Which retailers opt out of manufacturers warranty?

Hintza

Personal experience with one manufacturer and a couple of threads on here lately, begs the question how many retailers opt out of the manufactuers warranty and also by default the expertise that the manufacturer's engineers have? The retailers are obviously able to buy the products cheaper from the manufacturer if the manufacturer is then not responsible to the retailer for repairs.

Is this a dangerous practice for short term gain?

Are consumers the losers in the long term?

So which ones do it?

Any other thoughts?

neilmcl

I would think the majority of retailers would prefer you to deal with the manufacturer via the warranty (if any). Hence why you get so many posts regarding consumers who not happy that are being told to contact the manufacturer directly in the first instance.

vyle

Hintza wrote: »

Personal experience with one manufacturer and a couple of threads on here lately, begs the question how many retailers opt out of the manufactuers warranty and also by default the expertise that the manufacturer's engineers have? The retailers are obviously able to buy the products cheaper from the manufacturer if the manufacturer is then not responsible to the retailer for repairs.

Is this a dangerous practice for short term gain?

Are consumers the losers in the long term?

So which ones do it?

Any other thoughts?

What retailer do you know of? I ask because the only time I've seen products that are cheaper because of no manufacturer warranty, it's been from places selling dodgy imports.

Hintza

vyle wrote: »

What retailer do you know of?

The annoying thing is I cant remember (been racking my brains all morning, it will come to me I hope) but I called the manufacturer and asked about a warranty repair and was immediately asked where I had bought the item, I named the retailer and was told that I would have to deal with the retailer as they had opted out of the manufacturers guarantee.

vyle

Hintza wrote: »

The annoying thing is I cant remember (been racking my brains all morning, it will come to me I hope) but I called the manufacturer and asked about a warranty repair and was immediately asked where I had bought the item, I named the retailer and was told that I would have to deal with the retailer as they had opted out of the manufacturers guarantee.

That could be a diplomatic way of saying, "they imported from abroad." Because the warranty is built into the price of goods sold in the uk, but not in a lot of foreign countries.

They can tell by serial numbers which items are from abroad or elsewhere, not sure if they monitor which serial numbers go to domestic shops, though.

The_Pedant

vyle wrote: »

What retailer do you know of? I ask because the only time I've seen products that are cheaper because of no manufacturer warranty, it's been from places selling dodgy imports.

DSG (Currys etc) do this with some items. I have a Kenwood microwave that explicitly states in the manual to contact DSG for any support/warranty. I believe PCWorld do it with some of their PCs & laptops too.

I think where companies do this, it should be made clearer to the consumer. Some people rely on having it as a safety net to fall back upon, rather than having to be stuck dealing with a retailer that is dragging their feet & penny pinching.

williham

It's not that they opt out of manufacturers warranty it's that they use a companies name and put it on an unbranded product therefore it was never manufactured by that company anyway.

Esqui

Ones that are repaired by us during the warranty, off the top of my head (I may not be entirely accurate):
All computers except Dell, Asus, Apple, Samsung, Sony (and sometimes, but not others, Acer)
TVs, except Samsung, Sharp and LG
Ones repaired by third parties, not via manufacturer:
Apple iPods
Some Hi-fis and DVD recorders (except Samsung, LG)
Everything else that gets repaired, is repaired by the manufacturers or their third-party repairers.

Kenwood microwaves have the label on because they are made for us, with the Kenwood name used under licence...not made by Kenwood. For information, the following are also 'OEM' (i.e. own brand things):
Hitachi (anything...but don't think they are any more)
Kenwood (Microwaves, dishwashers, cookers, but not blenders, kettles, toasters, etc)
Russell Hobbs (Microwaves)
Belling (Microwaves...but not any more)
Matsui, Logik, Advent, Sandstrom (the obvious ones)

And I think that's it!

deanos

williham wrote: »

It's not that they opt out of manufacturers warranty it's that they use a companies name and put it on an unbranded product therefore it was never manufactured by that company anyway.

Nope , Currys , Argos & Comet definitely repair some items themselves and get the item cheaper, however it does not mean the consumer gets the item cheaper !

vyle

With stuff like currys etc could it not be that they are authorised repair agents for certain manufacturers?

I know that at work, when stuff's sent off for repair it usually goes to an authorised repair agent who isn't actually part of, say, panasonic, sony, HP, Dell, etc, but the manufacturer gets billed for the repair during the warranty period.

The_Pedant

could it not be that they are authorised repair agents for certain manufacturers?

If that were the case, as they would merely be acting as one of the authorised agents, you would be entitled to take it to *any* authorised agent of your choice for repair; which is not the case.

Will happily trust Esqui's inside knowledge on that one ;-)