Soga – or to give it its full title The Sale of Goods Act 1979 – is the main law that deals with your rights as a consumer. It states that when a consumer buys goods they are entering into a contract with the retailer. What you buy must meet the following criteria: it must be as described; of satisfactory quality; and fit for purpose.
The first of these rights is self-explanatory. Anything you buy should match the description you were given at the point of sale. So if you buy a 1.6 litre car and the one you actually drive home is a 1.2 litre, the seller has not upheld the contract.
‘Fit for purpose’ means that what you buy should be fit both for its everyday purpose and “any specific purpose that you agreed with the seller,” says Which?. So if you asked a retailer for a printer that is compatible with your computer, and the one the shop sold you isn’t, then the law has been breached, even if there’s nothing actually wrong with the printer.
The third element – satisfactory quality – is the trickiest. Most people take this to mean that what you buy shouldn’t fall apart within quite a short period of time. But the law actually states that one aspect of satisfactory quality is that the goods are ‘durable’. And this means that for up to six years after purchase – five years in Scotland – consumers have the right to reasonable durability. In practice, this means that goods should be built to last. So if your £1,000 television breaks after three years, don’t just bemoan the shoddy manufacturing and set off to buy a new one – exercise your consumer rights.
Exercising your rights
Sadly, putting your consumer rights into practice is a lot harder than it should be. Customer service teams are notoriously useless at dealing with complaints relating to the Sale of Goods Act. I found that even John Lewis, which frequently tops surveys on customer service, fell down when it came to the Sale of Goods Act. I had to follow up a half-hour argument in-store with a further visit, and then phone calls to the head office, before the company eventually agreed to repair a laptop which I had bought from them 26 months ago.
But there are far worse offenders. Stories about plenty of big stores – including Tesco (see more here) – describe big stand-offs between customers and staff before a complaint is resolved. So it pays to know how best to use Soga.
How to enforce the Sale of Goods Act
First of all, find out why the item broke in the first place. If you dropped your television down the stairs, then you can’t claim a repair under Soga because the television wasn’t faulty. But if your television just stopped working one night halfway through Coronation Street, you may have a case.
Next, dig out the receipt, if you have it. If not, try to find a bank statement or credit card bill that shows the purchase. This proves that the store sold you the item, and also gives the date of the sale.
Now contact the retailer. Present them with your proof of purchase, explain the fault and if necessary present them with evidence that the fault isn’t down to wear and tear – if you’ve had the item for more than six months its down to you to prove that the item should have lasted longer than they did. At this point in an ideal world the retailer would accept that under the terms of Soga they need to provide you with a repair or replacement. Unfortunately they rarely do.
What you’ll now hear is excuses ranging from “I’ve never heard of that law” to “your contract is with the manufacturer” and most commonly “you’re outside your warranty”. None of these are acceptable. Ignorance is no defence so don’t be fobbed off by someone saying that it isn’t ‘company policy’. Your contract is not with the manufacturer – Soga refers to the contract between seller and buyer. And warranties are irrelevant – they might offer double cover, but they don’t over-rule Soga.
What should you do if the retailer says no?
Ask to speak to the manager. If they don’t help, then ask to speak to head office. If that doesn’t work then make an official written complaint, noting whom you spoke to and when.
If that doesn’t get you anywhere then contact Trading Standards. As a last resort, you could consider the small claims court if the amount you want back is less than £5,000. But this probably won’t be necessary. I found that although in-store customer services weren’t very helpful, once I was dealing with head office my complaint was resolved quite quickly.
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