Martin Lewis: Faulty tech? Don’t let ‘em fob you off with ‘sorry you’re out of warranty’

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Martin Lewis: Got faulty tech? Don’t let ‘em fob you off with ‘sorry you’re out of warranty’

Martin Lewis: "If you've bought some tech, it's gone faulty and you've taken it back - do not allow them to fob you off by saying: “I'm sorry. It's out of warranty. We can't do anything.”

"I'm hearing this more and more, whether it's an iPhone, a Samsung or a laptop. People take it back to the store and they go: 'No, you've only got a year's warranty.'

"Let's be very plain here. Your warranty is a voluntary service agreement that a shop or a manufacturer chooses to give you over a product. But you also have statutory legal rights, and they say goods must follow what I call the SAD FART rules. In other words, they must be satisfactory as described (that's your SAD), fit for purpose, and last a reasonable length of time.

"And the last one is crucial. Items must last a reasonable length of time, provided that you have behaved as you should with them.

It's crucial for you to understand: warranty schmarranty

"So, what is a reasonable length of time? Well, if I bought a £0.50p whistle and it broke after six months. Well, that's probably reasonable. However, if I bought a £1,400 phone and it stopped working after 14 months, I wouldn't say that was reasonable.

"Ultimately, only the court decides. But it's crucial for you to understand: warranty schmarranty.

"If you've got a faulty handset or a faulty laptop and you take it back and you don't think it was satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and it didn't last a reasonable length of time, then you go to the store that you bought it from and you say: “I would like either a partial refund or a repair or a replacement, please.”

"And those are your rights (If you take it back in the first 30 days, you can get a full refund). So don't be fobbed off. Look at what's reasonable. Warranty: pretty irrelevant when it comes to the law."