Warranties for white goods are they really worth it?

Esqui

As with any warranty, service plan or insurance, it largely depends on what is covered (or excluded). Mostly, they offer convenience - particularly in regards to not having to go to the cost and effort of obtaining an engineer's report should something go wrong. I consider it part of my job to know everything that is included or not on ours.

With the white goods I have, my washing machine and fridge-freezer are covered. Washing machines are the worst things for going wrong, and the fridge-freezer was nice and cheap.

Geordie_bear wrote: »

Yeah but under the sales of goods act you have a 6 year warranty courtesy of the government & it's free!

Hahahaha no. Really, no. The SoGA is hardly a 6-year warranty, it's just a 6 year period in which you can bring a claim against a retailer - providing you can prove they are faulty due to poor workmanship or bad parts. I'd find it very easy to get my TV repaired 1 month before the manufacturer's warranty is up, but try doing the same when the TV is 5 years and 11 months old.

Hermione_Granger

Geordie_bear wrote: »

Yeah but under the sales of goods act you have a 6 year warranty courtesy of the government & it's free!

No you don't.
All the SOGA states is that You have up to 6 years to open a claim for goods that fail in this time.
You are by no means guaranteed to win a claim and if you are trying to claim more than 6 months after purchase then the retailer can insist that you prove that the item was inherently faulty.

Also the expected usable life of the item must take into account ithe type of item, its price, intended use etc.
You may well win a case if a £1000 TV fails after 4 years, but probably not for a £100 TV that lasts the same time.

Even if you win a case you may not get back the full amount that you paid as the retailer can make a fair deduction to cover the use you've had of the goods.

moonrakerz

Geordie_bear wrote: »

Yeah but under the sales of goods act you have a 6 year warranty courtesy of the government & it's free!

Don't forget the "secret" EU Law too ! :cool:

hcb42

amazing the wealth of information in this board sometimes!

I dont buy the warranties, in answer to the question. I figure all the money saved from not buying all these things would be enough to replace the occasional one when it fails. It's worked so far.

davidlizard

Pay on the right credit card and you get a free extended 1 years warrantee anyway. I think Nationwide and Egg both offer this service.

Personally I never bother. The amount of money I have saved over the last dozen or so years not buying this extra cover will pay umpteen times over for a new item should any of them fail.

grayme-m

Esqui wrote: »

As with any warranty, service plan or insurance, it largely depends on what is covered (or excluded). Mostly, they offer convenience - particularly in regards to not having to go to the cost and effort of obtaining an engineer's report should something go wrong. I consider it part of my job to know everything that is included or not on ours.

With the white goods I have, my washing machine and fridge-freezer are covered. Washing machines are the worst things for going wrong, and the fridge-freezer was nice and cheap.



Hahahaha no. Really, no. The SoGA is hardly a 6-year warranty, it's just a 6 year period in which you can bring a claim against a retailer - providing you can prove they are faulty due to poor workmanship or bad parts. I'd find it very easy to get my TV repaired 1 month before the manufacturer's warranty is up, but try doing the same when the TV is 5 years and 11 months old.

Same here, Hotpoint washing machine covered as if we need clean clothes, fighting a legal battle in court is hardly in our interests.

What did make me laugh is that this washing machine is a replacement from the last one's warranty. I paid for delivery of it and at the same time they asked me if I wanted a warranty. :rotfl:

Still it seemed a (relatively) good deal on an item that was bound to go wrong (and has).

On TV's toasters, computers, etc. nah da.

System

its not just big ticket items , we have bought dd hair curlers for Christmas costing £14-99 the optional insurance was £9-99:eek:

Kieron_n_Stephy

Its a way of them getting more money out of you and then when you do need to claim, oh its not covered is the usual response. When I recently brought a new laptop for £499, I was offered a 3 year warranty for 'only' £199. The salesman was giving me all the talk and wasn't even listing to my wife (who must be obeyed) so we simply requested a full refund on the laptop to which he quickly shut up and brought the manager in. I then asked the manager if it was normal practice to 'bully' buyers into warranties to which he replied that each individual store has a target of warranty sales to achieve and if not, their jobs is at risk. Its all about screwing as much money as they can out of buyers. Because I made a complaint re the salesman, I got £100 off the laptop as a goodwill.

Esqui

CHRISSYG wrote: »

its not just big ticket items , we have bought dd hair curlers for Christmas costing £14-99 the optional insurance was £9-99:eek:

I think some of the price brackets put on are rather silly. We recently started offering instant replacement policies on items from £20 (so £10 for 3 years on items £20-£40; £12 for items £40-£60; etc). Which is all very well and good for things like cameras (likely to get dropped, will probably otherwise be sent for repair) if you really want it, but for a £20 toaster? I'll pass.

Of course, the other end is somewhat better. The price brackets on fridge freezers go up to (I think) £600. Which means if you buy a £3000 US-style, cover is the same price as a £700 one. Not bad!

gipsygirl

I’m not a happy bunny! :mad:

My AEG cooker has broken down after 3 years & 10 months, it cost £899 from John Lewis & the quote to repair it is £630!

Hubby has found out that to buy the parts is about £430 (circuit boards) so even DIY would be expensive & may not work.

John Lewis has said that it is too far out of warranty to offer any help & AEG haven’t been much better...

The cooker looks like new & has had pretty light use - there are only the two of us & it’s not used every day, so I would expect it to last a lot longer than it has!

We’ve been looking at new cookers because we do not want to waste anymore money on this one in case something else goes wrong with it.

We’re now wondering if we would have a claim on the sales of goods act?

Any help/ ideas would be much appreciated

Thanks