Kitchen appliance disappointment, advice needed

AndrewLondon

I recently moved into a new house which as of yet has no kitchen, so I've had to buy all of the appliances.

I got a Samsung RL41SBTB fridge which is brilliant. A Hotpoint TCD970P tumble dryer which I've used once and seems to work fine too.

I chose a Hotpoint WMD962 washing machine which cost over £350 and I would expect it not to break on the second wash, but it did. I let them know that the machine is faulty within 24 hours so am I entitled to a replacement machine? I'm worried that if they repair it then I'll be left with a machine that has never been right and will be more likely to break down in the future.

I also chose a Smeg DF410BL1 dishwasher, which is slimline but cost over £400, so I expected it to be of reasonable quality. When it arrived though, I couldn't help but think it felt a bit cheap. It has a very flimsy plastic front. I didn't mind that too much, as long as it washed OK, but it doesn't.

I have standard sized plates and they don't fit in the machine without blocking the spray arm. And when the spray arm is blocked everything comes out dirty. So it's pretty much useless to me. What's the point of having a dishwasher that you can only half fill? So I'm not sure what my rights are here. In my opinion the machine is not fit for purpose. It was advertised as '10 place settings' yet I can't wash a single plate in there. I previously had a Zanussi table-top dishwasher which is much smaller and yet the same plates fit in there perfectly and always came out clean. Should I try to get a refund and find an alternative one?

Meepster

With regards to the Hotpoint washing machine, just because it's stop working after the second time you've used it, it doesn't mean that it is inherently faulty, it could be due to a lot of things, most of which are not major. Personally I'd give them the opportunity to repair it and see how it goes from there. If they offer an exchange, even better, but I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't. P.S. You did take out the transit bolts, right?

As for the Smeg Dishwasher...the reason it feels (and possibly looks) cheap, is because they are. Long gone are the days that Smeg made good appliances, they just churn out inferior products and justify their prices because of the stigma of the brand. Even their fridges (you know, the fancy retro ones) aren't particulary good anymore, sure they look good on the outside, but the internals are second rate. You wouldn't believe (when I sold Smeg appliances) how many people came back saying the shelves or door racks snapped. I would try to get a refund if possible and get something a little better (albeit more likely for more money)

AndrewLondon

mwilletts wrote: »

With regards to the Hotpoint washing machine, just because it's stop working after the second time you've used it, it doesn't mean that it is inherently faulty, it could be due to a lot of things, most of which are not major. Personally I'd give them the opportunity to repair it and see how it goes from there. If they offer an exchange, even better, but I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't. P.S. You did take out the transit bolts, right?

Yep I took out the bolts. The issue is with the module. I explained that over the phone to customer services, but they sent an engineer. I explained the fault and he didn't even look at the machine, he just phoned them and they will be giving me a new machine. Yay!

mwilletts wrote: »

As for the Smeg Dishwasher...the reason it feels (and possibly looks) cheap, is because they are. Long gone are the days that Smeg made good appliances, they just churn out inferior products and justify their prices because of the stigma of the brand. Even their fridges (you know, the fancy retro ones) aren't particulary good anymore, sure they look good on the outside, but the internals are second rate. You wouldn't believe (when I sold Smeg appliances) how many people came back saying the shelves or door racks snapped. I would try to get a refund if possible and get something a little better (albeit more likely for more money)

This makes sense. It does feel really flimsy. I don't mind spending money to get quality appliances. I just want something that cleans my dishes!

I looked on the Boots website (which is where I ordered it from) and it says this:

How do I return goods that I do not want?

Call us on 0844 879 3483 and one of our advisors will arrange the collection for you. If you do decide to return a product to us, we do make a charge. See terms and conditions for full details. You have 7 days from the date of delivery to request a collection. Please be careful when selecting your appliances to ensure they are the ones you require as we charge £99.99 for collection.

Seems unfair to spend a quarter of the value of the appliance on collecting it! I will phone them and see what I can do...

AndrewLondon

All good news.

Tomorrow I will have a new washing machine delivered.

I phoned Boots and said I was unhappy with the machine and they were happy to exchange it for a different model for free. It was cheaper so they refunded the difference. The new one is also coming tomorrow!