13 Jun
2000
13 Jun
'00
3:50 p.m.
On Tue, 13 Jun 2000, Tony Duell wrote:
See later remarks.
It is my understanding that 'contingency fee' lawsuits are not permitted
in the UK. If I am correct, that alone would account for a diminished
number of suits. Funny how less worth while some things become when you
have to put up your own money!
- don
Tony Duell wrote:
But this works both ways...
I go to your shop and buy a large/heavy <foo>. You refuse to let me
dismantle it and remove the PSU so that I can carry it out to my car in 2
sections. As a result I injure myself. I then turn round and sue you
because you refused to let me move it in the way that I considered safe.
And if I can find a mention in the service manual that it's recomended to
remove the PSU before attempting to lift the machine then I think I'd be
almost certain to win.
I even suspect I could win if, by you refusing to let me dismantle the
machine and lock heads, etc, then damage was caused to _my_ machine. It
doesn't matter that you sold it 'as is' -- as soon as you sold it it's
mine, and you probably can't stop me from treating it in a way to
preserve it.
Note, I don't expect to be able to power things up. Plugging an unknown
machine into the mains is dangerous for the machine, for the person
handling it, and maybe for other people around it. I would fully
understand why shops would prevent this.
Fortunately, in the UK we don't have that many daft liability lawsuits,
which is probably why surplus shops over here are often happy to let
customers take machines apart once they've bought them. I'd always have a toolkit with me to lock
heads on a machine that I'd
purchased (after I've paid for it then it's mine to take to bits as I
choose, right?).
Sure, but not in my store! How can I possibly know if you're competent
enough not to get zapped? I don't know how it is in the UK, but here in the
States a lot of people are litigation-crazy. I pay a *fortune* for
insurance, but the policy states that *no* customer can do any kind of work
-- even using a word processor -- in my store. If we allow this, then we (my
partner and I) assume full liability. So, yes,
it's yours to dismantle, test, or smash to holy hell. But not in
*my store*!
Remind me that if I ever shop in your store and buy something that I
can't easily lift then _you're_ carrying it out to my car. Once it's
there, not in your shop, then I'll take it to bits...
-tony