Quote:
Originally Posted by farmersteve
I think it is fair to update everyone on this site about the current state of play
I have now been able to do the download and the reader is working fine
|
Good news, and congratulations
Quote:
Originally Posted by farmersteve
There are several issues I have
The staff at waterstones are obviously totally unsuitable for selling electronics they are in totally unfamiliar territory. They obviously have no one to hand who have any knowledge of these gadgets, they should really stick to selling books. places like PC world should sell electronics. Actuallly I would far prefer John Lewis since they always have staff who really know what they are talking about[
|
I think it would be a big mistake to restrict sales of readers to electronics outlets. They're a gadget, true, but a single-use one (unlike, say, a smartphone) and their use is reading. As such, I'm delighted to see them in bookshops (which is where, incidentally, I bought mine).
Pre-Christmas is a rotten time to get support and advice from knowledgeable staff: shops, (even John Lewis) are full of partially-trained temp seasonal staff and even more full of customers. There simply isn't the time for them to provide the support we really ought to get. I'm not defending it - I'm simply observing the world as it is.
Incidentally, 2 friends of mine have run into recent issues at John Lewis (different branches) for precisely this reason. They were buying electronic gadgets (cameras as it happens) and could not get some simple questions answered by the JL staff. I'm a longtime fan of John Lewis, as are my friends, but we recognise that if we want to spend time and get support, the Christmas rush is not the time to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by farmersteve
The law is quite plain the sale of goods act and contract law state quite plainly that on any sale the retailer is responsible for the sale and it is the retailer who is responsible for customer satisfaction. The retailer need only refund if the goods iether do not do what they said when the goods were sold or are faulty.
As the product was not what it was described as and could not immediately be sorted I should have had a replacement or a refund. Unfortunately at the time I had a limited time to argue my case so I had to back down knowing that Barclaycard would be a far more effective weapon, as they have equal liability with the retailer as it was puchased with a credit card. Obviously as it is now working I will not be taking this route now.
|
You would have been very unlikely to succeed in any attempt to force a replacement or refund. Firstly, the issue you had was not a result of a fault with the product, nor of misleading advertising - it was the result of faulty information from a staff member. Replacing the product would not have made any difference. Secondly, arguing for a refund on the grounds that the product did not work as advertised would have been difficult: although the individual member of staff at the retailer misinformed you, the advertising and promotional material for the Sony (whether by Sony or any of their major retailers) doesn't say that the books are preloaded. Waterstones could reasonably argue that it was an individual mistake.
For those reasons, and because it wasn't subject to distance selling regulations, I doubt that Barclaycard would have helped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by farmersteve
I am aware that many people were affected by this problem over christmas and if Sony have any sense they ought to make some recompnse for the hours of wasted time spent, in my case probably about 20 hours to get the product working
|
Only Sony can respond to this - have you contacted them to ask for recompense? I doubt you'd succeed. At this time of year, support lines and message boards are filled with messages of the form "I got this for Christmas and I don't know how to make it work". Gadgets (sadly) are just not as easy to use as they should be. Especially new types of gadget.
Quote:
Originally Posted by farmersteve
...
ps I am not over impressed with the range of free books which come with the reader, does anyone read Shakespeare after leaving School? Actually I am one of those old enough not to have had him rammed down our throats which probably accounts for the fact I like reading so much  |
I am old enough to have had Shakespeare stuffed down my throat all through secondary school. I read Shakespeare frequently, and I'm delighted to have access on my reader.