Guarantees on washing machines

chocholic

Good evening everyone

I would be grateful for any help on the following:-

I bought an Indesit washing machine from Comet 29.10.2010 and it is now even rinsing with extremely hot water, I contacted Indesit and they are saying it will be 105 pounds for a one off call out or a 12 month warranty at 14.99 a month.

Is there any comeback with the guarantee? I thought I read somewhere that if the goods are only just out of guarantee you have some legal comeback.

Many thanks

unholyangel

You may (key word) have a comeback depending on if the fault is inherent or not, time frame and price paid.

Basically statute of limitations is 6 years from purchase in england, 5 years from discovery in scotland - this is when you can take legal recourse up to. However (and this is equally important) this does not mean all goods should last this long. The type of product along with price paid are key factors in deciding what is a reasonable lifespan.

SoGA covers inherent faults. These are faults that were there when the item was manufactured but may not have been apparent at time of sale. Just because a fault develops 2 years down the line doesnt mean it wasnt inherent. Under SoGA if a fault is found to be inherent, the retailer has a legal obligation to offer a remedy. This can be a repair, replacement or a refund. The consumer can request one remedy over another but the retailer can refuse if it is disproportionately costly in comparison to another remedy. But any refund given can be reduced to take into account use you have had of the item.

Burden of proof - Within the first 6 months the burden of proof lies with the retailer to prove the fault isnt inherent. Once the 6 month mark is up, the burden reverses and it is up to the consumer to prove the fault is inherent. This is usually done by independent report. The cost of which would be refunded if found in your favour. In this case, all that may be required is evidence that on a 40 degree wash (for example) the water is exceeding those temperatures significantly.


BUT!!!! Before going forward with the report, contact the retailer. Explain to them and see what they offer. They may not ask for a report and may provide good customer service. Or they may even send one of their own engineers out.

Come back and update us to let us know how you get on

chocholic

Thank you for your help Unholyangel - the washing machine cost 227 odd and it is 2 and a half months out of the one year guarantee! It has a 5 year parts guarantee but the call out charge is 105 pounds or take out a warranty for 14.99 a month for 12 months. As this fault has not long been noticed I am actually wondering if, now all machines are cold fill only, the Comet fitter could have fitted the machine to the hot pipe by mistake. But as I am only (1) a 'lady'! I am unable to pull the thing out and (2) if I did manage to get it out I wouldn't know what I was looking at!

unholyangel

chocholic wrote: »

Thank you for your help Unholyangel - the washing machine cost 227 odd and it is 2 and a half months out of the one year guarantee! It has a 5 year parts guarantee but the call out charge is 105 pounds or take out a warranty for 14.99 a month for 12 months. As this fault has not long been noticed I am actually wondering if, now all machines are cold fill only, the Comet fitter could have fitted the machine to the hot pipe by mistake. But as I am only (1) a 'lady'! I am unable to pull the thing out and (2) if I did manage to get it out I wouldn't know what I was looking at!

I imagine feeling the pipes could be a dead giveaway Anyone you could ask to do it for you?

Or alternatively like i said, do it on a set degree wash......get a thermometer you can use (like one of the strip ones which you could put against the window of the machine) and see if there is a huge difference.

Is the washing coming out hot? Any significant rise in your energy bills since getting the machine that wasnt in line with a price hike?

whitegoods_engineer

If it's rinsing in HOT water, then you have simply connected a hot feed to what should be a cold feed.

The rinsing water comes straight in from the inlet hose. It cannot be hot unless it's coming from a hot source!

Why do people always blame the machine first?

brightonman123

i would think there is a 'general expectation' that a w/m should last more than 2 years?!

i wonder, did they install it? not sure what law you may have comeback on them with (merchantable quality'..?)