Power button not fit for purpose

I bought a Viewsonic monitor from CCL Computers on 1 July 2011. On the 19 October, without warning, the ‘Power-on’ button fell out of its socket.

I contacted CCL and was given a returns number, but no details on how to go about returning the item. I was also told I would have to bear the cost of returning the item.
Anne Marie Cusworth

Mrs Cusworth was concerned that she had to pay the return cost for this monitor. Some wording in the Sale of Goods Act (SoG), as with many pieces of statutory legislation, is open to legal interpretation.

The SoG does not specifically say who is responsible for the initial cost of returning allegedly faulty goods; only that if the goods are found to be inherently faulty, the consumer must not be out of pocket.

Mrs Cusworth is well within the six months in the SoG, which says CCL must prove a fault is not inherent, but it has the legal right to examine the monitor to make sure the fault is not the cause of accidental damage.

If it agrees the fault it inherent then it must refund Mrs Cusworth the cost of returning the goods. We called CCL to talk about Mrs Cusworth’s problem and it said it would ensure that if the fault is inherent, it would give a refund of this cost of carriage.

It also told us she was entitled to use its courier, which would cost her £15; which Mrs Cusworth agreed was a lot less than she would have to pay Royal Mail.

But she also said she didn’t want a replacement, as she was not happy the button had fallen out so quickly. When we called her she said she thought this was a design flaw.

This would be very difficult to prove unless there were a string of complaints about this model. We explained that she is not yet entitled to a refund. CCL is legally entitled to offer her either a repair or replacement initially.

Because of this, she is now considering whether it may be easier to use her Viewsonic warranty, which includes free pick-up and return as well as a repair or replacement.

If she does this we advised her to ensure CCL knows she is taking this action in case there are future problems with the monitor, as her contract is with this retailer.