticed that the seat wasn't straight when she'd put it up to go out yesterday, she might have put my son in it and he could have been tipped out of it, catching himself on the jagged edge of the broken bar as he fell.

 

So many examples!
Anyone ever seen one of the old style blue black and decker drills with the metal front casing, my old mans one is 38 years old and has had serious abuse... still going strong. Any how on deciding it was getting old he bought a new one. The motor burned out after drilling about 10 holes, hes gone back to the old faithfull!

 

There is a little known EU ruling, that every electrical/mechanical thing you buy MUST be repaired or replaced, by the shop, if it fails within the first 2 years of purchase. In Wales, this time limit is 6 years, I believe in England it`s 4 years. Anyone with a problem should check the Sale of Goods act.:gnthb:

 

That's a useful bit of info David.
I just might use it soon - will let you know how I get on:thmb:

 

purchased a new cd/radio system,for the garden hut,it lasted just over a year.it was going to cost me as much to repair as to purchase a new one. passing the local charity i noticed a cd/radio system in the window,entered the shop, asked the price ,£4.
purchased the system(that was 4 years ago!!!!. )its still going strong!. (a bargain)

 

You're right Clueless. Things just don't last the way they used to. That's because they are actually built to last no more than 5 years. But that doesn't go for light bulbs. They don't last 5 days.

 

That's interesting Dai, but I wasn't aware the sale of goods act set time limits other than some vague wording like "for a reasonable period" or something. Is the EU bit an add-on to the old English/Welsh Sale of Goods act 1990? I certainly be interested to read up on that a bit.

 

The law now is, the SHOP, is rsponsible and MUST repair or replace the item. The EU ruling is within 2 years. In Wales it is 6 years. in England, I think, it is 4 years. You need to check.

 

You can also choose a refund if you wish. If the goods aren't fit for purpose, of serviceable quality, or as described, then the shop (the seller) is in breach of the contract of sale. The contract is therefore void, so you can step out of it if you wish, meaning that they have to take the goods back and give you back the price you paid for it, even if the price changed since you bought it. I didn't know that there had been a fixed timescale set on it though.

 

Having worked in retail many moons ago ..... always seemed a bit unfair the retalier is responsible for repair/replacing when all they have done is brought it from the manufacturers in good faith (as you brought it from them in good faith).

Manufacturers are using cheap parts/labour to make items cheap but then it becomes the responsibility of the retailer when things go wrong.

Hence why the company I work for gave up retail. The manufacturers give no help whatsoever to small independant companies which is why there are not so many of them about these days. The big sheds however just keep reffering you back to the manufactureres who then try telling you its not their responsibility ...... after going round in circles, most people give up which is how they get round the laws.

I think the worst thing that even happened with us, is that when we purchased a new widescreen TV and DVD player (when they had first come out) we took out an extended warranty with Domestic & General for five years ........ a year or so later the DVD player packed up and they came and took it away to be repaired.

Weeks and weeks later they wrote to us to say it was no longer ecenomical to repair it, but for a one off payment of £99 they would replace it for us ........ DVD players by then had come down in price dramatically and we could purchase a new one from Argos for £40!!

Despite countless letters and phone calls - we never did get a replacement or our old one back! But when you both work full time and have 4 kids .... it just becomes easier to go out and pay then £40 to solve to problem. This is what big sheds like Currys rely on .... in my opinion anyway

The widescreen TV packed up a few months later .... needless to say we never even bothered calling them after all the stress we had been through already !!

 

Sam, yes it is the shops responsibility to sort it out, as the contract of sale is between the buyer and the shop that sold it. There is another contract of sale between the shop and their supplier, and the shop has just as much right to demand a refund for faulty goods that they've bought as the end buyer does.

Like you say, many shops refer you straight to the manufacturer now. This isn't getting round the law, it is completely circumventing the law. When my brand new cars stereo overheated and nearly torched the car, I contacted the company that sold me it. They tried to fob me off to the manufacturer but unlucky for them I was aware of the sale of goods act and the small claims procedure. I made this clear to them and gave them another chance to cooperate. After several attempts to fob me off I gave them a date by which I would submit a claim with the small claims court if the issue wasn't resolved, and told them that I would also claim court fees and any other costs that arise as a result of the situation. Eventually they cooperated. Had they cooperated in the first place, I would have put it down to one bad product and continued using them for future purchases, but because they messed me about so much I have never used them again.