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Taken Beko to Small Claims and won!
DocHants
Posts: 111 Forumite
To cut a long story short...
In September I purchased a Leisure Range cooker for £900. Upon testing, after install, it was tripping my domestic electrics. This would happen when switching between oven functions. The whole house would be plunged into darkness! I called them, and they arranged an engineer to visit a week later.
He came, and did his testing, and could find no fault.. Told me this can happen with new appliances, and it should "settle down" in a couple of weeks. Id been told it could be due to moisture in the elements, but assumed this must be just his way of saying he didnt really know what the problem was, and it might sort itself out.
Anyway, this continued to happen and after about 6 weeks, Id had enough... It dint happen all of the time, but was very specific when it did.. turning the function dial to "off" would trip the rcd. I called them again and the same guy cam around.
after a good hour or so, he couldnt find a fault.. gave me a leaflet on "nuisance tripping" and told me to get my domestic electrics checked, as the fault wasnt with the cooker. I tried to explain that in the 8 years we had lived in the house, this had never happened until we got the cooker.
Anyway, I got a local firm of electricians in, who were at the house for over 2 hours. The cooker was tripping the rcd every time the function dial was turned off. He started to test, and was not finding any faults with my electrics.
He eventurally strippied everything from the fuseboard, including all earths, apart from the cooker, and tril the dial again.. the rcd tripped. He tested the rcd and the wiring to the cooker itself, and concluded that the cooker was causing the fault.
Armed with a report, I emailed Beko and issued them with an invoice. I told them I was going to be billing them for my time. The invoice broke down as follows:
Electrical Testing: £150
6 Hours of my time: £100
Purchase of a UPS to protect my gadgets: £100
(I bought this believeing my own electrics to be faulty)
Compensation: £50
Disconnect/reconnect new appliance: £35
TOTAL £435
Their initial response was that they would pay for the Testing, but nothing else. I said I dont see why I should be out of pocket due to the inability of their engineer to find the fault. I declined their offer and told them I would go to Small Claims.
I billed them for £435 + £35 fee and raised a claim.
I heard nothing for 2 weeks and was about to raise judgement, when I received a letter stating they would settle the claim!
RESULT!
Ive sick to death of being walked over by large companies who dont give a damn about individuals... Its time to stand up and fight them!
I also got £50 gesture of good will from the place where I bought it from, even though it was nothing to do with them, and at no time had I asked them to compensate me.
Needless to say, I obtained a full refund for the appliance and purchased a different make!
Thats the second Beko appliance I have had that was faulty!
In September I purchased a Leisure Range cooker for £900. Upon testing, after install, it was tripping my domestic electrics. This would happen when switching between oven functions. The whole house would be plunged into darkness! I called them, and they arranged an engineer to visit a week later.
He came, and did his testing, and could find no fault.. Told me this can happen with new appliances, and it should "settle down" in a couple of weeks. Id been told it could be due to moisture in the elements, but assumed this must be just his way of saying he didnt really know what the problem was, and it might sort itself out.
Anyway, this continued to happen and after about 6 weeks, Id had enough... It dint happen all of the time, but was very specific when it did.. turning the function dial to "off" would trip the rcd. I called them again and the same guy cam around.
after a good hour or so, he couldnt find a fault.. gave me a leaflet on "nuisance tripping" and told me to get my domestic electrics checked, as the fault wasnt with the cooker. I tried to explain that in the 8 years we had lived in the house, this had never happened until we got the cooker.
Anyway, I got a local firm of electricians in, who were at the house for over 2 hours. The cooker was tripping the rcd every time the function dial was turned off. He started to test, and was not finding any faults with my electrics.
He eventurally strippied everything from the fuseboard, including all earths, apart from the cooker, and tril the dial again.. the rcd tripped. He tested the rcd and the wiring to the cooker itself, and concluded that the cooker was causing the fault.
Armed with a report, I emailed Beko and issued them with an invoice. I told them I was going to be billing them for my time. The invoice broke down as follows:
Electrical Testing: £150
6 Hours of my time: £100
Purchase of a UPS to protect my gadgets: £100
(I bought this believeing my own electrics to be faulty)
Compensation: £50
Disconnect/reconnect new appliance: £35
TOTAL £435
Their initial response was that they would pay for the Testing, but nothing else. I said I dont see why I should be out of pocket due to the inability of their engineer to find the fault. I declined their offer and told them I would go to Small Claims.
I billed them for £435 + £35 fee and raised a claim.
I heard nothing for 2 weeks and was about to raise judgement, when I received a letter stating they would settle the claim!
RESULT!
Ive sick to death of being walked over by large companies who dont give a damn about individuals... Its time to stand up and fight them!
I also got £50 gesture of good will from the place where I bought it from, even though it was nothing to do with them, and at no time had I asked them to compensate me.
Needless to say, I obtained a full refund for the appliance and purchased a different make!
Thats the second Beko appliance I have had that was faulty!
0
Comments
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Why did you not deal with this through the retailer?
Good result by the way but I think you got lucky. Had it gone to court I am not sure you would have won as you should have been pursuing your rights under SOGA which are against the retailer and not the manufacturer.Thinking critically since 1996....0 -
When I called the retailer initially, I was automatically put through to the Beko helpline so ended up dealing with them directly anyway.0
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Still, it demonstrates what a shoddy retailer they are, passing on their responsibilities like that.
This reflects more badly on the retailer than it does on Beko.
Who was the retailer?Thinking critically since 1996....0 -
Appliances Online...
To be honest.. they were very helpful... I dont see what they could have done, as its the manufacturers warranty that covers the repair.
Id much rather talk to the organ grinder.. than the monkey!0 -
They were responsible for the repair, replacement, refund - not Beko. The manufacturers warranty is on top of your statutory rights you have with the retailer.
Sometimes it is better to deal with the manufacturer but if you need to go to court etc it should always be against the retailer.
Still, glad you got a top result, so well done.Thinking critically since 1996....0 -
Appliances Online...
To be honest.. they were very helpful... I dont see what they could have done, as its the manufacturers warranty that covers the repair.
Id much rather talk to the organ grinder.. than the monkey!
Good result although (as I have said before) large organisations will very often settle relatively small claims rather than have to attend your local county court and argue the case.
If it HAD been heard at trial, I really have doubts that you would have won anything as there is no contract of sale between you and Beko.0 -
Did you actually take Beko to Court?0
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no..........Thinking critically since 1996....0
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Its not the first time Ive had to deal directly with manufacturers when it comes to repairs... Even though initial contact is with the retailer, more often than not, Ive endued up being put through the to the manufacture to arrange repairs etc.
When I bought the appliance, the warranty is registered with the manufacturer, and they then give you a number to call if you have any problems.
I understand that the contract of sale was with the retailer.. but they seem to be bypassed when dealing with repairs... Its not like I could simply send it back to them, which you would do with smaller items.
It was Beko who arranged for the engineer to visit, and ultimately it was them I was unhappy with, but my point of contact was with Beko and not the company they used and were responsible for.
Anyway.. either way.. I got a result!
I was surprised how simple the process was, but more surprised they gave in so quickly.. I was expecting to have to actually take it further.0 -
As per Equaliser's posts for consumers it is rarely worth the cost of going to court for such a small amount. They made a commercial decision - their lawyers could easily cost them £500+ a day in court and then any time in prepping the case. Much cheaper and easier to give you a full refund and send you on your way.
Still, it is a good result, they could have made it a lot harder and probably have as many consumers give up well before you did and end up with nothing (aside from a faulty appliance!).Thinking critically since 1996....0
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