The television was expected to last longer due to its price.
The problems with the TV panel got worse over time. Illustration picture. Adobe Stock / AOP
The Consumer Disputes Board has resolved a case where the panel of an OLED television priced at 1,679.24 euros broke after the two-year warranty period. The television was purchased in December 2016 and it broke down between 2018 and 2020.
In the case, it was discussed whether it is possible for the consumer to receive compensation from the seller after the compensation paid by the insurance company.
The panel gradually disintegrated
The buyer had noticed in 2018 that the colors of the TV panel were badly distorted and later a spherical area had appeared in the middle of the screen where yellow was green and red was gray. According to the buyer, signs of this could already be seen about a year earlier.
– The panel’s problems did not appear so clear that the buyer would have been able to complain then, the Consumer Disputes Board says in its decision.
When the buyer reported the error to the seller, the latter refused to repair the TV or give a refund because “it was a feature of the OLED technology, not a defect”. The seller also referred to the age of television.
The insurance replaced the part
The buyer advertises on television almost four years after the purchase.
Home insurance had reimbursed the buyer 934.30 euros. The buyer demanded from the seller the deductible of 150 euros he paid to the insurance company as a price reduction, as well as 500 euros for the age reduction made by the insurance company.
According to the seller, the claim made four years after buying the television was no longer the seller’s responsibility, when the compensation paid by the home insurance and the utility were taken into account. In addition, according to the seller, the buyer had allowed the problem to worsen over time.
In its decision, the Consumer Disputes Board ended up recommending the seller to pay the price reduction, which in that situation was 300 euros.
The Consumer Disputes Board stated that the buyer cannot get a refund twice, because he had already received more than 900 euros from the insurance company due to the problems with the television.
The board concluded that the buyer had paid the premiums of the voluntary home insurance in order to reduce his own risk. The board also mentioned that “the consumer has the power to choose whether he seeks reimbursement from the insurance or from the seller.”
– However, when applying for a refund from his insurance, the consumer does not lose his right to demand from the seller the part of the fault liability that exceeds the insurance compensation, the decision states.
The board considered that the age reduction made by the insurance company was excessive in relation to the actual value of the television from the point of view of fault liability. In addition, the consumer was considered to be entitled to receive a deductible from the seller.
In addition, the decision stated that the television in question, which is more expensive than the average, can be expected to last clearly longer than just under four years.