Rights relating to faulty goods/warranty

anna2007

This time last year I bought a vacuum cleaner online through isme.com, which was added to my account on 12 months BNPL.

Within 3 months, the vacuum cleaner packed up (no power to it when switched on). I contacted Vax and made a claim under the warranty; they sent a replacement within a week or so (I had to pay £5 for postage, send in the sticky label attached to the cleaner showing the serial number, and proof of purchase). They didn't inspect or collect the faulty cleaner, which is still lurking in the junk pile in the garage.

In July, the exact same fault happened with the replacement cleaner, so I called Vax again, however I was advised that I couldn't make a claim without the sticky label with the serial number (it fell off the replacement cleaner fairly quickly, I put it away somewhere so safe I now can't find it ). I argued that they shouldn't need the serial number, given that the replacement came direct from their warehouse, and that they had the original sticky label from the first faulty cleaner, but they won't honour the guarantee without it.

I emailed Isme to explain the situation and to request a refund (the advisor at Vax suggested I do this), but they stated that as it is not the original vacuum cleaner supplied by them which is faulty, they can't provide a refund.

I haven't contacted either company since August, however payment for the cleaner is due in just over a week when the 12 months' BNPL comes to an end, and am grudging having to pay out for something that I had 5 months' use from.

My questions are -

Am I entitled to a refund or replacement from Isme, as my contract of sale is with them as the retailer? I'd prefer a refund, as I purchased another (non-Vax and non-Isme!) cleaner back in August.

Or is Vax liable, as they provided the faulty replacement under the warranty?

And is it reasonable for Vax to insist on details of the serial number when presumably they have this information from the warehouse dispatch?

If I'm within my rights to a refund, I'd be willing to make a claim through the SCC. However, if I'm not entitled to a refund, I'd hope to at least get a replacement from either Isme or Vax, so I can sell the cleaner on eBay and recoup a little of the money I've lost.

I have correspondence to show when the cleaners developed the faults, and also the refusal by both companies to accept responsibility for the faults.

Any advice on the best course of action would be really appreciated

frugal_mike

anna2007 wrote: »

This time last year I bought a vacuum cleaner online through isme.com, which was added to my account on 12 months BNPL.

Within 3 months, the vacuum cleaner packed up (no power to it when switched on). I contacted Vax and made a claim under the warranty; they sent a replacement within a week or so (I had to pay £5 for postage, send in the sticky label attached to the cleaner showing the serial number, and proof of purchase). They didn't inspect or collect the faulty cleaner, which is still lurking in the junk pile in the garage.

In July, the exact same fault happened with the replacement cleaner, so I called Vax again, however I was advised that I couldn't make a claim without the sticky label with the serial number (it fell off the replacement cleaner fairly quickly, I put it away somewhere so safe I now can't find it ). I argued that they shouldn't need the serial number, given that the replacement came direct from their warehouse, and that they had the original sticky label from the first faulty cleaner, but they won't honour the guarantee without it.

I emailed Isme to explain the situation and to request a refund (the advisor at Vax suggested I do this), but they stated that as it is not the original vacuum cleaner supplied by them which is faulty, they can't provide a refund.

I haven't contacted either company since August, however payment for the cleaner is due in just over a week when the 12 months' BNPL comes to an end, and am grudging having to pay out for something that I had 5 months' use from.

My questions are -

Am I entitled to a refund or replacement from Isme, as my contract of sale is with them as the retailer? I'd prefer a refund, as I purchased another (non-Vax and non-Isme!) cleaner back in August.

Or is Vax liable, as they provided the faulty replacement under the warranty?

And is it reasonable for Vax to insist on details of the serial number when presumably they have this information from the warehouse dispatch?

If I'm within my rights to a refund, I'd be willing to make a claim through the SCC. However, if I'm not entitled to a refund, I'd hope to at least get a replacement from either Isme or Vax, so I can sell the cleaner on eBay and recoup a little of the money I've lost.

I have correspondence to show when the cleaners developed the faults, and also the refusal by both companies to accept responsibility for the faults.

Any advice on the best course of action would be really appreciated

Well firstly Vax can put pretty much whatever terms they want on the warranty because it is provided above and beyond your legal rights. If they want to insist on the serial number then they can do that.

Your legal rights are stated in the Sale of Goods Act. Basically your contract is with the retailer and not Vax, and if the product you bought is inherently faulty then they need to repair/replace/refund (possibly partial to account for usage). You can't force them to provide a remedy that is more expensive than another option though, so you can't make them refund rather than repair/replace.

It's a little interesting with your case because the retailer are claiming it's not the same vacuum. I'm not sure how that stands legally, but I suspect that since it was replaced under warranty (which I assume was advertised with the product when it was sold) then that won't hold much sway with a judge. I could be completely wrong about that though.

If I'm right then they have to offer one of the resolutions above if it's inherently faulty, but since it failed more than 6 months after purchase then they may ask you to get an independent report proving it is inherently faulty (rather than say accidentally damaged).

If I'm wrong then you still have the original vacuum and that is still broken. You even have some amount of evidence that it failed within the 6 month period so may not have to provide the independent report. It doesn't seem likely to me that the replacement wouldn't be counted as a continuation of the original vacuum cleaner though. I'll be interested to hear what other people think about this.

Either way I wouldn't advise you not to pay the money owed. That would have bad consequences on your credit score.

And I know it's a bit late now but it's always best to go to the retailer when something breaks in my opinion, so they can't try and say it's nothing to do with them later because the manufacturer replaced the product.

anna2007

Thanks for the helpful reply - I'll make a formal complaint to Isme and see if I can get anywhere with them.

I do intend to pay them before the BNPL period ends (otherwise I'd also be due them a ridiculous amount in interest!). I probably should have done something about it before now, but the impending dent in my finances has finally spurred me on...

bris

Isme are wrong, the law states a replacement is treated as if it was the same item.

When you have faulty goods the law gives the option of repair, replace or refund. If it has to be replaced it's not seen as a new item but as an extension to the faulty one as if the problem never arose in the first place.

This is also why new replacements are not counted as new when it comes to warranty purposes so they don't get a new warranty with them.

unholyangel

Could argue (successfully imo) that since the warranty was included in the purchase, it forms part of the contract (so a replacement under warranty wouldn't breach said contract in any way since a replacement would've been provided under the terms of the contract).


OP have you tried telling them you still have the original faulty one?

frugal_mike

unholyangel wrote: »

OP have you tried telling them you still have the original faulty one?

That's the key thing here I think. Either the replacement is an extension of the original (and I agree I think it should be), or the replacement is just a free gift from vax.

Either way isme is still liable if the fault is inherent.

anna2007

Thanks again for the comments, all helpful when I write to Isme.
@ bris - what are your views on whether I'd have to provide an independent report to prove the defect? Obviously the cost of this puts me off, as it would probably be more than the cleaner cost! The original fault happened within 3 months, the second (same) fault on the replacement within 4 months - I have both of them sitting proud as punch in their useless state in the garage?

@ unholy - I explained to Isme what happened, but didn't mention that I still had the faulty product - do you think it helps that I still have the dodgy cleaner?