New Sony television had volume issues - which company would not fix

Martin explained that they’d decided their 10-year-old TV had seen better days, so last September they decided to treat themselves to a new one.

They reasoned there was no better time to splash out on an upmarket hi-tech replacement than in the middle of lockdown and wanted to enjoy improved picture and sound quality.

With the coronavirus restrictions limiting the choice of stores where they could buy a TV, they plumped for an online deal from Currys PC World, after previously viewing an impressive £1,700 Sony 48in ultra smart TV in their local store.

But things got off to a bad start when the payment technology went wrong and Martin discovered he’d ended up forking out twice for the same TV when he used his credit card to settle the invoice.

He was not best pleased when it took five weeks to obtain reimbursement from the firm, and as the TV was guaranteed against defects for the first year he turned to the manufacturer Sony to step in and fix it.

‘The TV was okay to start with,’ he recalled, ‘but within a week the first issue that came up was the lip sync which just went out completely, so you were watching someone and the mouth wasn’t matching the words.

‘When I wrote to Sony in Japan I didn’t get an answer, but the initial lip sync issue was resolved when a few weeks later Sony told me they’d issued a software update that cured it.

‘Over the last three months I carried out numerous tests they asked me to perform.

‘If we used the TV in standalone mode it appeared to work. In other modes such as using the Humax box or watching shows on Netflix it didn’t. The volume degraded and the only way of getting it back to normal was to reset the TV, which we had to do on a frequent basis.

‘Then there were ongoing sound issues where especially if you watched something which wasn’t on the mainstream television, say Netflix, or recorded programmes, the sound just kept varying so you had to keep adjusting the volume – usually upwards.

‘Sometimes, it got so bad the volume was so high you just had to give up watching the programme.

‘After a number of phone calls to Sony I was told there was a known fault that their engineers are working on, but no time was given for an expected fix.

‘To this day Sony UK engineers just kept sending me emails claiming my case was receiving the highest priority but continually putting me off. They said they were investigating and please try this, and this.’

Unimpressed and not sure who to turn to next, Martin contacted Resolver, the online complaints and dispute resolution service for consumers, but their intervention got nowhere.

Because of the increased coronavirus transmission risk the couple - both in their 70s - were reluctant to reconsider venturing back to the store to try to sort matters out.

Instead, Martin decided to look around the internet for trade associations and all the usual outlets for help, but quickly drew a blank.

By the turn of the year the stressed-out couple were fed up being short-changed with their dodgy TV. Loyal regular readers of the paper, they decided it was high time to put Streetwise in the picture.

We first reviewed the situation and clarified that despite their best intentions they were legally obliged to inform Currys/PC World about their duff TV.

Their statutory consumer rights were against the retailer – the company that sold them the product - not the manufacturer.

The Sony guarantee was a separate contract to provide additional peace of mind about ongoing quality and lifespan issues for a specified period of time.

As the national electrical retailer wasn’t alerted that the Hodgkinsons’ TV was inherently faulty within 30 days of buying it, they’d inadvertently missed out and forfeited their primary legal right to insist the store to take it back and provide a no-quibble refund.

However, despite the missed opportunity, we advised they were still entitled to insist Currys/PC World either exchange it within six months of purchase, or refund the purchase price if they were unable to promptly repair it.

We put their predicament to the company who immediately reacted with commendable concern when they became aware of the issues with the defective TV.

The good news was in little more than 24 hours Martin was called by their customer care team to discuss the situation, and agree an acceptable way forward.

He received a full apology for his experience with the purchase of the TV and an immediate offer to collect the faulty Sony and deliver a replacement of their choice.

A spokesperson for Currys/PC World said: ‘As soon as we were made aware of Mr Hodgkinson’s issue with his faulty television, our customer services team looked to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

‘We were able to exchange our customer’s television and Mr Hodgkinson is happy with our speedy resolution.’

Martin was delighted their three-month frustrating ordeal was finally over.

‘We were very grateful for the Streetwise intervention and it managed to get them to react very quickly.

‘It was handled very professionally and resolved the issue for us. We cannot sing your praises highly enough. A great job by Streetwise and The News.’