Faulty Candy GO482 Washing Machines

mrsp_4

I purchased this machine from Comet in June 2008 and it was great under the warranty period. I had a couple of incidents of flashing lights but saw that as perhaps an uneven load, nothing to concern me. After 12 months I was getting problems more and more with the machine stopping mid cycle and the 90 minute and stain vanish lights flashing and I was having to manually select the rinse cycle to complete a wash. Sometimes it was fine, sometimes not, it didn't fail on a certain programme it was random. In September last year I checked out some reviews online and lots of people seemed to be having the same problem, some people with machines just weeks old. I decided to contact Candy to describe the problem and to point out that it seemed to be quite a more common than is acceptable. Of course, they treat cases on an individual basis and showed no interest in the quite obvious design/manufacturing fault of this particular model. My option was to pay |£100 for someone to come out to look at it, but because of finances and the fact I'm a stubborn cow I put up the problem.....until now. The machine doesn't finish the cycle at all no matter what I do and I have soggy clothes in the drum. I've read more reviews today and the scale of this problem is quite alarming. What is worse, people out of warranty can't seem to get the problem fixed even by the Candy engineers.
I'm not really sure what I'm asking. For one, should candy be acting on the problems faced by consumers of this product? Secondly, if not, is 20 months a reasonable life span for a washing machine. Can I actually do anything if my washing machine is unfixable?

Esqui

You should be in contact with Comet about the issue, as they sold it to you.

mrsp_4

Comet are next to useless. I only had the Candy machine because I returned a Haier when that developed a fault within a week. It was problem after problem and hours on the phone trying to sort it out, I really can't see them giving two hoots

Esqui

HooverCandy will just want to charge you. If you don't want to deal with Comet, who are the ones legally responsible, you'll have to pay.

mrsp_4

Ok thank you. How do I approach it and what should comet do for me legally?

Esqui

Best thing would be to write to Comet customer services, and mention the Sale of Goods Act, which requires all goods sold to be of durable quality (? - someone might correct me on that) and gives you up to 6 years from purchase to claim a remedy for faulty goods. It is the retailer who you claim against.

As it is over 6 months old, it will be down to you to prove an inherent fault. This is normally done via an engineer report.

I expect Phil, the lovely Comet rep will respond next time he visits. He will also give you some help.

jackieglasgow

I had one of these machines, and got a full refund from them when it was about 7 or 8 months old. The flashing lights are actually a fault code, and if you watch it carefully, it flashes a certain number of times. The many faults I had with mine (which by the way was a fantastic machine when it worked) were a wire coming loose on the thermostat, the pump needing replaced, the circuit board needing replaced, a new thermostat, and finally the main gubbins of the machine went (can't remember now what the engineer referred to it as). In the Glasgow Comet Clearance shop when we went there, in August/September there was 16(!!!!) of these machines being sold as seconds/reconditioned. The most I saw of any other model was 3. That says it all really.

I sent them the templated letter from the Consumer Direct website. Try there for their letters. You will probably have to pay for an independent report to say that the machine has an inherent fault as it's over 6 months old, though. I would like to think Trading Standards or Watchdog would be interested in this, after all it like the whle Toyota debacle, except it's not a car costing thousands of pounds, but they've still put it on the market even though it appears to have inherent design faults.

Comet_company_representative

mrsp wrote: »

I purchased this machine from Comet in June 2008 and it was great under the warranty period. I had a couple of incidents of flashing lights but saw that as perhaps an uneven load, nothing to concern me. After 12 months I was getting problems more and more with the machine stopping mid cycle and the 90 minute and stain vanish lights flashing and I was having to manually select the rinse cycle to complete a wash. Sometimes it was fine, sometimes not, it didn't fail on a certain programme it was random. In September last year I checked out some reviews online and lots of people seemed to be having the same problem, some people with machines just weeks old. I decided to contact Candy to describe the problem and to point out that it seemed to be quite a more common than is acceptable. Of course, they treat cases on an individual basis and showed no interest in the quite obvious design/manufacturing fault of this particular model. My option was to pay |£100 for someone to come out to look at it, but because of finances and the fact I'm a stubborn cow I put up the problem.....until now. The machine doesn't finish the cycle at all no matter what I do and I have soggy clothes in the drum. I've read more reviews today and the scale of this problem is quite alarming. What is worse, people out of warranty can't seem to get the problem fixed even by the Candy engineers.
I'm not really sure what I'm asking. For one, should candy be acting on the problems faced by consumers of this product? Secondly, if not, is 20 months a reasonable life span for a washing machine. Can I actually do anything if my washing machine is unfixable?

Hi Mrs P

My name's Phil and I'm from Comet.

I was sorry to note the problems that you are having with your Candy washing machine.

You may be able to resolve the problems that you are having by checking and cleaning the filter in the machine. Further information about doing this can be found on page 22 of your user manual. Another possible cause of the machine not spinning would be if you are only washing a couple of items, as this may cause it to become unbalanced. To avoid this, please ensure that your wash load is at least half capacity.

Having discussed this matter with Candy, they have advised me that they are unaware of any inherent faults with this model and the reported failure rate is not abnormally high for such an appliance. However, if you would like to supply me with your purchase information via the link below, Candy have advised me that they are willing to investigate this matter further for you.

https://comet.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/comet.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

You will need to register a few details with us to be able to send your e-mail in.

Thanks
Phil

mrsp_4

Thank you Phil, you have been most helpful/supportive through this, my faith in Comet Customer Services has been restored!

Problem has now been sorted. Purchased Candy's insurance through Domestic and General and after having a new heater fitted on friday my machine is working perfectly again!

jackieglasgow

mrsp I really do hope this is the end of your worries, as I also had my heater replaced before the machine gave up the ghost. YOu shouldn't need to buy an extended warranty for a brand new washing machine though, which is what infuriates me!!