Hi Gav,

It looks like Richard just said what I was about to say (good post Richard). I tend to agree with Richard on those points, namely:

Dead pixels are a manufacturer issue, and nothing to do with this (I know that you just mentioned this as a side point and weren't complaining about it as a Swiss or consumer rights issue).

Also, I also find that the level of consumer protection, as far as the law goes, is generally quite high. You know I'm the first one to complain about things, but I think we should avoid drawing conclusions along the lines of "standard in the UK", or excessive Swiss-bashing on this thread (after all that's what the complaints corner is for, and we aren't in it!). I personally have experienced many episodes of shocking service in the UK, and let's not forget that consumer protection in the UK isn't exactly an ancient tradition!

As you found out for yourself and as Richard also pointed out - you do have rights, the shop/manufacturer was just trying it on. This could have happened anywhere in any country.

Bad service and rude staff is another matter, and happens more often in some countries than in others, but this thread was about consumer rights in Switzerland

The links Richard provided were good, but confirmed my fears. The federal government has some staff that deal with consumer rights, but they don't seem to interface with the public directly, choosing instead to support consumer organisations with financial contributions. The problem with such a fragmented approach is that the public may not get the support or information they need - and may have to resort to going to a lawyer. The second of Richard's links was a link to such an organisation, that provides information only to people who donate to the organisation, and only then 2 days per week. The general public has to pay CHF2/ minute for advice. I couldn't even see a link to a french or italian version of their site.

It's a shame we can't see the approach used in other countries where the government sets up an organisation who has the responsibility to interface with the public, as well as to police and enforce the law in a way that
helps to keep everyone honest. Having a law is one thing, but informing the average person on the street about how it is used, and how they are protected is quite another...

How's the TV coming along?

Mark