Asking for compensation from BEKO re washing machine

5MINSALONE

Any advice tips or whatever would be gratefully received on this subject.

Here goes it will be a long one. lol

I am currently living in private rented accommodation. My landlord provided a washing machine with the property and it is on my lease. My landlord has ALWAYS been very good at fixing faults with it. The last washing machine died, so to speak, so they went out and bought me a new one. A BEKO WMA10

Anyway, it was installed by a company called Beta electronics and was working in tip top condition for about 6 months. Then one day there was an almighty crunching sound coming from the washing machine so I called the landlord. They contacted BEKO who sent an engineer to see what the problem was. The washing machine has 12 months warranty.

The engineer came and he said the pump was faulty, he replaced it, and said the machine was fine to use and left.

I didn’t use the machine till the next day. When I did I walked into the kitchen to find that the hose wasn’t even connected to the drain pipe and so water was gushing out from under my sink, ruined all my contents in the cupboard, and left a huge puddle on my floor.

I lost a brand new iron, washing powder, light bulbs to name a few items.

I then rang my landlord and went spare. They contacted BEKO who sent a different engineer out to sort the problem.

When he arrived he said to me that the first engineer didn’t connect the hose properly and it came out. He then re attached it and put insulating tape round it saying that should keep it in place and left.

I wasn’t happy with this situation. In my mind the first engineer failed to leave the machine in a safe and working condition. I have a 3-year-old girl so having my iron and washing machine is very important.

I then wrote a letter of complaint to BEKO customer services explaining everything and took photographs of the leakage.

As I was writing this letter the machine leaked again. The insulating tape had snapped so it happened all over again. I lost all the replacement items from the first out pouring and now the cost of lost items was up to £80 including phone calls made to their department.

To say I was miffed is an understatement. I then took more photos and added this to my letter of complaint.

I stated what happened. Included receipts of all lost items and asked if I could be compensated.

I then received a letter from customer services. They argued that this was an "installation" issue that both engineers had tested the applicience before leaving the property (which I can tell you now they did not) and there fore it is down to who installed it, that the pipe came away.

They then said that however they are "sympathetic" and will send a £30.00 cheque within 14 days.

I then received the cheque and a letter stating that as agreed they enclose a cheque for £30.00 ( I did not agree in writing or verbally that I would accept this amount) and that they will no longer keep to the 12 month warranty.

I have to state I have not presented the cheque - I did not agree to this amount and I will not accept that this is an installation issue as I had not had any trouble until their engineers fiddled with my machine.

I am wondering two things.

1: Should I seek further advice legally and fight them on this. (My landlord agrees that this lies with BEKO and not those that installed it.)

2: Can BEKO actually refuse to honour the warrenty on the machine after receiving my letter of complaint.

Any thoughts welcomed

Debt_Free_Chick

Difficult one this. I would get some free pointers from your Local Trading Standards Officer first. Mention that you are the tenant & the Landlord owns the WM - but point out that YOU have suffered the damage of the faulty repairs etc.

Any warranty issues are for the Landlord, I believe, as he has the contract with the supplier. But I can see you have suffered the consequences, hence my suggestion that you call Trading Standards.

It could be that your remedy lies with the Landlord, so the chain would be ... you claim from Landlord, he claims from supplier. You then need to think about how you would approach that, if that's the right chain.

MarkyMarkD

I don't quite understand what's gone wrong here.

It is absolutely best practice that outlet hoses from washing machines are NOT connected in a leak-proof way to the drain pipe. IIRC this is because if they were solidly connected in this way, there is a risk of the machine syphoning dirty water out of the drains into the machine (or something like that).

Washing machines' outlet houses should always go into a vented drain pipe, which means that if the drain becomes blocked, the machine can still drain but the water will overflow onto the floor.

If this is what is happening, then it's nothing to do with the machine - it's a drain problem.

If the problem is that the outlet hose doesn't reach far enough into the drain pipe, and that it vibrates out due to the machine's operation, that's an installation issue as Beko say.

If the problem is that the outlet hose is absolutely fine, but it happened to not be put back together properly by the repair engineer, then that WOULD be Beko's (or their contractor's) fault. The insulation tape bit is what worries me - there should be no need to use tape to connect together the hose and the drain pipe - the drain hose should fit inside the drain pipe and should be long enough so that it won't come out.

So after a long story, I have to suspect that the installation is at least a bit dodgy. Otherwise BOTH engineers managed to fail to put the hose back inside the drain pipe - which isn't exactly rocket science if the installation was OK in the first place.

(Just for interest, quotes from my washing machine's manual):

it is advisable that the outlet house should not be fitted without an air break

An airbeak to stop water being syphoned away from the machine must exist between the outlet house and standpipe

5MINSALONE

MarkyMarkD wrote:

I don't quite understand what's gone wrong here.

If the problem is that the outlet hose is absolutely fine, but it happened to not be put back together properly by the repair engineer, then that WOULD be Beko's (or their contractor's) fault. The insulation tape bit is what worries me - there should be no need to use tape to connect together the hose and the drain pipe - the drain hose should fit inside the drain pipe and should be long enough so that it won't come out.

You hit the nail on the head there this is the problem. Sorry for not being clear about that. BEKO did mention about the hose length and that it maybe stretched.

However my landlord has said that the company that installed the machine are willing to state that it was installed correctly, and do this in writing for me. Beta electronics also pointed out to me that Beko hose pipes are only 1.5 meters and asked me to ask beko why this is the case when other company’s supply them longer.

MarkyMarkD wrote:

So after a long story, I have to suspect that the installation is at least a bit dodgy. Otherwise BOTH engineers managed to fail to put the hose back inside the drain pipe - which isn't exactly rocket science if the installation was OK in the first place.

Again the installation company are adamant that this machine was installed correctly. And I agree. Having had no problems with the pipe and hose prior to BEKO engineers visiting. If it was an installation fault then I would have suffered floods before.

Also the fact that the second engineer blamed the first engineer was enough for me. Also the second engineer knew of the problem but failed to correct the problem. He just simply used tape, which wasn’t strong enough, if it was then it wouldn’t have snapped.

I hope that clears up some of the points you raised.

If you need to know anything further please say and ill try and explain the best I can

MarkyMarkD

The outlet hose doesn't need to be longer than 1.5 metres. It only has to run from the drain on the machine to the top of the standpipe - which is a distance of less than a metre, unless the standpipe is in the wrong place.

That's why I am suggesting it's an installation issue - if they knew the hose was too short, when they did the installation, they needed to either get a longer hose, or move the standpipe.

The fact that the second engineer thought it needed tape is in itself evidence of bad installation, from my perspective. The hose should just sit comfortably inside the standpipe, with enough of it inside so that it cannot fall out. If it's being stretched too far, it will not be secure - but taping it is not the answer - moving the standpipe or using a longer hose is. All of these are down to the original duff installation.

A statement from the installers that they did it right is pretty worthless IMHO.

5MINSALONE

MarkyMarkD wrote:

The outlet hose doesn't need to be longer than 1.5 metres. It only has to run from the drain on the machine to the top of the standpipe - which is a distance of less than a metre, unless the standpipe is in the wrong place.

That's why I am suggesting it's an installation issue - if they knew the hose was too short, when they did the installation, they needed to either get a longer hose, or move the standpipe.

I see where you are coming from, but I dont think my hose is too short or has been stretched. I was only quoting Beko who suggested it may have been to short, like you have done.

As I have said in a previous post I have had no problems with the hose prior to Bekos engineers visiting. The first enginner didnt put the hose back like it was originally it didnt vibrate out or anything it was left at the top of cupboard wedged at the top so it was clearly not pulled down and connected to the pipe.

The fact that the second engineer thought it needed tape is in itself evidence of bad installation, from my perspective. The hose should just sit comfortably inside the standpipe, with enough of it inside so that it cannot fall out. If it's being stretched too far, it will not be secure - but taping it is not the answer - moving the standpipe or using a longer hose is. All of these are down to the original duff installation.

The second enginner, told me that he put it back into the pipe and was taping it as a safeguard incase it came out again.

Then it snapped. I had my b/f check the hose after the second flood and he put the pipe back in. The pipe fits snugly into the pipe and hasnt been out since. So how it came out and snapped again is beyond me.

Thank you for the issues you have raised though. I have noted them down and I will be getting back to my landlord about this on Monday. You raised points I didnt even think about thank you.

I will also go to trading standards and see what they say. Thank you Debt_Free_Chick.

At the end of the day none of this was my fault I have had over £80 worth of damgage and I badly need a replacement Iron as I have a family to iron for.

All I want really to do is get this matter sorted. I also am a bit miffed at BEKO when they tell me they will not honour the 12 month warrenty now. Where will that leave me and my family if it goes on the blink again? Pretty much stuffed I think.:(

MarkyMarkD

OK thanks for your response too.

I don't see why BEKO think they can invalidate your warranty. Even if the machine is incorrectly installed, that wouldn't mean that other faults were made worse.

Malestrom

You say that the drain hose fits 'snugly' into the standpipe, which means that there may not be an airbreak after all. If your standpipe is partially blocked then the pump could be delivering more water than the pipe is capable of draining and the resultant pressure may be pushing the hose out of the standpipe. Not very likely but may be worth checking....

As you say, initial installation would seem to be adequate as this problem wasn't apparent before the engineers called. One thing that does worry me, the drain hose connects directly to the pump and you've had a new pump installed, then suffered two floods where the problem seems to be attributed to the drain hose. I wonder if the hose has been incorrectly routed internally on the machine or maybe even shortened when the pump was replaced.

EDIT: Oh, and even if BEKO cancel your warranty, you still have rights under the Sale OF Goods act which states that goods should be of 'mechantible quality' and 'fit for the purpose for which they are intended' and 'should last for a reasonable amount of time'. So if it becomes faulty again, you can still take action.

larry

At the end of the day you have to go back to the first day and complain in the same way. In other words you have to say my Washing Machine is still not working, and it is now a threat to my young family.....

Cumbrian_Male

Why are you chasing round after BEKO?

You rent your house from your landlord this includes fitted appliances including the washing machine.

Your loses are attributable to his or "his agents" negligence.

His agents being Beta who originally fitted it and BEKO who he used to repair his machine.

Your claim lies with your landlord, it's his problem to chase everyone else.

Take your tenancy agreement to the CAB and get their advice.

The only way I can see this being your fault is if you have used excess washing powder which has clogged up the drain pipe thus forcing it out under pressure.