item broken after 2 months, anything I can do?

[everybodysang]

I bought a USB port, very cheaply so I wasn't expecting much, from a business seller. I wasn't terribly bothered when 1 of the 7 ports didn't work. However, just under 2 months after I bought it it's totally stopped working.

I emailed the seller to let them know. Was told that as they offered a 30 day guarantee and as it was after that there was nothing they could do.

Buried back in the very depths of my brain something about the Sale of Goods Act wormed its way forward. So I looked it up and it appears to be very clear that if something breaks within 6 months of purchase the onus is on the seller to either prove that it must have broken because of misuse, or to provide a repair or replacement. I emailed them and pointed this out (nicely). They said no. I emailed them back and pointed it out again (nicely). They said no. I emailed them back and asked them if they were a UK seller as they claim and if so, why they were exempt from the act. I received a reply from someone totally different saying...they offered a 30 day guarantee and as it was outwith that then they couldn't help. I emailed back (gosh, I'm boring myself, hope you're still with me) and pointed out the wording of the Sale of Goods act yet again. The same person emailed back and said as I purchased it more than 6 months ago they couldn't help. I emailed back and said no, it was in fact less than two months ago. Haven't heard anything back since.

It's too late to do anything through eBay apparently, should have been done by 8 November. Oh well. This is a very, very high volume seller who appears to have reasonable feedback (99.3% positive) but now that I've looked closer they have lots of negative feedback comments.

This isn't a high value item and I'm not actually terribly bothered but I feel a bit riled at their attitude. Is there anything I can do other than endlessly message them?

[SofiaAmes]

I had a similar problem with several cheap items on ebay. Ebay very clearly protects these sellers and were very unhelpful. In the end I got the money reimbursed by my credit card company, but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth about doing business with ebay and all the false promises they make about guarantees and protection. I no longer buy that kind of stuff on ebay. It's not worth the hassle.

[fergoose]

contact consumer direct and get their advice - even if they don't take action, if enough people complain about the seller they should investigate

how much money was it, and was it credit card - if so I agree with Sofia and would contact your card issuer