Hotpoint urgent tumble dryer recall

ahar_2

wealdroam wrote: »

I know you are not interested, but I'll say it anyway...

Courts deal with breaches of the law.

Actually that's not the case, at least under the English legal system. I'm not well read on the subject, but I understand that Latin based European systems are different and this may be true.

wealdroam wrote: »

Any court claim you may make against them will fall at the first hurdle, i.e. it will never get as far as a 'presiding judge'

<SNIP>

They will simply respond to any court documents, should they even get issued, saying that there is no case to answer.

Not sure you are familiar with the small claims process, but there isn't a point where the defendant can just say 'oh I don't owe them any money' and that's it. If they choose to defend the action (by, for example, saying that they owe me nothing) then in goes on through the process. Have a look here as it looks to me to be a good summary of how it all works for simple stuff.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-rights/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/#h-types-of-case-dealt-with-in-the-small-claims-track

unholyangel

ahar wrote: »

Actually that's not the case, at least under the English legal system. I'm not well read on the subject, but I understand that Latin based European systems are different and this may be true.



Not sure you are familiar with the small claims process, but there isn't a point where the defendant can just say 'oh I don't owe them any money' and that's it. If they choose to defend the action (by, for example, saying that they owe me nothing) then in goes on through the process. Have a look here as it looks to me to be a good summary of how it all works for simple stuff.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-rights/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/#h-types-of-case-dealt-with-in-the-small-claims-track

I'm curious, what do you think the courts deal with if not law? Thats the point being made by those posters - that your claim has no merit and if you ever did take it to court, you'd end up out of pocket for the filing and hearing fee.

You should have perhaps tried this page of the CABs:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/going-to-court/going-to-court/taking-court-action/step-six-how-the-court-decides-what-to-do-with-the-case/

Particularly this part:

All the paperwork about the case is given to a judge who will decide what to do next. At this stage the judge can:

- throw out the claim, if it has no chance of success
- decide you've won your case without any further information or a hearing taking place
- arrange for the case to be heard in court.

So no, it doesn't always progress into a hearing.

DixieMary

I'm finding the chat in here very interesting and would like your thoughts on my situation. I registered my Indesit tumble dryer purchased in 2011 and got email saying repair will be July. I have an ongoing insurance with Domestic and General on this dryer costing £80 a year. Do you think I should cancel this in the light of the machine having problem. Phoned Dom and Gen but girl on phone couldn't give me answer as she was only there to take people registering their machines. Will try ringing Hotpoint tomorrow but their lines and internet seem a bit clogged up, there must be a lot of people in our situation trying to get answers. I've had this dryer insured since purchased. Thanks for reading.

Zandoni

DixieMary wrote: »

I'm finding the chat in here very interesting and would like your thoughts on my situation. I registered my Indesit tumble dryer purchased in 2011 and got email saying repair will be July. I have an ongoing insurance with Domestic and General on this dryer costing £80 a year. Do you think I should cancel this in the light of the machine having problem. Phoned Dom and Gen but girl on phone couldn't give me answer as she was only there to take people registering their machines. Will try ringing Hotpoint tomorrow but their lines and internet seem a bit clogged up, there must be a lot of people in our situation trying to get answers. I've had this dryer insured since purchased. Thanks for reading.

I feel that all insurance or extended warranties are a complete waste of money, so I'd cancel straight away.

wealdroam

DixieMary wrote: »

I'm finding the chat in here very interesting and would like your thoughts on my situation. I registered my Indesit tumble dryer purchased in 2011 and got email saying repair will be July. I have an ongoing insurance with Domestic and General on this dryer costing £80 a year. Do you think I should cancel this in the light of the machine having problem. Phoned Dom and Gen but girl on phone couldn't give me answer as she was only there to take people registering their machines. Will try ringing Hotpoint tomorrow but their lines and internet seem a bit clogged up, there must be a lot of people in our situation trying to get answers. I've had this dryer insured since purchased. Thanks for reading.

I agree with Zandoni. (find me a chair, I need to sit down )

You've already spent ~£400 on insurance, have you made any claims?

DixieMary

Thanks Zandoni and wealdroam and you're both voicing my opinion from years gone by. I can't recall what made me decide to take out extended warranty/insure both the washing machine and tumble dryer when their one year's guarantee finished. Think I'm definitely calling Domestic and General tomorrow to cancel and attempt contact with Hotpoint. No claim made since purchase wealdroam, hope you found your chair in plenty of time :-D

Zandoni

wealdroam wrote: »

I agree with Zandoni. (find me a chair, I need to sit down )

I'll remember this day forever

Poppie68

bouncydog1 wrote: »

Actually it is an inconvenience - I either have to use my machine between the 2 hours on Saturday and Sunday that economy 12 rate is available, or use it during the evening at full rate - 3 times the rate of economy 12. So I will be out of pocket as I work full time and use Saturday and Sunday afternoons to go out and do things that I can't do when I am working. If my machine was out of warranty then I would pay the £59 for a replacement rather than wait several months as the £59 would probably be less than the increased electricity cost and I would have a new warranty on the machine!

Buy an airer for a tenner, cheaper than running a dryer anyway and can be used in the summer again saving you money.

ahar_2

unholyangel wrote: »

I'm curious, what do you think the courts deal with if not law? Thats the point being made by those posters - that your claim has no merit and if you ever did take it to court, you'd end up out of pocket for the filing and hearing fee.

You should have perhaps tried this page of the CABs:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/going-to-court/going-to-court/taking-court-action/step-six-how-the-court-decides-what-to-do-with-the-case/

Particularly this part:


So no, it doesn't always progress into a hearing.

A judge looking at it is a 'hearing', based on the evidence that the two sides present. The point I was responding to implied all they had to do was to say there is no case to answer - not true, they have to put forward their defence in response to mine and I may or may not lose at that point, particularly if it is obvious at this point to the Judge. Never mentioned whether it would always go to a full hearing, I merely said the process would move on.

On the point on the legal system, the comment I responded to said that courts deal with breaches of the law, strongly implying this is all they do which is entirely incorrect.
Apart from the wider point that different courts have different roles (an example that may have nothing to do with a breach in the law would be the court of protection ruling on the mental capacity of a person to make decisions for themselves), when a county or other court considers a case involves a contract there may be few or no questions in law at all.
Some types of contracts will have a body of Acts and torts that can be applied, and there may be a breach of the law involved. Others (and certainly most commercial contract disputes) will have little to no Acts involved and the determination is around whether the contract have been met with no breach of the 'law' being argued.

The English law system is varied and complex, particularly around contracts and especially when 'consumers' are involved. It's been some time since my undergraduate days and my memory is somewhat foggy but there is a significant difference between other European codes where (I think) breaching a contract is seen more like breaching the law, and the English legal system where it is certainly not.

bouncydog1

Poppie68 wrote: »

Buy an airer for a tenner, cheaper than running a dryer anyway and can be used in the summer again saving you money.

I dry outside in the summer/ when it's fine. I don't want an airer - something else to store when not in use and I don't like damp washing hanging around.