HOTPOINT Fridge/Freezer stopped working after 2 years- Do I have any rights?

Want_to_be_free

I bought Hotpoint Fridge Freezer in July 2009.
At the time, my partner signed up for 5 years warrantee, and would pay in 3 installments.

It packed up last year in November , an engineer came and fixed it but also told me that this particular model has problems with motherboard and more likely I will have the same issue again. The actual cost was over £300 and this was covered by insurance.

Well my shiny fridge/freezer packed up on Saturday again but this time I am told I am not covered under warrantee and it was mistake that they covered me in the first place.

This is quite ok - because after investigating , I realized that they did not take the money in three consecutive installments but instead every three months ...Unfortunately my partner sadly passed away in January 2010 hence he did not pay the last installment.

By no means I blame the insurance company or Comet, but surely when you pay £600 for a decent Fridge Freezer , you expect it to last longer then 2 years and a bit. Do I stand any change with Hotpoint? Can I claim anything?

The other thing is, I am in two minds of getting it repaired, knowing it will probably stop working again. Instead of getting it repaired, I am most likely going to get a cheaper one... Obviously will buy the 5 years warrantee...I don't have money to keep thrown into repairs.
I am a bit stressed about this because money is extremely tight. But that means I need to get rid of faulty fridge as I have no where to put it . Would this effect any of my claims with HotPoint please.

Many thanks

arcon5

Any reasonable person would expect a fridge/freezer to last longer than 2 years.

Ignore the warranty for now. You have rights under Sales of Goods Act -- assuming the fault is inherent and therefore not the result of wear & tear or misuse. Telephone Comet and explain the problem. I beleive they charge £60 to have the goods inspected, which is refunded if the fault is inherent -- if this is the case they should repair free of charge to you.

If they are unable to help, after 6months of purchase the burden is on you to prove the problem is the result of an inherent fault. This would involve getting an indepentant report (they should also reimburse the cost of this if it turns out to be such).

Your contract is with Comet, not Hotpoint -- so don't have them fob you off by telling you to contact the manufacturer.

Oliver14

arcon5 wrote: »

Your contract is with Comet, not Hotpoint -- so don't have them fob you off by telling you to contact the manufacturer.

under SOGA after 6 months the onus is on the manufacturer not the retailer so if comet fob them off (as you put it) they are well within their rights to refuse tovdeal with the issue.

arcon5

Oliver14 wrote: »

under SOGA after 6 months the onus is on the manufacturer not the retailer so if comet fob them off (as you put it) they are well within their rights to refuse tovdeal with the issue.

Wrong.

Ops rights are with the retailer -- not the manufacturer.

After 6 months the onus is on op to prove the fault inherent. If the fault is inherent, ops rights are still with the retailer.

Want_to_be_free

Thank you guys, but I am a bit confused. I understood that it is up to me to prove the fault inherent by getting an independent advisor but not sure whether Comet or Hotpoint will be liable...

wealdroam

Want_to_be_free wrote: »

Thank you guys, but I am a bit confused. I understood that it is up to me to prove the fault inherent by getting an independent advisor but not sure whether Comet or Hotpoint will be liable...

As you manufacturer's warranty has expired, Hotpoint no longer have any liability.

It's Comet who are responsible.

Arcon5's post, post #2, has the correct information.