Screwfix loft ladder safety recall

greeneggsandham

I bought a 2-section loft ladder for £39.99 from a Screwfix store in November 2012, and paid another £40 for someone to install it for me.

It has been working fine, but today I received a letter from Screwfix with an 'Urgent Product Safety Notice' telling me that they are recalling this model of loft ladder due to a safety issue. The label on my ladder shows that it IS part of the affected batch. The letter tells me not to use the ladder, and to remove it and arrange to return it to the store or have it collected. They will issue a full refund.

I called the customer service number and was told that they MAY be able to reimburse the cost of arranging for someone to remove the faulty ladder, but not the cost of installation for a replacement. If this is the case, I will still be out of pocket, because I will have had to pay for installation twice – once for the original ladder and once for the replacement.

I have emailed them to ask whether they can also cover the cost of replacement, but in the meantime I'm just wondering what my rights in this case would be. Would it be reasonable for me to expect to be able to replace (including installation) a faulty product without ending up out of pocket? Also what about the hassle??

I'd appreciate any info or suggestions, thanks.

greeneggsandham

I just read that according to [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]sections 48(a)-48(f) of the Sale of [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Goods Act 1979 [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods to [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Consumers Regulations 2002), i[/FONT]f the goods do not conform to the contract of sale at the time of delivery (or at any time within the period of six months starting with the date on which the goods were delivered), the buyer has the right to require the seller to repair or replace the goods within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience to the buyer and bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage).

At least that's my summary of what I think it says. But I'd think it's safe to say that a product that's recalled for safety reasons doesn't conform to the contract of sale!

System

dont go into your local trade counter expecting anything other than a refund of the original cost of the ladder anything else would be dealt with by head office

greeneggsandham

Have you tried chrissyg? Have you had a similar problem?

I can't take it into the store because I'd have to get it removed first, and I don't intend to do that until I've got some assurance from them that they're going to cover the cost. So yes, I'll see what comes back from my email and then send a letter or email to head office. Personally I think that if they're going to sell me a product that was potentially dangerous they should bend over backwards to provide a safe replacement.

Slowhand

Removing a loft ladder is a straight forward simple DIY task. Have a go!

greeneggsandham

Thanks for the encouragement slowhand, but I've had back surgery and while I'm quite happy doing lightweight DIY jobs at normal standing height, anything involving going up and down ladders and then having to lower myself back out of the loft after having removed the ladders is pretty much a guaranteed trip to A&E for me! It's a simple DIY job, for the able bodied.

Equaliser123

Slowhand wrote: »

Removing a loft ladder is a straight forward simple DIY task. Have a go!

That doesn't really help with the OP's point, does it?

OP is, quite understandably, annoyed at having had to fork out for installation cost and the hassle of returning something.

Screwfix's problem that it is being recalled. Not the OP's.

Slowhand

Equaliser123 wrote: »

That doesn't really help with the OP's point, does it?

OP is, quite understandably, annoyed at having had to fork out for installation cost and the hassle of returning something.

Screwfix's problem that it is being recalled. Not the OP's.

I was only offering a suggestion. My apologies for it not meeting your approveal. How does your post help the OP?

greeneggsandham

So has anyone had any experience or know of any precedent for getting reimbursed for expenses incurred as a result of a faulty product recall? At the end of the day, I paid for a set of loft ladders and installation, and all I'm after is to still have a set of working loft ladders without having to fork out any extra for repeat installation.

buglawton

With cars, the replacement work is covered by the manfr.

VB1981

We are in the same predicament as the OP. We're intending to write to Head Office...