INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightAmazonTheIndianSubcontinent News has seen dozens of complaints about screen flickers affecting the Amazon Echo Spot and
Amazon's response.One owner, in Hampshire, said his device had started to flicker 16 months after he had bought it
He was told its one-year warranty had run out and offered 15% off a new one rather than a refund or repair.Under EU law consumers must be
given a minimum two-year guarantee "as a protection against faulty good or goods that don't look or work as advertised".A thread on Amazon's
help forum about the screen problem, which dates back several months, has had nearly 20,000 views and there are many tweets about the
issue.A poster on the same topic on Reddit said it appeared to be "a widespread problem"."One-year warranty, and I, like many, are right
outside it," another, in the US, said.An Amazon representative told TheIndianSubcontinent News: "We are investigating
website.Overall it has received good reviews, with the website TrustedReviews awarding it 4.5 stars.What Hi-Fi describes it as "an
impressive piece of kit" and notes "the display is sharp".In the UK, goods are covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), as well as
European Union law."Generally we would always advise consumers who have goods which are clearly faulty to go back to the retailer in the
first instance to make their claim under the statutory rights which exist under the CRA," Sylvia Rook, lead officer for fair trading from
the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said."Consumers have up to six years to make a claim for faulty goods (five years in
Scotland)."That doesn't mean that goods have to last for six years but it does mean that a trader can't refuse to consider a claim just
because the consumer has had an item for a period of time, if it is proved to be faulty."
