19 month old washing machine leaking

shilcor

In August 2010 we bought my son an Indesit washing machine for his new flat from our local B&Q. Today when visiting I noticed that the carpet under the machine was sopping wet but a quick look confirmed that the supply hose and connections are fine so it's clearly developed a leak from somewhere inside. I haven't had time to investigate properly yet but a quick look from underneath didn't reveal anything obvious like split hoses around the pump area so I suspect the leak is further up the machine. I'll look at it in more detail in the next day or so but if it turns out to be a serious problem that I can't fix easily, what are my chances of getting any redress from either B&Q or the credit card company I used when buying it? Although it's outside the standard 12 month guarantee period, I wouldn't expect a machine to start leaking at that age. He's a single bloke living on his own so it's not like its been heavily used by a large family! We have the B&Q receipt and credit card statement showing the purchase.

wealdroam

Start by having a read of MSE's two articles...

• Consumer Rights,
• How to Complain

In there you will find that you have up to six years (in England and Wales) to look for a remedy from the retailer. You may need to prove that the fault was present at the point of sale.

Further details in those articles.

You've mentioned the supply hoses, but what about the drain hose? Is that secure, or maybe blocked if only slightly?

shilcor

Thanks for the pointers - I'll have a read. Yes, the outlet hose is fine with no sign of leakage anywhere. We tipped the machine back and I could see all of it right through to where it connects to the pump - all looks fine. I plan to sit the machine in a plastic tray, then run it and try and figure out where the water is leaking from (split door seal, powder tray, etc). Depending on what I find will determine whether I think I can argue that it's a manufacturing defect and not just wear and tear - that's probably going to be the tricky bit. I only plan to take off the top and rear panel so that I can see more of the inside when it's running but if I go back to B&Q and say that I've diagnosed the problem myself, will they turn round and say that because I've done that, I've invalidated any kind of warranty they might have honoured? The machine was only £169 so not exactly expensive so I don't want to have to get "engineer's reports" to try and back up any claim because it simply isn't financially worth it.

bazster

You can but ask, but if B&Q refuse to play ball then your only recourse will indeed be to get an engineers' report. As you say, it simply ain't worth it.

If you want to approach B&Q about it I'd do so before dismantling the thing. Play dumb, whine and plead! If it doesn't work, fine, then pull it apart and try to fix it yourself if you feel up to it. Replacing washing machine parts is pretty easy in my experience - if you can get the parts.

shaun_from_Africa

The first place that I would check for a leak is the filter.

This should be on the front of the machine, either under a removable panel at the bottom, or just a large, hand turnable knob which will easily seen
Be careful when taking this off as there will be some water in there, and it's best to remove it slowly and if possible, put a tray or something similar under the machine.

shilcor

Bazster/Shaun,
Thanks for the replies - I agree that when approaching B&Q if I need to, I won't admit to looking at the machine myself but I will actually take a better look first in case it's something easily fixed. Being a retired techie with lots of experience in repairing all sorts of things, I'm happy sorting out stuff like this myself. I need to check all the obvious things like possible blockages, split door seal, etc. No obvious filter on the front but it may as you say be behind a panel so I'll look in the handbook to see if it has one and check that too. When I looked under it yesterday I noticed traces of water around the bottom of the outer drum casing (which is white plastic) indicating that the source of the leak is not low down from the pump or associated hoses. Runnning it on a wash cycle with the machine sitting in a plastic tray and the top off (usually easily removed) should hopefully give me an indication of where it's leaking from.

neilmcl

OP, if you want any kind of remedy under the SOGA then you'll need prove an inherent manufacturing fault which will entail getting an engineer's report. Opening it up yourself and fiddling about simply wont cut it.

shilcor

neilmcl wrote: »

OP, if you want any kind of remedy under the SOGA then you'll need prove an inherent manufacturing fault which will entail getting an engineer's report. Opening it up yourself and fiddling about simply wont cut it.

I suspect you're right and it probably won't be economical to do so unless I can confirm myself first that there's a definite fault rather than a simple blockage or something else easily fixed. I've had a look in the handbook and there is a kind of filter in front of the pump that's accessed by removing a kick panel so I'll check that too. Out of interest, we have a Hotpoint Aquarius and that has the same kind of filter so I popped ours out today and found three coins in there! We haven't had any problem with our machine but it was good that I found them before we did!

s_b

Personally at 19 months i think you are spitting in the wind trying for any help
I see you are retired so assume if you have got to that age with all limbs attached you must have done some damage repair work in your time so i would take on board shaun from Africa.s excellant post and be checking the filter and then moving on to taking the back of the machine to see if its something as simple as a split hose or even a plastic component that has split but would easily araldite

remember washing machines are cars without wheels so some last better than others and its not always down to the make either

shilcor

Well, I popped round to look at the machine this afternoon and didn't have to do any dismantling to confirm that it's deceased :A Initially I opened the filter to check for any blockage and found several pieces of grey rubber 2"-3" long that look like bits of door seal stuck in it. Not obvious exactly where they have come from because the parts of the door seal I can see all looks OK but clearly, that's one possible reason for the leak. Next, when I tried rotating the inner stainless steel drum it was obvious that the bearings/mountings are shot to pieces because it's slopping and rattling around all over the place. Therefore, the machine is beyond economical repair so I'm back to my original question which is whether I can get any joy out of B&Q considering that this is a major failure that I wouldn't have expected to happen on a machine that's less than 2 years old and has only had moderate use.
We have to get my son another machine but I'll go and talk to B&Q tomorrow to see what kind of response I get. Assuming they want an engineer's report (which I assume I'll have to pay for) and might then just turn round and say it's simply worn out and tough luck, it's probably not worth going down that route. I'll read the links in a previous post about SOGA and how to complain and also do a bit of Googling to see if there are any hits indicating that it's a common fault - you never know, might get some ammunition to take to B&Q and if they won't play ball, there's always the credit card company I used when paying for it . I recently had success in getting money back using Chargeback when a Peacocks voucher we bought for my daughter was refused after they went into administration.

shilcor

Went back to the B&Q where we bought the machine and spoke to the duty manager who tried to be helpful but all he did was call Indesit and then pass them over to me to explain the problem. Sounded like the standard Indian call centre scripted response because they just offered a one off repair at a cost of about £129 with a 90 day guarantee or I could sign up for a 12 month warranty at £14.99 a month that would include the repair.
SOGA says it's the retailer who should sort out any claim, NOT the manufacturer so next step is to attack B&Q head office using a claim letter template I found elsewhere in these forums. Probably won't get anywhere but nothing to lose apart from the cost of a stamp (gasp !!!) so worth a try. In the mean time, we've had to buy son a new machine as he can't afford it himself and needs one so have gone for a Zanussi (that seems to get good customer reviews) from John Lewis. Comes with a 2 year guarantee and free delivery.