White goods legal assistance

[pompeyfan]

Good morning everyone,

looking for some assistance with escalating an issue with a high end tumble dryer which stopped working the last week of November. The appliance itself is only about 30 months old. The appliance was purchased from a well known high street brand and “luckily” was purchased with their care plan for £2.99 a month which states a 7 day no quibble repair or replace policy.

their engineer visited very early in December and assessed and stated he could not repair because the model was of a design he wasn’t familiar with, and eventually a specialist engineer attended in the last working week of December, said they would source the part and would fit it but that was their last working day before they broke up for Christmas. Anyway here we are after numerous phone calls and email complaints to the retailer and nothing has been resolved.

I know in hindsight I’m a fool for not using the sale of goods act or the manufactures warranty but can anyone suggest how to escalate this please?

 

[headshot119]

If you've had no luck dealing with the retailer directly, and you've taken out an extended warranty then I'd suggest approaching the financial-ombudsman.

 

[najaB]

I know in hindsight I’m a fool for not using the sale of goods act or the manufactures warranty but can anyone suggest how to escalate this please?

I'd go with a letter to the company's Chairman/CEO. Worked for me when I had a dispute with Dixons-Carphone.

 

[EssexGonzo]

The care plan should be a regulated financial services insurance product - maybe look for the small print provider of the plan? For example I’m pretty sure my Neff plan is provided by Domestic & General.

If it is, they should be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to whom you would complain once the provider’s complaints process has been exhausted. Obviously, the retailer has the power to fix it, but also try shouting at the warranty provider too.

No help if the fix is urgent but the FOS would ensure that you’re reimbursed any outlay you had to make if they found in your favour. And they always assess complaints against the small print of the plan/policy so check that out.

 

[pompeyfan]

Thanks everyone, I’ll try a written letter or email to the chair of the company as well as looking at the small print and whether the FOS regulate them

 

[eoff]

Good morning everyone,

looking for some assistance with escalating an issue with a high end tumble dryer which stopped working the last week of November. The appliance itself is only about 30 months old. The appliance was purchased from a well known high street brand and “luckily” was purchased with their care plan for £2.99 a month which states a 7 day no quibble repair or replace policy.

their engineer visited very early in December and assessed and stated he could not repair because the model was of a design he wasn’t familiar with, and eventually a specialist engineer attended in the last working week of December, said they would source the part and would fit it but that was their last working day before they broke up for Christmas. Anyway here we are after numerous phone calls and email complaints to the retailer and nothing has been resolved.

I know in hindsight I’m a fool for not using the sale of goods act or the manufactures warranty but can anyone suggest how to escalate this please?

You would not be a fool for not using an Act that is no longer in force.

Anyway, does the manufacturer's warranty cover the appliance at this age?
Claiming against the retailer for the product not being durable is possible but I expect the best you can expect is an age-related refund of a fraction of purchase value.

I know you have sent the letter but the most important thing is to check what this policy promises and hold the provider of the policy to it. If it promises a new replacement if they cannot repair the item within 7 days then force them to do that, or a proper repair should that be what you want. It seems they have already not used an expected level of care in providing the service you paid for.

I have had very good experience with Domestic and General and Bosch products (albeit at some expense). They put me on to Bosch who organised Engineers to fix appliances and I have also had complete replacements when repairs were uneconomic.

Unfortunately D&G no longer offer point of sale single premium multiple year policies. I should also say that I have no legal training and don't think these policies make sense unless you use an appliance a lot more than average.

 

[pompeyfan]

Just to update, I thought I’d try the retailers helpline one last time, they advised that the write off department had agreed to write the appliance off and there should be an e-voucher in my inbox within the next 2/3 working days so I decided to hold fire.

the service I’ve received has been shocking and I may well still write to their CEO or at least their actual complaints department but I’ve held off contacting the FOS.

 

[najaB]

Just to update, I thought I’d try the retailers helpline one last time, they advised that the write off department had agreed to write the appliance off and there should be an e-voucher in my inbox within the next 2/3 working days so I decided to hold fire

That does sound very much like Dixons Carphone.