Rights with a 'free' item

[insertusername]

Morning, I'd like some advice on my situation which is a little strange.

I purchased a set of headphones for around £200 and got a free second pair worth £150 with my purchase. The second pair are faulty after 6 months but whilst looking on Google it seems they have developed a common fault and there are pages and pages of reviews on the manufacturers website and articles about lawsuits and false advertising regarding battery life and durability.

I cannot return and ask for a refund as the retailer would technically owe me £0 but I also cannot return the item I paid for because there is nothing wrong with them. I also wouldn't have paid as much for the headphones if I wasn't getting two pairs for my money.

Do i have any grounds to ask for a replacement pair of different headphones of equivalent value or am I now just stuck with a faulty pair of free headphones and an expensive pair of headphones that now arent as good value?

Thanks

[jaguarsuk]

Morning, I'd like some advice on my situation which is a little strange.

I purchased a set of headphones for around £200 and got a free second pair worth £150 with my purchase. The second pair are faulty after 6 months but whilst looking on Google it seems they have developed a common fault and there are pages and pages of reviews on the manufacturers website and articles about lawsuits and false advertising regarding battery life and durability.

I cannot return and ask for a refund as the retailer would technically owe me £0 but I also cannot return the item I paid for because there is nothing wrong with them. I also wouldn't have paid as much for the headphones if I wasn't getting two pairs for my money.

Do i have any grounds to ask for a replacement pair of different headphones of equivalent value or am I now just stuck with a faulty pair of free headphones and an expensive pair of headphones that now arent as good value?

Thanks

You couldn't return them to the retailer any way, your warranty is with the manufacturer regardless of cost. You should contact the manufacturer who should repair or replace the headphones under warranty.

[R0b]

Would have to disagree with jaguarsuk on this one.

Any manufacturer warranty would be in addition to contract rights, statutory or otherwise. Since you have passed the 6 month mark you would be required to prove that the headphones did not conform e.g. not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, as described etc.

Although you've discovered that the headphones have reams of comments about the issues people have encountered with them, what you've not said is whether the fault(s) you are alleging fall into those categories or if it is something entirely different. If the fault is different to what you've discovered then you can't base a complaint on common faults if that isn't what you are experiencing as that would be considered fraudulent.

The fact that you didn't pay anything for the second set is a red herring because you were still required to pay £200 for the first set, it's just the second set is at no extra cost (but in layman's terms free).

I think, assuming the problems you are having are similar to the reviews you've had, there could be grounds for a replacement set of headphones. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 explicitly states that in considering whether goods are of satisfactory quality, the price is a factor that can be taken into account. If the market value of the second set is £150 then that isn't particularly cheap so you would expect them to have been built to a good standard and using good quality components.

You also mentioned that about false advertising, and you would be wise to take a print screen of the description of the headphones if you feel they have been misdescribed or are in some way misleading.

If a repair is offered, then you shouldn't be left at any significant inconvenience or if the headphones are replaced, then don't be fooled into thinking you have to accept a second hand pair of the headphones. The Explanatory Notes for the legislation says "A replacement would usually need to be identical, that is of the same make and model and if the goods were bought new then the replacement would need to be new."

[jaguarsuk]

I defer to R0b here as one with much more experience in consumer rights law than me