Martin Lewis explains what to do if seller tries to 'fob you off' over faulty product

Martin Lewis is here with some fresh advice on what you should do if an item you buy turns out to be faulty. It comes after he was 'fobbed off' himself following a recent purchase on eBay.

The Money Saving Expert founder took to social media to reveal that he had recently experienced difficulty getting a faulty tech product replaced after it stopped working as it was meant to.

Lewis, 51, went back to the eBay business through which he bought it where he encountered a bit of trouble in sorting the matter out.

Anonymising the interaction so as to protect them but spread some awareness for the millions that follow his daily updates, he shared the conversation he had with the those running the eBay store.

It's the latest piece of endless money related advice from Lewis, who earlier this week revealed the four steps you should take to lower your car insurance as the average cost hit a grand.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Lewis wrote: "An eBay seller (trader not individual) just tried to fob me off an say I should go to the manufacturer, after I contacted it when the tech item I bought went faulty.

"This may be practical but isn't correct. I thought their response and my reply may be useful to others.

"I have anonymised some bits as not picking on an individual but explaining the concept."

ITV

Lewis then shared the conversation with the trader, as seen below:

eBay Trader: Hello Martin. Thank you for reaching out, your [ITEM] has come with warranty from [MANUFACTURER]. you will need to contact them for any warranty support. Thank you.

Lewis' reply: Thank you. I am also speaking to [MANUFACTURER], and hopefully it will sort it. If not however I need to be plain your answer isn't correct under UK law.

Lewis handily also included a link to what this journalist imagines is his equivalent of the Bible aka the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The legislation, which you can view here if you wish, details your rights after buying a product.

In his next reply, Lewis explained: "My legal rights are with you as the retailer, and they are Statute based. The warranty is a contractual document.

"If the [ITEM] is faulty (which it is) then it is your legal obligation under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to deal with that. As it is more than a month after purchase - repair or replacement is the obligation.

"I hope [MANUFACTURER] can fix it, but if not then I will be coming back to you to ask you to look after this."

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He added: "PS no they don't know who I am (though they may work it out after the reply)."

Speaking with his followers, one X user asked: "Does the same apply to Amazon sellers? We bought some baby bottle cooler things and the seller told us to go to the manufacturer but we bought the item from them as the seller."

Lewis replied: "Yes it applies, always."

A second said: "Imagine trying to tell Martin Lewis what to do! It's like telling Ronaldo how to take a free kick."

A third added: "I use the sausages analogy. If I buy a packet of sausages from Tesco, get home and find they are 'off' or damaged I don’t send them back to Walls, I go to Tesco for a refund or replacement."

Whether you follow the sausage or eBay examples, it's really handy information should anything you buy break and you have difficulty sorting the issue out with the business you bought it from.