Strange extended warranty situation

Floop1977

Hi,

I have an electric fireplace which has mechanical failure.

The price of the item when new was £499.

However, a friend got this for me for £100 from Homebase when it was on clearance.

The receipt from Homebase lists the purchase price as £40.01, plus replacement cover of £59.99, making the total the £100 paid.

The replacement cover states that they will only pay out an amount up to the original price paid for the product, which in my case would be £40.01.

This is a very odd situation then, because that won't buy a replacement product, as that costs £499.

Furthermore, the price paid for the replacement cover insurance is actually more than the cost of the product.

And finally, the Replacement Cover document indicates that for a product costing £40.01 the replacement cover charge would be just £9.99, not the £59.99 that was charged.

The £59.99 that was charged for the replacement cover should cover items up to the value of £249.99.

Anyway I'd like to get the product replaced but cannot figure out what is the best course of action:

- Phone Homebase

- Go into Homebase

- Phone the Replacement Cover insurer (Allianz)

- Argue that the Replacement Cover was missold and get a refund for that.

If you have any constructive advice from having dealt with situations such as this, I'd value your advice.

DrSqueeze

It's certainly very odd. Couple of questions:

1. How long have you had the item?
2. Did you send off any kind of warranty to the manufacturer?

Floop1977

DrSqueeze wrote: »

It's certainly very odd. Couple of questions:

1. How long have you had the item?
2. Did you send off any kind of warranty to the manufacturer?

Hi, thanks for your help.

The item was bought in February 2010, and the replacement cover lasts for three years, until February 2013.

There was no warranty to send off to the manufacturer. The replacement cover was sold by Homebase at the point of sale.

DrSqueeze

Right, I'd start off by phoning the insurer and asking what you're covered for. That then gives you a starting point for your complaint (if necessary) that you expected to be covered for xyz but have just been told that you're not - so you want to know what you've actually been charged for.