Warranty expired - consumer rights

[Howitzer]

Short story even shorter - printer has a hardware problem which only becomes apparent after 14 months. Warranty expired after 12 months. Retailer is refusing to repair or replace the unit.

What rights do you have as a consumer once the warranty period has expired?

 

[Howitzer]

Ok, searching through old questions on the matter brings me to http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Shopping/intro.html

Whenever you buy goods, you make a contract with the shop or seller who sold them to you. The seller agrees to provide certain goods to you for a certain price, and those goods should be:
Of "merchantable quality" – this means that they must be of an acceptable standard
Fit for the purpose they were bought for
As described. In other words, false or exaggerated claims must not be made by the seller
If the goods fail to comply with any of these criteria - for example, if they turn out to be faulty - you have certain clear rights under consumer legislation. These entitlements are known as the three R's:
Repair
Replacement
Refund
Your consumer rights are against the seller of the goods in all cases, but you may also have extra protection if you received a guarantee or warranty from the manufacturer.

So to my eyes the expired warranty is simply an issue between the shop and the manufacturer. The shop is under an obligation to repair/replace/refund where the goods were faulty to begin with. Hardware that fails after a short period of time is faulty to begin with.