Does a repair have a guarantee ?

Ebe_Scrooge

I'll try and be as brief as possible here :-) We have a dishwasher, and since it was bought in 2009 the handle to open the door has broken regularly. In the past 4 times it's broken, I've contacted the manufacturer directly who have sent someone out to repair it ( free of charge ), I was given the run-around by the retailer who said it was out of guarantee so not their problem any more.

Anyhow, it was last repaired in March this year, and has now broken again. The manufacturer is no longer interested, and says we must sort it out ourselves. I've tried the SOGA approach ( acceptable quality etc. ), but they say SOGA applies to the retailer only. So where do I stand ? I can buy the handle online and fit it myself, but given that it's been repaired 4 times in 3 years, and the last repair has lasted but 8 months, I really don't want to do that ( it'll just break again ). The retailer and the manufacturer pass the buck to each other - I'm tempted to say "!!!!!! it" and just post as much bad press as I can about them both, out of spite.

But I'm sure there must be a legal stance I can take to get the damn thing repaired or replaced ????? If it has any bearing, the engineer that came last time did say that the handle was a known weak spot on this model ( even though the manufacturer says they haven't had any instances of repeat problems, yeah right !!! )

I guess in the end, whatever the ins and outs of this particular model, if it was repaired, should the repair be reasonably expected to last more than 8 months ? It hasn't, so what comeback do I have ? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm so bloomin' annoyed !!

keystone

Write to the Co Sec by name and see what response you get. And using pen and paper, not by email or text and complain loudly. If there was no clear statement in the paperwork that a repair was guaranteed for a certain length of time then you probably don't have a snowballs tbh but its worth a punt.

Cheers

rustyboy21

Most of the companies I have dealings with, guarantee the work for something like 30 days.

Have you searched online for reviews on the product to see if other people are having problems with the handle too? It seems surprising that every handle has broke and you haven't raised the issue before. I would have commented on it before now, if this had happened to me. Sure you are not being a bit rough with it?

You are going to need some facts to show it is an inherent fault from manufacture, one way is by gathering eveidence from other users. You will also need an indepedant report at your cost to prove it is an inherent fault

Ebe_Scrooge

Thanks for the replies. Good idea about seeing if other folk have had the same problem, I'll explore that avenue. Sounds like I may just have to put up with it and sort it out myself in the end, but worth a shot. Thanks again.

macman

They are correct, you can only make a claim under SOGA against the retailer. You have no contract with the manufacturer.
It should be clear enough if a replacement part is warrantied for a further 12m or not.
Make and model?
I'm guessing Electrolux or Hotpoint.

Ebe_Scrooge

macman wrote: »

Make and model?
I'm guessing Electrolux or Hotpoint.

Smeg :-(

Yes, I know Having looked around at reviews, the good reviews are thin on the ground. Lesson learned, should have checked reviews BEFORE buying.

I can buy and fit the part myself fairly cheaply, it's just the principle of the thing and the annoyance factor. It's a shame, because in terms of performance - i.e. actually washing dishes and getting them clean, I can't fault it. Anyhow, such is life, and thanks once again for your input folks.

macman

Ask them to supply 3 or 4 handles to you FOC and you can fit them as they break. No cost to you, minimal cost to them.

Ebe_Scrooge

Now that is an excellent idea ! Got to be worth a try, thanks