Currys Whateverhappens Warranty - Any good

ShaunJUK

I used to work at currys and was dismissed by them and hence dont feel too strongly about the company.

However my job was based around customer service and I have WEH on all my electrical items, I pay under £20 a month and I know I will never have to buy another appliance from them again. I think I benefit from knowing the rules and regulations of the support service and hence knowing my entitlements and the time frames but it is definately worth the money.

shanni10

I recently have bought a Pioneer LX5090 for £1550 from Currys. It was the last one in stock and it was marked £350 off the retail price. I am always one for warranties but as long they are reasonably priced. However, in this case I paid around £530 for a 5 year whatever happens warranty. I did this because the closest competitor, TLC broadcast are selling this tv for £2099 with a 5 year guarantee. I also bought it from Currys because I can pay in 12 months time, which is what I wanted. I also bought it because of peace of mind and do not want to have any hassle, and quickly get the tv fixed if a fault develops, than writing endless letters, calling customer service, spending endless hours explaining to the staff etc etc

After reading this thread, I now am in two minds. The tv is only £1550 but the warranty is 35% off the tv price, which seems very high when coming to think of it.n Also it is not common for Pioneers such as the 5090 to break down (i have a 42" sony which has never broken down in the 5 years I have had it), and if there is accidental damage, i can use my home insurance.

Finally after reading Penguin's message has made me think twice also "Sellers … are obliged to guarantee the conformity of the goods with the contract for a period of two years after the delivery of the goods," . See below (cant paste links, so put spaces)

[FONT=&quot]H t t p : // ec.europa.eu/consumers/rights/gen_rights_en.htm

h t t p : // [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]w w w .avforums.com/forums/xbox-360-hardware/475729-2-year-warranty-standard-eu-law-2.html[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
h t t p : // ec.europa.eu/publications/boo...move/64/en.pdf[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] Also Article 5 of the EU Directive 1999/44/EC, which became law in the UK in 2002 has something similar.

h t t p : // eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999L0044:EN:NOT[/FONT]

Article 5
Time limits
1. The seller shall be held liable under Article 3 where the lack of conformity becomes apparent within two years as from delivery of the goods. If, under national legislation, the rights laid down in Article 3(2) are subject to a limitation period, that period shall not expire within a period of two years from the time of delivery.


The only problem (after hours of researching) is the key phrase "any lack of conformity which exists when the goods are delivered to the consumer" and also this 2 year rule is NOT a warranty but a limitation period.

"During a limitation period consumers can report and seek redress for a fault that was there at the time of delivery. Some EU countries already had limitation periods of less than this but the equivalent limitation period in the UK was (and is) 6 years in England and Wales and five years in Scotland. Under the 2002 regulations If goods develop a fault within the first six months and a consumer claims against the retailer, the retailer will have to prove that the fault was not present when the goods were sold"

So in the first 6 months the onus of proof is on the retailer, after that the buyer has to prove the goods were faulty as-sold. And there is no blanket 2-year warranty.

So..........do I go back to Currys and cancel the 5 year warranty and stick to this 2 year limitation period (which is not a warranty although consumers & retailers in UK are confused by this rule), in the hope that if anything goes wrong after 6 months to 2 years, I will have to print articles and put them in front of a Curry's sales manager / customer service assistant, and ask them to fix my tv or give me a replacement and prove that the fault was there from the day the TV was delivered. It seems from looking at many web sites, quite a few consumers have been successful with this law.

My other option is ask to cancel the policy in the hope they reduce the price of warranty or buy the warranty after 6 months / 2 years of purchase.

My third option is to ring John Lewis, tell them I bought the last tv in stock, realised JL had it on their website after I bought it, ask them to price match it and return both TV and warranty back to Currys, and have a Pioneer 5090 for £1550 with a free 5 year warranty!

I think I will try JL in the morning, see what they say, failing that, goto Currys, ask for a refund on warranty in the hope they reduce the price. Failing that, buy warranty at a later date.

(it has taken me 3 hours to write all this whilst doing my investigation and never thought my message would be this long or it would take me 3 hours of my precious night!)

Let your comments begin.

shanni10

have continued the thread here, as this one is very slow

http : // www .avforums.com/forums/plasma-televisions/1081232-whatever-happens-warranty-currys.html#post10387521

Senga1

goggins1977 wrote: »

We took out the insurance when we bought our TV which cost over £3000 within the 1st 2 years the TV broke ,and they were unable to fix it we got to go into store and pick a brand new TV ,the prices had come down alot in the 2 years so we were able to get a bigger TV ,£400 back and the extended warranty for another 5 years ,i keep my fingers crossed everyday that the same thing happens again...in our case it was well worth taking out the warranty.....

Hi

Can you offer any explanation as to why you did not receive only the amount to replace your tv with a suitable replacement of a similiar specification. I am currently experiencing a similar situation.

denise38

hope it better than their warranties on domestic items. Absolute farce. If you call on a Monday supposed to get someone out on Wednesday. Call on Wednesday get Friday. Unless you live in Highlands 20 mins out of Inverness and it could be anything up to a week before they even look at it. Mother had same problems with them twice. think she would have learned her lesson but she got original item written off and new warranty free cos they mucked her about and left her without a washing machine for weeks. Now the rerplacement has packed in. She knew what was wrong. Took 10 days to get someone out. Manager in Currys was an absolute waste of space did nothing never passed on messages to repair man. Last time she buys from them.
Last time for me as well since they did the same to me. left without a fridge freezer for about 6 weeks!!

metehan

I bought 42" LG LCD and insurance for all mishaps after 1 year TV broke by accident while I was transporting I send all report of TV but them excellent service did not accept to repair or replace, they told me manager did not satisfied with your information, its really ridiculous and frustrating I paid almost 3/1 TV price to that insurance and what I bouth I saw when I need them,I advise you please do not buy anything from them really you don need just you pay more you lost your money and makin them rich at all nothing more.now I have my contract and there is writng for any mishap even you broke it by yourself insurance will pay to you.now I am thinking to go to court they are just cheating on people,do you have any advise with your experiance ?

metehan

whateverhappens just fraud please do not buy any warriant from them I bought and it was just stress for me nothing else I lost my TV and I lost my money which I paid 110.
do not fall into them trap.

nellynatter

On Saturday 26th May Coolpix camera placed in floor behind bride during photos. Needless to say got accidentally stood on by another ( not the bride).The optical lenses got activated and so bent and split casing. Couldnt download pictures into PC.
Camera was purchased at Meadowhall in August 2011. Whatever Happens cost £17 for 3 years. Today, Monday 28th Local Curry's Store, Harborough Hills, Barnsley cheerfully supplied replacement which was a better model so I had to pay the differenceabout £20.
However, taking into account the saved return trip to Meadowhall it really only cost around £15.00

Does make a change to be able to say well done to Currys and a big thank you to the cheerful staff.

The insurance is still in force till August 2014. So if i:jt happens again.....

Basil1234

well i for one bought a 50" plasma telly which cost £599 didn't bother with the no problem guarantee as to me most have the get out of jail free terms and as it happens they sent me the quote paperwork thru the post with all the terms and a price to do this amazing stuff to make it a 5yr one which what they mean is 1yrs manufacturers and 4yrs them.
cost to me £229 is around 1/3 of the value of the product for something that MIGHT go wrong.

anyway terms bit you will laugh at this,
on the front it says:
benefits
*unlimited free repairs
*protection from mishaps
*protection from techincal faults
*speedy repairs
*no fault, no charge
*uk-based helplines
*and if we can't fix it,we'll replace it fo free

on the back
What is NOT included in my WHATEVER HAPPENS Agreement
*consumable items
*built in batteries, bulbs, vacuum cleaner belts and lamps used in projectors.
*cosmetic damage, where it does no effect the operation or safety of the product.
*repair costs that we have not offically approved.
*damage or breakdown that is due to FLOOD,WIND or Any other severe weather conditions.
*the cost of repairing or replacing a product that fails because anyone neglects, abuses or misuses the product.
*inoperabaility of a product caused by withdrawal of services by a third party.
*protection for plasma, lcd and rear projection tvs, diswashers, vacuum cleaners, cooking and laundry products if used for business.
*image retention on a plasma, lcd, led, 3d, or rear projection TV.
*Theft, loss or consequentional loss.
*any service where the customer support agreement has been suspended.
*any claim where your monthly payement has not been received by the due date, or where the bank has reclaimed it.

---

also to let you know on the back it also says they can keep the product for repair for 21 days from engineers First visit and after that if they can't fix it they will replace etc
so hope its not too important like washing machine tumble dryer telly etc.

also when i declinded it from salesman at shop afterwards he told me he had an led telly where strip had gone out in the middle but was within manufacturers dead pixel policy and was NOT covered by this guarnatee as was within the manufacturers spec.

the other thing that worrys me with these terms if a child ran/spill a drink/ tripped into it damaged it. which to my mind would be a mishap on the front of the agreement but on the back they would be covered on the back with terms abuse, neglect or misuse. there are far to many get outs in the small print.

so i'll take my chance and save my money and cut there profits, on a side note 2 other tellys working fine,cooker working fine, fridge working fine,frezzer working fine, dvd, blu-ray, 5.1 amp and laptops all working fine amazing that wonder if anyone sees a theme there.

hope helps save you some money
my advice pay for it if it goes wrong on the lot you may pay for 1 in 5 or so appliances if it does the only one i had to pay out for was new washing machine door rubber cost £40 to have fitted by repair man in 8 years very expensive i know :rotfl:

basil:D

Robo_112

WHATEVER HAPPENS DO NOT BUY THIS. The warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. Tried to call them out for a 4 month old cooker. They couldn't send anyone within the 2 day period promised. Got a date for repair with promise of phone call the night before. No call the night before nor on the day of repair. Called the company and was in my opinion lied to being told the engineer was sick. Explained that the appliance was dangerous that it had given a 28 week pregnant woman a severe electrical shock and that a 2 year old lived in the house and that repair was a priority to me. Promised a visit next day, however got a call to say that would not happen either. Tried in vain for over 4 hours on phone (mainly on hold) to negotiate with the whatever happens people who are an affiliated company's of Dixons/ currys with no joy. Fobbed off with every excuse in the book. Gave in and replaced it myself for peace of mind. AS I SAID WHATEVER HAPPENS, DO NOT BUY THIS WARRANTY. MY EXPERIENCE WAS ITS NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT'S WRITTEN ON.