What is reasonable wear and tear for an airsoft RIF?

[colinjallen]

I have ascertained that the law says different, we all have 12 month warranty on any purchase.

I will be writing to the company regarding what the law says.

Would you expect to pay £1,000 a year for airsoft RIF's if they only lasted 3 to 6 months at a time? ... thought not.

So to be clear on this, TRADING STANDARDS have started that the CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT is in play here and it is defective, the expectation to get a longer service is pretty much a given.

My sons GC16 is 4 months older and still going strong and he abuses his something rotten, mine has been treated well, is not trigger spammed, quite what that has to do with a piston failure... 

Like Air guns, a RIF can be as much or more than an air gun, yet you buy an air gun from a gunsmith and you get full back up and warranty cover by the manufacturer which is what this warranty claim would be under.

It is up to the shop to repair it as they are the agent for the manufacturer, it is up to them to repair or send it back for repair and its obviously more cost effective to get the repair in the shop over the shipping costs that they would have to pay out of pocket.

So again, I reiterated, the LAW says my rights are that I can reject the goods and get a replacement, a repair and a part refund.

Those were the options presented to me by trading standards.

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The retailer will avoid it by pointing out that it was user error, regardless of whether it was or not.  Put on your big boy pants, suck it up and fix it yourself.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

i suspect the way this situation will end is the retailer will offer to fix the gnu (which iirc you have to give them one chance outside of 6 months), then proceed to put the minimal possible cost/effort into doing it, which frankly is probably going to end up the same anyway.

if it were me i'd just replace the piston and call it at that.

although in fairness, warranties mean very little to me because they're always longer than the time it takes for me to get bored and start tinkering.....

 

[concretesnail]

Having been through a very similar situation recently, with John Lewis and a vr headset thermal shutdown issue, I wish you best of luck.

Just make sure you have everything in writing and record calls where it can't be done via email.

 

[Rogerborg]

I have ascertained that the law says different

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Is it a secret law?

6 months comes from the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Section 19, (14) (and 24 (10)).

If you're thinking of section 9 and "durability", it does not specify a duration.  You are of course free to take the seller to court and claim that the goods should have lasted longer, but that's up to you to argue, on a case-by-case basis.

So: Which law says 12 months?  Which Act?  Which section?  What case law?

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Using the law is a tricky enterprise.  In an instance when someone has taken the piss in so grievous a manner, you may be better off going to kung fu classes, giving up work for a few weeks and getting into explosive physical condition.  

Side kicking the door in and casually spinning a set of nunchucks as you enter may adjust the bounders attitude considerably.  

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[Cannonfodder]

Having seen the way some players abuse their kit (me included) if I were a retailer I'd probably laugh at you for wanting a refund after 6 months of use as well

So: Which law says 12 months?  Which Act?  Which section?  What case law?

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This. 

Side kicking the door in and casually spinning a set of nunchucks as you enter may adjust the bounders attitude considerably.  

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And get you a nice little chat with the police, meaning you'll end up with a broken gun and a criminal record 

 

[Rogerborg]

This. 

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Citations?

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

And get you a nice little chat with the police, meaning you'll end up with a broken gun and a criminal record 

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[Jaylordofwaargh]

Wait, so I should be thankful my aeg is still good after 10-12 heavy outings without shitting itself? Damn

 

[BigStew]

Wait, so I should be thankful my aeg is still good after 10-12 heavy outings without shitting itself? Damn

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Pretty much. AEGs and GBB are generally much more mechanically complicated than their real steel original (giving many more points of failure) and in their country of manufacture are dirty cheap and made of low strength  materials. Partly because they are cheap and partly to make sure they can not be made to be actually lethal other than beating someone to death with one. In the end we play with toy guns who's original design was only intended for plinking and not for the abuse they suffer just being used in game. It would be fantastic if we could expect the same reliability standards as real steel but economies of scale means we would pay a fortune for our guns. We just have to accept that sooner or later our toy guns will break.

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Being serious for once, I clocked a new S&T SMLE at the weekend.  Now... RS SMLEs, when hard used, are starting to get failures with the bolt.  A weapon designed as disposable in the real world gives out after years being abused by squaddies, a few more by cadets, and then has to endure scores of years stalking in all weathers and/or repetitive target work before its pressure bearing components fail.*  

The S&T was damned nice and really did seem solidly built for an airsoft bolty, but I doubt that they will have a century of use life.  It wont outlast a Weihrauch costing far less either.  It will outlast a £10 spring pistol though.   You have to accept the odd hit pushing something beyond its design limits however decent a rep the manufacturer has.  

*Totally off topic bore wear rant swerved at last second.  

 

[The Waco Kid]

On the six months and consumer rights.
 

You are still able to complain to the seller and typically after this time products should be assessed as the value will have reduced over time so this may mean a partial refund or credit toward repair/replacement.

How you prove you case is tricky. As has been said communicate with them in writing. If you believe you have a case suggest getting the AEG examined by a third party tech or returned to the manufacturer. Hopefully they will see you as serious and make you a counter offer.

Another option is a consumer resolution service/ADR if they use one or Financial Ombudsmen.

Money claim online (small claims court) isn’t hard but there are fees so you need to cost it out.

For a budget RIF may not be worth it.