PlayStation 3 Durability - The Court's Ruling

My PS3 broke down outside of warranty, but by New Zealand law, the Consumer Guarantees Act says that goods should last for a "reasonable" amount of time. I didn't think 21 months was reasonable for a PS3 and since Sony refused to pay for the repair, I took them to court and won.

What won it for me is the Consumer article, which said that computers should last for 5 years and DVD players for 8+ years, both PS3 functions.

They tried to argue that the PS3 wasn't classified as a computer, however there is no reason to suppose that PS3s are any less durable since they are used for games and receive hard treatment from children.

So the Disputes Tribunal ruled that my PS3 was not of acceptable quality and ordered Sony to reimburse me the repair cost.

Anyone is more than welcome to use this case as an example if they have a similar dispute. The case number is CIV-2009-094-000642. Take 3 print outs of the Consumer article.

It cost me $30 to have the hearing and all information you need is on the Disputes Tribunal website. Note that you will need the name and address of the legal entity you're taking to court, which can be found at the Companies Office. You can either take Sony or the company you purchased the thing from. I recommend the latter because it's just easier. The Sony offices are in Australia and they don't have a clue about NZ law.

Note that warranties aren't very important in New Zealand. People selling extended warranties are basically criminal, because we're already covered. See the Consumer article about this.

PlayStation 3 Durability - My Dispute with Sony

I use to be a Sony fan-boy. Sad but true. My PS3 was my pride and joy until it broke down 21 months after purchase and Sony refused to fix it.

New Zealand consumers are protected by the Consumer Guarantees Act, which states that goods must last for a reasonable amount of time. Warranties tend to be a lot less than this, so most of them are a pointless. Some companies, like Noel Leeming, try to sell you extended warranties which is criminal - consumers are already covered.

So I'm in the court room with Sony on Monday.

What's a "reasonable amount of time"? An excellent article from Consumer, lists reasonable times for many appliance and can be used in hearing such as mine. Computers should last 5 years according to this.

It's a bit of a hassle really over $375 but I've had less that professional dealing with Sony over this dispute and it's become a matter of vengance. I'm also asking for an apology for a breach of the Fair Trading Act when one member of their staff told me that the terms and conditions of purchase overrides the Consumer Guarantees Act. The staff all had Australian accents, which might explain things a little.

Will post how it goes... fingers crossed.

Yayoi Kusama

I saw Yayoi Kusama's exhibit at Syndey on the weekend (while on honeymoon with my lovely wife). I haven't been so moved in an art gallery before.

The most striking piece was an ordinary living room scene you walk into. It was dimly lit and all surfaces where a dull grey. Upon each surface where many bright, primary-coloured dots and the room was flooded in blacklight. Dots everywhere really. The living room could only be recognised as such using depth perception. I felt like I was trapped in a magic-eye picture.

There was a hall with mirrored semi-spheres hanging on the walls. A floor groping with tenticles, black and white repetitive doodlings, themselves repeated to fill the room. There was a mirrored room where you saw yourself repeated ad nauseum.

Her theme was repetition and Yayoi was asking me why I'm unique. She didn't ask me in any casual sense though, she first challenged my understanding of identity.

If she were at the exhibit at the time, I would have kissed her.