Is dirt inside a dehumidifier my fault or the designer's?

frugal_mike

semo wrote: »

I think the point that I've sent the item even though they've told me what they'd do is moot. Think of it this way, if a shop sold me an item with only 1 month warranty, I'd still be entitled to a full year warranty because of SOGA. The agreement is void if it doesn't agree with the law in the first place

THE Sale of Goods Act doesn't guarantee you a 1 year warrantee. There are no specified time limits on what is reasonable length of time for goods to last, and it would be perfectly legal for anything to be sold without a warantee. If it turns out to be inherently faulty then you have legal rights against the seller.

semo wrote: »

What I'm trying to establish here is, whether I have the right to demand the repair cost be met by the manufacturer as they've not designed the product to handle something as common as air born dust.

No, the manufacturer has no obligations because you have no contract with them other than the one where they agreed to fix it for £50 if there was dirt in it. It doesn't matter if it is badly designed because your rights in that respect are against the seller, not the manufacturer

Money-Saving-King

semo wrote: »

I've had my DOMESTIC vacuum cleaner for longer than the dehumidifier and I used it to clean CONSTRUCTION debris

So you've had building work going on with it's obvious far more dust/debris than a normal environment?

DaveTheMus

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

So you've had building work going on with it's obvious far more dust/debris than a normal environment?

That's what I read aswell

societys_child

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

So you've had building work going on with it's obvious far more dust/debris than a normal environment?

Beginning to sound that way and it appears that the machine is for domestic use. Industrial ones tend to have much better filtration.

The filter can not be changed and only cleaned. It is just a mesh that you vacuum every few weeks and it is not a cloth filter you buy and change regularly

What's the make/ model / cost?

Vacuum cleaners are designed to pick up dust, even domestic ones.

semo

societys_child wrote: »

Beginning to sound that way and it appears that the machine is for domestic use. Industrial ones tend to have much better filtration.

What's the make/ model / cost?

Vacuum cleaners are designed to pick up dust, even domestic ones.

Dehumidifier hasn't been around construction work.

It is a meaco dd8l and it cost around £130 so the repair cost is worthwhile but my argument is not against the repair bill.

So what's the consensus here? Pay the bill or take up the matter with the seller?

The point I am trying to make is that I've followed the recommended maintenance procedures but dirt still caused a problem. I expect that as a customer, I should be able to prevent such a fault from happening but I feel that that is not possible with this model.

DaveTheMus

I think it will be tricky because you've already sent it to the manufacturer, it might give the seller an excuse to be difficult.

Speak to the seller and try to convince them to pay the £50 as a gesture of goodwill, or at least make a contribution.

The manufacturer might not find any dirt though, best to wait until they have investigated.

shaun_from_Africa

DaveTheMus wrote: »

The manufacturer might not find any dirt though, best to wait until they have investigated.

They have already done their initial investigation and dirt was found inside.

4 I’ve decided to risk it and send the dehumidifier back anyway and they have found dirt inside and are asking for the £50

semo

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

They have already done their initial investigation and dirt was found inside.

Yep. I did ask them several times for their checklist so that I can check it myself but they refused. If I knew that it was due to dirt, I would have tried to do the job myself but didn't want to risk invalidating the warranty. If I refuse to pay, I'll have to fix the power lead and clean everything myself.

I'll speak to the seller and see if they can help. If that fails, I'll try to convince the manufacturer to return the item without vandalizing my property. I don't see why they can't just put a warning label on the lead or unit that it is not fit for purpose to comply with the law... Removing the lead seems a bit extreme

societys_child

I've a 12year old amercan style fridge freezer that draws air in from underneath and blows it across the heat exchanger. After the first year I noticed the fan was noisy and the fridge was running far longer than it had originally.
I rolled it away from the wall, removed the back panel and cleaned the dust out of the fan and exchanger. Do it about every year now, never thought to blame the manufacturer.

May have been better to clean the dehumidifier yourself?

semo

societys_child wrote: »

I've a 12year old amercan style fridge freezer that draws air in from underneath and blows it across the heat exchanger. After the first year I noticed the fan was noisy and the fridge was running far longer than it had originally.
I rolled it away from the wall, removed the back panel and cleaned the dust out of the fan and exchanger. Do it about every year now, never thought to blame the manufacturer.

May have been better to clean the dehumidifier yourself?

I would not blame the maker in your case. Dirt will build up but in your case you as a customer can clean it periodically and I would assume that it would not invalidate your warranty.

I did clean my device to the point I could not extract any more dirt. I asked the support people if I can clean it it any further by myself and they said NO and to SEND it to them. They found dirt once they did a strip down.

How am I supposed to find that dirt myself?

I am somewhat handy with tools and I can change the oil on my car (its out of warranty) but I don't need to strip down the engine to do that as it was designed properly. Most of the gunk is caught in the proper filters which I renew at a regular interval.

You can't do this with my dehumidifier. You can clean the mesh filter every day but once small dust gets inside, it is outside your reach.