Consumer Rights: MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

Art_2

krishna wrote: »

Bought a fridge freezer from Appliance World. Paid for it on 16 December using an Egg Money Card. They said it would not arrive until new year. They expected delivery from the manufacturer (i.e. not a stock item) first week of Jan and would then arrange delivery to us, early Jan. Last communication I had was on 2 Jan, when I rang and was told they expected to receive the item from the manufacturer on 5 Jan. Since then there has been silence. I have tried emailing and calling but there is no response to emails or messages and nobody answers the phone - I've tried the accounts line, customer service and sales lines and all the same.

I'm left wondering if the company is in trouble, or just incompetent. Checking the consumer rights article it says that goods should arrive within 30 days. That will be tomorrow. So I am wondering if I can cancel the order and make a claim against them.

Does and Egg Money card count as a credit card? How do I go about this?

Thanks

If you can't contact the company it's worth contacting the local Trading Standards Office for the area they trade in. They are often the first to know if a company has ceased trading as they start to get complaints.

I can't really say about your egg card. It will show on the card if it's credit or debit.

Is this company in Swindon? If so I'd be a little worried as their website still has a Christmas message on the front page.

Regards,
Art.

krishna

Yes, that's the one appliance-world.co.uk

2nd Jan. No problem getting through. Since then no luck. You are right, the Christmas message is a bit concerning. Website claims they are recruiting sales consultants. Tried calling the number for recruitment and that, as with any other number I have found for them, all goes through to the main switchboard, with recorded message.

I've emailed Swindon trading standards, though they say you should contact the department local to where you live.

Checked elsewhere on MSE and seems that Egg Money is covered by the Consumer Credit Act unless you have a positive balance, which I don't. So what now?

Thanks

krishna

Well, I've just had an email from them claiming the appliance arrived with them on 6 Jan and that Transport has been asked to contact me ASAP to organise delivery. I've told them I expect to hear from transport within 24 hours and that delivery should be made at the latest early next week. So let's see what happens now.

shaggy

krishna wrote: »

Well, I've just had an email from them claiming the appliance arrived with them on 6 Jan and that Transport has been asked to contact me ASAP to organise delivery. I've told them I expect to hear from transport within 24 hours and that delivery should be made at the latest early next week. So let's see what happens now.

Egg Money is a credit card so call Egg and tell them whats happened and do a chargeback on your card.

Sandrine_2

Hi,

I have written a letter to Littlewoods which explains my problem:

Dear After Sales Department,

I am contacting you regarding a washer dryer, Servis M9824W purchased on the 19 June 2008 for £399.00.
As the machine has developped a major fault and therefore is not fit to use I called Servis Care line 08705168299 on 14 January 2008 at 8.30am which has a message stating: "We are sorry to inform you that on the 16th of October 2008 Servis UK went under administration as a consequence of their parent company Antonio Melloni Spar entering into insolvency proceedings" then the line went dead...
I then called Littlewoods on the same day at 9.20am to report the fault on the machine and explained the situation with the Servis UK care line, I was then given another phone number to call 08456104105. I tried to call the given number at 9.30am but was put on hold and could not wait any longer as I had to go to work.
At about 4pm I managed to get through to the given number, gave all my details and explained the situation and told them the machine is still under warranty. I was told an engineer will be contacting me to arrange an appointment to view the machine.
At 5pm an engineer contacted me to let me know the earliest date she could arrange the viewing/possible repair of the machine is on the 20th January between 7am and 5pm. I asked to book an earlier slot but she says the repair company is fully booked until then and that I could not arrange a specific time either - that is a problem for me as both my husband and I are at work during the day! I booked the repair for the 20th January.
I contacted Littlewoods again at about 5.30pm to let them know I was unhappy about the situation: a 6 months old washer dryer that needs repairs, Servis being under administration, a possible repair that can only be carried out a week later... I have 2 young children and as you can probably imagine I cannot do without a washine machine for that long!!! I then requested a return for exchange or refund. I was told my complaint was to be referred to the After Sales department and I should expect a call within 48hrs.
At 18.56pm a lady called ... from the After Sales Department called me back to discuss the situation with me. I explained to her all of the above and her reply was that "things do go wrong with wachine machines (!)" and "a return for exchange or refund could not be granted until a full report from the engineer is sent out to Littlewoods".

First of all, may I thank ... for calling me back so soon.

Secondly, I am afraid to say that I find it unreasonable that a 6 months old washer dryer needs to be repaired. This is proving to be extremelly inconvenient considering I have young children who need clean clothes, and that I will probably be losing a day's worth of income in order to get the engineer to have a look at it, and wasting more time and money at the local laundrette. And what will go wrong next ??

I am asking for the matter of getting the machine exchanged or refunded sorted out as soon as possible.

On a different matter, I requested to the Customer Service Department that the Extra Care Advantage charges (which were made to my account) be refunded on 2 earlier occasions and have not heard from them since. I have not signed up for this insurance or requested it at the time of purchasing the good. I am expecting a reply on this matter soon.


(signed)
p.s. I will be forwarding this e-mail to my home content insurance legal advisors.


Is that letter strong enough to get results?
I would rather not carry on with Servis if the possibilities of getting spares parts may prove difficult in the future according to their financial situation...

Art_2

Sandrine wrote: »

Hi,

I have written a letter to Littlewoods which explains my problem:

Dear After Sales Department,

I am contacting you regarding a washer dryer, Servis M9824W purchased on the 19 June 2008 for £399.00.
As the machine has developped a major fault and therefore is not fit to use I called Servis Care line 08705168299 on 14 January 2008 at 8.30am which has a message stating: "We are sorry to inform you that on the 16th of October 2008 Servis UK went under administration as a consequence of their parent company Antonio Melloni Spar entering into insolvency proceedings" then the line went dead...
I then called Littlewoods on the same day at 9.20am to report the fault on the machine and explained the situation with the Servis UK care line, I was then given another phone number to call 08456104105. I tried to call the given number at 9.30am but was put on hold and could not wait any longer as I had to go to work.
At about 4pm I managed to get through to the given number, gave all my details and explained the situation and told them the machine is still under warranty. I was told an engineer will be contacting me to arrange an appointment to view the machine.
At 5pm an engineer contacted me to let me know the earliest date she could arrange the viewing/possible repair of the machine is on the 20th January between 7am and 5pm. I asked to book an earlier slot but she says the repair company is fully booked until then and that I could not arrange a specific time either - that is a problem for me as both my husband and I are at work during the day! I booked the repair for the 20th January.
I contacted Littlewoods again at about 5.30pm to let them know I was unhappy about the situation: a 6 months old washer dryer that needs repairs, Servis being under administration, a possible repair that can only be carried out a week later... I have 2 young children and as you can probably imagine I cannot do without a washine machine for that long!!! I then requested a return for exchange or refund. I was told my complaint was to be referred to the After Sales department and I should expect a call within 48hrs.
At 18.56pm a lady called ... from the After Sales Department called me back to discuss the situation with me. I explained to her all of the above and her reply was that "things do go wrong with wachine machines (!)" and "a return for exchange or refund could not be granted until a full report from the engineer is sent out to Littlewoods".

First of all, may I thank ... for calling me back so soon.

Secondly, I am afraid to say that I find it unreasonable that a 6 months old washer dryer needs to be repaired. This is proving to be extremelly inconvenient considering I have young children who need clean clothes, and that I will probably be losing a day's worth of income in order to get the engineer to have a look at it, and wasting more time and money at the local laundrette. And what will go wrong next ??

I am asking for the matter of getting the machine exchanged or refunded sorted out as soon as possible.

On a different matter, I requested to the Customer Service Department that the Extra Care Advantage charges (which were made to my account) be refunded on 2 earlier occasions and have not heard from them since. I have not signed up for this insurance or requested it at the time of purchasing the good. I am expecting a reply on this matter soon.


(signed)
p.s. I will be forwarding this e-mail to my home content insurance legal advisors.


Is that letter strong enough to get results?
I would rather not carry on with Servis if the possibilities of getting spares parts may prove difficult in the future according to their financial situation...

Yes, it's a good letter. I would add that if the machine isn't repaired satisfactorily on 20th you tell them that you are rejecting it and if need be you will go to the Small Claims Court.

Regards,
Art.

Sandrine_2

Thanks Art for your reply!

I have sent the letter to them and am eagerly waiting for a reply. Now I am off to the laundrette...

Regards,
Sandrine

Art_2

Sandrine wrote: »

Thanks Art for your reply!

I have sent the letter to them and am eagerly waiting for a reply. Now I am off to the laundrette...

Regards,
Sandrine

Keep a list of all your extra expenses because you will be able to add these to your claim if you go to the Small Claims Court.

Regards,
Art.

boofhead

My laptop has given up a month outside of the 12 months guarentee. I'm going to take it back to Currys tomorrow and was wondering if people think I'd have a valid argument about telling them to fix it for free. I think it's reasonable that a laptop should work for longer than 13 months. Anyone got any thoughts on this or similar experiences?

Thanks!

Art_2

boofhead wrote: »

My laptop has given up a month outside of the 12 months guarentee. I'm going to take it back to Currys tomorrow and was wondering if people think I'd have a valid argument about telling them to fix it for free. I think it's reasonable that a laptop should work for longer than 13 months. Anyone got any thoughts on this or similar experiences?

Thanks!

Yes, they should deal with this for you. Under the Sale of Goods Act you can expect a laptop to work for more than 13 months.

Regards,
Art.