Currys trying it on

Mr_Wang

Bought a Range cooker from Currys for £899. They offer a 'fitting' service for £95 which is expensive. So I declined it and had a private gas man fit it for £55.

As soon as it was fitted I checked it and one of the hobs wouldn't stay lit. It would ignite, but then instantly turn off.

I called 'Knowhow' who offered to send someone to repair it. I refused saying I had bought a brand new cooker, not a refurbished one and so expected it to be brand new.
An exchange was promptly offered. The question in point was whether they would also fit the cooker for free since I had already incurred costs.
They told me that since I had 'chosen' to have it fitted then they were not liable and in fact I would have to pay for the new one fitting. I explained that in matters of gas safety 'choice' is not a sufficient excuse and that given I am not gas trained I had no choice.
The management refused to budge and basically told me it's life.

So I took the angle of breach of contract, essentially Currys had sold me a faulty item and as a result of this I was out of pocket and so expected compensation to the value of the fitting. In other words, based on the fact I was expecting a brand new, fully functioning item I had paid £899 and then paid £55 to have it fitted. Since they had provided a faulty item, they had breached the contract, and since I was buying something brand new it was fair of me to expect it to be in full working order.
To be fair it was a long shot, but not entirely unrealistic and so if anyone knows consumer legislation better than I do perhaps they could elaborate.

In any case, once backed into a corner, under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 they agreed to compensate me the full cost of fitting meaning I am not out of pocket, except of course for the running around and calls etc which I am not bothered about.

But whilst it was settled, I have to say that from start to finish I really felt like Currys were simply trying to fob me off regardless. So just be warned, the smile, the jovial attitude and the glitzy stores may well offer you what you need - But find a fault and you may have a battle on your hands which is a real shame because I genuinely thought the brand was reinvented.

vyle

I'd have expected them to cover the cost of reinstallation, be it for you to pay a third party, or for them to do it themselves...their choice... but yeah, it's nothing new.

One point is though, if you had it repaired, it'd still be as new as when you bought it, rather than a second hand item. You bought a new item, your new item went wrong, and if they repaired it it would be your new item you bought, in working condition. As you saw, new items can go wrong. a new repaired item is, in theory, better than what you bought.

Just a small point, but it's a turn of phrase that drives me crazy.

ajones456

This leads to an interesting point, I don't know the legalities behind it but if a retailer sold you an appliance that was faulty and you had that faulty product fitted could the retailer argue that they will only swap their end as you created an entirely different contract with the private fitter.

I am probably wrong but its a question I had from reading this

MX5huggy

Currys should have just dug their heals in and stuck with the offer of a repair which is all you are entitled to.

Esqui

I'd have asked your fitter for a refund for not testing that it worked once he'd installed it!!