18/03/03 - Purchased Altec Lansing 5100 speaker set (order #75860)
Speakers failed, returned to Umart for repair (14/04/03). Return number 3132. Ready for pickup 09/05/03. Picked up.

Speakers failed, returned to Umart for repair (27/09/03). Return number 4743. Ready for pickup 09/10/03. Picked up.

15/10/03 - Speakers failed after only 6 days. Found website with user comments regarding Altec Lansing 5100 speakers, added my own comment and notified Umart. (http://www.sysopt.com/userreviews/speakers/reviewhtml/Altec_Lansing_5100.html)

30/10/03 - Speakers returned to Umart. Requested refund, mistakenly mentioned that it was the second time they had failed; was told that on the third failure I would be given a refund. Realised my mistake, contacted Umart and was told that a refund was not possible and to take them "just one more time". Reluctantly accepted after they were made ready for pickup on 05/11/03.

(Delay before pickup).

Speakers failed after less than 24 hours of use. Contacted Umart. Returned speakers 02/12/03. Umart said I would have to contact their supplier to organise a store credit (no mention of a refund!), so I did. Innovision (contact name - Vik from returns department) agreed to organise a refund. One week later, received notification that he would send a fixed set of speakers to Umart for me to pick up (no mention of promised refund!).

Current date (01/03/04) -- Discovered that under these circumstances I have the right to request a full refund (under the premise of faulty goods, and being sold goods that were not fit for the purpose expected of them), requesting assistance from the Office of Fair Trading in getting said refund. Either Umart or Innovision is in posession of the speakers (last thing I knew it was Umart).

Notes:

The dates specified (retrieved from Umart order tracking system) were not the same dates as hardware failure and pickup -- there were instances when transport could not be arranged easily so the product was not returned or picked up for up to several weeks.

The Altec Lansing 5100 speaker system is no longer mentioned on the Altec Lansing website (http://www.altecmm.com) -- I suspect a product recall. No response was received from Altec Lansing when I emailed them seeking the reason for the 5100 model being removed from the website.

The supplier said that of the returns, the set has been repaired twice, so therefore having been replaced previously. The user comments suggest that many people have had the same issue with Altec Lansing 5100 speakers.

Some full correspondence is available (was sent via email), although most was carried out over telephone or in person.