Broken Washing Machine - Compensation for Laundry Costs?

cwhite49

Hi,

I bought my Bosch washing machine from Curry's on 30th April 2016. We have a 12 month warranty on the machine so it is still under guarantee.

The washing machine started to leak about 10 days ago and we called Bosch on the 20th October to request an engineer to come out and fix the problem.

The engineer was arranged to arrive today (26th October) so my partner had to take the day off work to wait for him.

The engineer came today and a leak was identified requiring the replacement of 2 parts. The engineer has to order the parts in and won't be able to fit the parts until Saturday 5th November.

This means that we will have been without a washing machine for 16 days and have had to use the launderette on numerous occasions - with more trips required from now until next Saturday.

Do I have any consumer rights that would allow me to request compensation for the time lost from my partner taking a day off (approx £192 / day) and for the costs we are spending on launderettes (so far over £30)?

Many thanks,

Catherine

fleshandbone

Yes go for it

Undervalued

Short answer no!

It has broken down after seven months and they are taking reasonable steps to fix it.

If they mess you around repeatedly, fail to turn up to appointments, break something else whist trying to fix the problem then maybe but none of that has happened yet!

Remember the Bosch warranty is in addition to your statutory rights which would be against Curry's, not the maker. You would only have a claim against Bosch if they fail to honour the warranty (assuming you have complied with its terms).

neilmcl

Did the engineer say what was the cause of the leak?

There's been no "lost time". You had an appointment for an engineer visit and he duly arrived on the day specified.

boo_star

You can claim consequential loss under the Consumer Rights Act, but only if a repair takes an unreasonable amount of time.

Two weeks is borderline but if they refuse to pay out your only option will be a county court claim.

Is it really worth going down a route you may not succeed in? Do you not have friends, family or even neighbours that'll let you wash a few loads over the next couple of weeks?

bris

Problem is you didn't give the retailer the chance to put things right and went straight to the manufacturer under the warranty.


If you exercised you consumer rights the reasonable consequential losses could have been claimed from the retailer. by bypassing the retailer you are bound now by the terms of the warranty.

boliston

I remember my dishwasher breaking down and I had to hand wash my dishes for a good week - it was hell!

I think given the choice I'd rather hand wash clothes than dishes any day - at least that's what I tend to do when I'm staying in hotels when travelling.