SGC 9mm - Catastorphic Failure - Almost lost an eye :(

[Sim G]

Jeff, you'd be surprised how much fun you can have in court! You don't need a solicitor, far from it, they just muddy the waters. It's cheap to get something into court and with the reference library that is the t'internet and with the free legal advice that is around, from qualified individuals as well as local authority agencies, you could have a ball with it!

My mate took a particular issue to court and acted for himself. At one stage the judge was actually acting for him!! Riled the other side up no end....... He won. It can be done and done quite easily.

If Clarke is too damn arrogant to see that bad publicity and legal costs ae going to cost him so much more than doing what's right, then feck him!

[Chuck]

Blu, I know what it says but they have created a grey area by saying not recommended..if it went to court they would have to justify WHY home loads would invalidate the warranty....all fine and well saying that the warranty is invalid but it might just be an unfair contract term.

A judge may well ask WHY it would invalidate the warranty .....an dlisten to the argument from both sides..

Only way to tell would be a small claim, any other action might well need a solicitor (well it would in Scotland) . Since the value is above £750 but under £1500 it is a Summary Cause action in Scotland, not sure what it is in England..but probably WOULD need a lawyer due to the nature of the court processes....best way to find out is ask of course.

Just checked, according to CAB a money claim up to £5000 is probably dealt with under Small Claims...best check with the Courts though.

What it would do is get their attention..they would probably deny the claim but still have to appear and say WHY the claim should fail..the Judge will listen to both arguments..... That's where it would get interesting...would they cough up to stay away from court or risk being in the public gaze (these ARE public record events).

good thing is that small claims are NOT exensive..but get advice from a lawyer, NOT CAB!
I think the time bar limit is 5 years, again check.

Agre ewith sim that you can have fun in court, I used to do it for my clients..BUT..you should be careful of court etiquette and other stuff. if a matter goes to proof then legal advice may be worthwile. Avoid CAB, they are just amateurs and bored people playing at things they are not well versed in..get professional advice if you must!

[Blu]

Chuck,

all fine and well saying that the warranty is invalid but it might just be an unfair contract term.

It's been done here, folks taking gun manufacturers to court when something went wrong with the gun. The gun manufacturers will turn around and say they only recommend factory ammunition because that's what they use for their safety tests. They will argue that they do not test with hand loads and that is why they don't recommend using hand loads. They will argue that if one uses hand loads then it invalidates the warranty because the gun hasn't been tested for hand loads.

As I said mate this is an ass covering exercise to avoid litigation against them and as far as I am aware, no one in this country who admitted to using hand loads when something went wrong has ever won their case in court. Hey the UK courts on the other hand might view it differently, but I somehow think not.

Blu

[phaedra1106]

Blu, the failure happened when I was using Prvi Factory ammunition not hand loaded. SGC are now saying that regardless of that fact there is no warranty and that whatever the case it was ammunition failure not the rifle that caused it so again no warranty.

[Blu]

phaedra1106, yeah I know you were using factory ammo at the time of the incident, however you admitted on here that you used hand loads at some point in your gun. Now these people can read and it could be that they have read what you have written and are keeping quiet about the hand loads thing in case it goes to court and then they pull that card out on you. Hey you did say yourself that the guy at SGC had read this thread and was less than happy with some of the things written.

Did you get a copy of their report stating what caused the failure? By that I mean did any report show or explain how it was a factory round came to cause this.

Blu

[M99]

Ah now since you live in the very FAR north east - a small claim lodged at your local court will be heard there - SGC are down souff - if they fail to appear at the hearing - guess what? - you win unopposed!! (Worth thinking about!)

[dodgyrog]

Jeff, you'd be surprised how much fun you can have in court! You don't need a solicitor, far from it, they just muddy the waters. It's cheap to get something into court and with the reference library that is the t'internet and with the free legal advice that is around, from qualified individuals as well as local authority agencies, you could have a ball with it!

My mate took a particular issue to court and acted for himself. At one stage the judge was actually acting for him!! Riled the other side up no end....... He won. It can be done and done quite easily.

If Clarke is too damn arrogant to see that bad publicity and legal costs ae going to cost him so much more than doing what's right, then feck him!

Been there and done that - the man's right. Do your dround work and do a good witness statement first.

[Blackstuff]

Ah now since you live in the very FAR north east - a small claim lodged at your local court will be heard there - SGC are down souff - if they fail to appear at the hearing - guess what? - you win unopposed!! (Worth thinking about!)

You mean the ACTUAL North-east? Bob certainly couldn't be bothered to travel up here to collect my LRA9 when it was declared Section 5 (this was an alternative i suggested to him paying £1200 for an S5 courier), so if this is the case i think it's a viable option? However, wouldn't the court case be against Shooting Supplies as its them who you have the contract with?

[Chuck]

blu, I hear you..so was the warranty not b#ggered the minute a proof load was fired?????

I would STILL argue the unreasonable contract term point. ..What about REASONABLE EXPECTATION.

MilIsCer......in a perfect world yes.....as long as he does not appoint a court agent to deal with it but if he fails to show then YES.

Nowt wrong with a case held in the locality of the pursuer if the defender is miles away..perfectly legal.

Not sure of the fees but the exposure oif it goes against you is limited somewhat under small claims processes. A half decent judge may suggest you both sort it outside the court, not the first time that option has been given IN court.

I'd cite the seller as that's who the contract is with, he may then decide to pressure the manufacturer.!

[John25]

These guys are never going to give in without a fight.

You need to get the big guns out, make a claim legally, even in the event that they win the publicity will do them no good.

The question is, would anyone who knows the story, buy one of these firearms? Not I.