Who should refund my money for software – PC World or Roxio?

I bought Roxio Creator Pro 2010 in May 2010, which was on special offer at PC World. After installing the software, I could not get it to work properly. I contacted Roxio which gave me lots of instructions, none of which worked.

After six weeks, Roxio told me that if I emailed a copy of the purchase receipt I would be issued a refund. This was in June last year. I received the refund at the end of February 2011. My name, however, was misspelled on the bank draft and I cannot cash it. I have reported this and asked for another to be sent, but hold out little hope.
Barry Barker

Mr Barker is, although he may not realise it, very lucky. He contacted Roxio but his contract is with PC World. Roxio is under no obligation to give him a refund or replace the software as it took no money from him. Normally we would tell him to approach PC World. However, he would come up against another problem if he did this.

Software is not covered by UK consumer statutory law except for a few exceptions: if the software is faulty, has been misrepresented or the physical medium, ie the DVD or CD is damaged. Proving the software is faulty is nigh on impossible for the layperson to do; it could merely be conflicting with other software Mr Barker is using, or the PC might not be capable of running it.

Misrepresentation would be easier to prove if, for example, a person bought software meant for bookkeeping and then found it could only play games.

However, Roxio has offered Mr Barker a refund, although it is not legally liable. We are sure the company will happily reissue the cheque to Mr Barker, with the right name.