Hattons "Sold as Seen"

[dpgibbons]

Hattons sometimes describe pre-owned items as "Sold as Seen". Under consumer law, I doubt that they could refuse a faulty return unless that fault had been made clear in the sale description. Has anyone tested them on this? 

[Steamport Southport]

9 minutes ago, dpgibbons said:

Hattons sometimes describe pre-owned items as "Sold as Seen". Under consumer law, I doubt that they could refuse a faulty return unless that fault had been made clear in the sale description. Has anyone tested them on this? 

 

Never had a problem.

 

Most are vastly better than the description. Some described as being "good box" are actually unopened, one of the reasons for them being "untested".

 

Less scrupulous retailers would probably sling them on eBay as being Mint In Box for double the price.

 

 

Besides, have you used the "Ask a question about this product" box at the bottom of the page?  That's what it's for!

 

 

Jason

Edited January 4, 2023 by Steamport Southport

[adb968008]

Ive never had a problem.

 

Its a personal choice, your buying something thats got some issue and you make the choice if its worth it.

 

I dont think they say returns not accepted, and ive never known any issue with returns, so if you dont like it, return it.

 

There was a funny twitter comment a year back from someone who bought a non-working sound, non running model of a 66..

he videoed the box opening, removed the model, then the body to see what he got.. inside there was no motor and no sound or circuit board, which kind of answered the question as to why.

 

All good humoured he returned it, later I think I saw it was relisted on Hattons “sold as seen” but without motor / board and so I bought it as one of my boneyard 66 fleet awaiting fixing up.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by adb968008

[dpgibbons]

"Sold as Seen" certainly implies no returns. It's mostly applied to non-runner locos, which is fair enough. But it's also applied to untested pre-owned electronic products, which would likely be worth zip if faulty. 

Edited January 5, 2023 by dpgibbons

[jjb1970]

The answer would be to ask. If you ask what the issues are and whether they accept returns you may get a detailed answer on any issues and that returns are accepted. In which case it's not really an issue. If they provide a detailed response and say no returns I am unsure what that would mean under consumer law but as long as the product is as described they'd be doing nothing wrong in selling junk. If they decline to offer information (and I am sure this wouldn't happen at a reputable supplier like Hattons) then my advice would be to avoid. It can save a lot of grief to just talk to the seller (including by webchat, e-mail) before buying.

Edited January 5, 2023 by jjb1970

[GWR-fan]

Apart from several faults not in the item description,  of the several hundred items purchased over the past few years I have found the item received to be in better condition than described.  I believe that often the item is described,  such as "cosmetically damaged" for the most minor flaw.  Many of the non-runners purchased I have found no fault with or something basic such as a previous owner has altered the polarity or has fitted a decoder and not informed the store.  One non-runner simply had the 8-pin blanking plate adrift inside the loco.

 

I try to avoid the untested or "never opened" models as a single image showing the item packaged does not properly illustrate the actual condition.  The only "sold as seen" items that disappointed me were a non-runner in which the motor had been removed but not stated in the description and a TTS class 43 Virgin twin pack described as sound does not work whereas in fact someone had removed the decoders and fitted blanking plates and had butchered the body mounts on the non-powered loco while doing so.

Edited January 5, 2023 by GWR-fan
Additional wording

[Hibelroad]

I don’t know much about consumer law and I’ve never had a problem with well established traders such as Hattons, but surely “sold as seen” can only be applied to face to face transactions, how else would you see it?  If a product is sold with known defects which would detract from its appeal to a buyer then they should be listed and in such a case the item would be “ sold as described “. 

[Dunsignalling]

I've bought three Hornby West Countries off Hatton's in the past year. All faults were accurately described in the website entry and I got exactly what I expected.

 

Actually, better, because one of the "non-runners" worked just fine on arrival (and still does). It presumably only needed a bit of a shake and got one in transit.😊

[dpgibbons]

I queried Hattons on their Sold as Seen returns policy and this is their reply:

 

"I do completely understand your concerns here. If you purchase a sold-as-seen item, you do still have 14 days to return the item back to us whether that is due to it being unwanted or faulty"

 

[MattR]

Quote

Apart from several faults not in the item description,  of the several hundred items purchased over the past few years I have found the item received to be in better condition than described. 

 

Agreed! I got a Bachmann Derby Lightweight for a great price back in October, but was somewhat disappointed on arrival that the unpowered car was missing a front buffer, which wasn't listed in the description. Also not listed in the description was that there were DCC chips in both cars!

Edited January 5, 2023 by MattR

[RJS1977]

I'm not sure how Sold As Seen can be applied to an online purchase.

 

Fair enough in a bricks-and-mortar shop or a trade stand at a show where you can pick it up, feel its weight, turn it over, and examine it closely, but from an online store, the first time you actually see it is when the parcel arrives!

[sagaguy]

Sometimes,Hattons do have some bargains.Early morning surfing bought this up on their second hand/sold as seen pages.This is a Hornby Dublo EMU motor coach which was described as good but a wobbly runner.This was half the price that you would expect to pay for one of these but at £145,it was a good price,a good one of these would sell for £200 +.Two traction tyres later and lubrication,it was a perfect runner.In fact,i added the trailer at the same time.

 

                         Ray.

Edited January 11, 2023 by sagaguy
added photo

[hayfield]

14 hours ago, dpgibbons said:

I queried Hattons on their Sold as Seen returns policy and this is their reply:

 

"I do completely understand your concerns here. If you purchase a sold-as-seen item, you do still have 14 days to return the item back to us whether that is due to it being unwanted or faulty"

 

 

 

For me personally its the same as an item being sold for spares or repair, basically a non runner

 

However as it will be sold via mail order and distance selling rules apply I cannot see them doing anything other than comply with these rules

[AndrueC]

On 04/01/2023 at 23:08, adb968008 said:

There was a funny twitter comment a year back from someone who bought a non-working sound, non running model of a 66..

he videoed the box opening, removed the model, then the body to see what he got.. inside there was no motor and no sound or circuit board, which kind of answered the question as to why.

Actually I'd like to find a Dapol N Scale Bubble Car like that. I have a powered version and would like to add a coach to make it a double car rake..