Page 1 of possible fault on lcd

just after some advice. i have had my sharp lcd for around 18months. i got it from richer sounds, i didn`t get any cover plans with it, so its outside of any guarantee from them, but i was wandering if i have any options.

i think the problem is banding. i am getting vertical faint lines on the screen. they appear whenever there is movement on screen, the lines are quite noticeable. and when playing xbox they are also quite obvious. they weren`t there originally otherwise i would have done something about it, i have had some experience with this problem a few years ago with a previous screen. i have tried to ignore them and to be honest a lot of the time i don`t notice them, but once i do its hard to ignore.

with it being 18months i am outside the year that you get from RS, i think thats right? but do i have any other options?

cheers.

The fact it`s past 12 months old is irrelevant.
The law covers you, in that equipment like TVs have to last a "reasonable time".
Clearly, 18 months is not reasonable for a TV to develop a fault.
Contact the retailer first and (politely) explain you know about the "reasonable time" clause, and you want a repair/replacement (if it can`t be repaired).
They may refer you to the manufacturer, but IMO you should try the retailer first.
If you do have to contact the manufacturer, just go through the "reasonable time" argument again.

This item was edited on Friday, 28th August 2009, 09:22

thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

i will give richer sounds a call over the weekend. its an annoying problem to be honest. most of the time you don`t even see/notice it, but when you see the lines you keep looking at/for them. when i had the same problem about four years ago they couldn`t fix the screen, despite many attempts, that was sharp serv. i thought i would give sharp screens another go, and apart from this, as with that screen, its pretty good but those lines are stopping me from watching as much as i would like. i think i only had the screen on a couple of times last week.

i will post back when i have given them a call.

thanks again.

just an update, i emailed richer sounds a few days ago and just got a reply. the guy said as the item is some way out of warranty, they can have a look, although it will be a chargeable repair. there is an initial fee of £100 to book it in.

now i wasn`t expecting them to say bring it in for an exchange, to be honest i don`t want that as i like the screen i have, except for the banding. but i paid around £500 for it, which today is a lot but when i got it there wasn`t that much choice, and i only had a few places i could buy from etc.

when i got in touch with them i just mentioned where i got it, what the problem was and how long i have had it. what would you suggest my next move should be? i don`t want this to drag on, i now from experience that it can. the sharp i had a few years ago needed fixing with the same problem, that went on for a few months, they even replaced the same parts twice (sharp serv).

cheers.

Read this excellent SoGA fact sheet

I would email Richer sounds back and say you are disappointed to learn they want £100 to even look at an 18 month old TV and you feel you are covered by the sale of goods act, which states a TV should last a "reasonable time" (as mentioned before).
See what they say to that.
If they stick to their guns, I would try going to Sharp UK direct.
If that fails, I would get the Tv repaired then claim the costs back using the small claims court.
Nowhere near as difficult as it sounds, it`s just a form.

IMO, if you give up and pay for a repair on an 18 month old telly, you need a slap. ;)


:D

This item was edited on Wednesday, 16th September 2009, 16:11

many thanks for the replies. i am away from home at the moment, i couldn`t log in before i left for some reason. this is the first chance i have had to go online, i might be under a different name because i had to make a new account.

i will be dropping richer sounds another email, i wanted to see what their first reply would be first. as i said i wasent expecting an exchange but to say that 18 months was a little too long and £100, was a little off.

the fault may not seem to bad but to be honest it is there all the time so i cannot get away from it so to speak. hopefully i will get a reply soon then if i have to email sharp. they might be the better option as i dealt with them last time.

and don`t worry there is no way i would give up on this, especially as it cost me a bit to begin with. thanks again, i will post back.

i had the same thing with a small lg lcd tv i got from play, it was 16months old, phoned play and was told to call lg, did that, lg sent me a new tv 2 days later and told me to bin the old one!, few days after that got a full refund from play! :o i told play lg had replaced the tv already and they said sorry for the trouble but keep the refund as a goodwill token!.
say yes stick to your guns on this, good luck!

i have just emailed richer sounds. so i will see what they have to say.

if i do have to get in touch with sharp , how are they for this type of thing? i now a few years back when i had one with the same problem it didn`t quite work out. i have the paper work at home, but i can`t quite remember the dates. sharpserv couldn`t fix the problem. they came out several times over a few months. they acknowledged there was a problem. but when they got in touch with Sharp they were told as it was out of guarantee they couldn`t do anything, but if i had been a few weeks earlier they could have done something.

i then went back to john lewis and got a refund, because i was fed up and it seemed to me that more could have been done. which is why i don`t want this to drag on. hopefully richer sounds will get back in touch and i will post back.

thanks again, much appreciated.

i got an email back from richer sounds earlier. it said, i am sorry to read of the problems you have been having, and am sure we can assist you in resolving this issue in terms of repair. and it finishes by saying could you forward a contact number and the original email sent so i can look into this for you.

i think it is from someone else, i am still away so cannot check the original email i got last week. it sounds like they haven`t seen the first email/weren`t the ones dealing with it.

i have bought from them for many years, the same shop, but i haven`t had anything returned/repaired. my only concern is this is the same fault i have had before, as i have said. that went on for months and in the end wasn`t fixed, this screen was bought only months later so the fault/banding maybe wasn`t sorted till a bit later. what should i say if i reply to this email?

thanks