Faulty tumble dryer - what are my rights?

michaelm

Okay, so I bought a Hotpoint tumble dryer from very.co.uk just over 12 months ago (less than 13 months). My wife notuiced yesterday that there is no heat coming from it. I reported it to Hotpoint and to Very today. The very rep told me that she could arrange a return, but when I pressed her on my options she said I would have to call their "electrical after care department" about this.

So what are my rights here under theConsumer Rights Act, in case they try the old "out of warranty" trick?

cono1717

They've arranged a return? I'm not sure why they'd return it only to go "It's out of warranty" they'd of played that card well before the return was arranged.

Also for reference your rights entitle you to a refund repair or replacement for 6 years providing that after the first 6 months you can prove its an inherent manufacturing defect.

LilElvis

As the item is more than 6 months old it is actually up to you to prove that any fault is inherent. So, unless you want the hassle of getting an independent report, I would be very polite and non-confrontational when you call them. Their options (once fault is proven to be inherent) is to repair, replace or refund (the latter can be reduced to reflect the use you have had) and the choice of remedy is up to them.

Mr_Poves

Common fault on dryer's , the heater element have thermostats that trip and blow , sometimes due to water being thrown up through the fan .
They are designed to break every 12 - 24 moth's at £50 alone just for the part .

michaelm

cono1717 wrote: »

They've arranged a return? I'm not sure why they'd return it only to go "It's out of warranty" they'd of played that card well before the return was arranged.

She said she could arrange a return. That was before I made her aware it was just over 12 months old. At that point, she changed tack.

michaelm

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. But does this mean the rights afforded under the Sale Of Goods Act no longer apply? At least with that you could argue that an item of this type would be expected to last a lot more than a year before breaking down.

wealdroam

michaelm wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. But does this mean the rights afforded under the Sale Of Goods Act no longer apply? At least with that you could argue that an item of this type would be expected to last a lot more than a year before breaking down.

Your rights under The Sale of Goods Act and The Consumer Rights Act are broadly similar in this situation.

You can still argue that the goods should last a lot more than a year, but just as in The Sale of Goods Act, after six months from purchase the seller can ask you to demonstrate that the problem is due to an inherent fault.
In other words, the seller is entitled to ask you to prove that you haven't damaged the thing by either misuse or other 'user error'.

LilElvis

michaelm wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. But does this mean the rights afforded under the Sale Of Goods Act no longer apply? At least with that you could argue that an item of this type would be expected to last a lot more than a year before breaking down.

You're rights are, in this regard, exactly the same as they were under SOGA - you are entitled to a remedy once you can demonstrate to the seller that the item was supplied with an inherent fault

Edit - Wealdroam types quicker than I can peck on my phone!

C_Mababejive

Just to calm you a little, A couple of years back i bought a very expensive AEG condensing drier which went kaput at around 14 months. As there are only two of here and it had had very few cycles, i approached AEG. They of course blanked me and were also, i felt, very dismissive. I then learned that AEG dont exist anymore and are in fact hotpoint (?) in disguise, presumably they want people to beleive that AEG products are fine german engineering and worth paying more for?

Anyway, i progressed a claim under SOGA with the retailer. I didnt produce an "expert" report and i got it repaired (new pcb =£75) at no cost to me.

I would never buy AEG/hotpoint again.

George_Michael

cono1717 wrote: »

Also for reference your rights entitle you to a refund repair or replacement for 6 years providing that after the first 6 months you can prove its an inherent manufacturing defect.

Not quite correct.
Your rights to a remedy last for up to 6 years from purchase (in England) and in Scotland it's up to 5 years from when the fault was discovered.
The "up to" part is what is important as the life of the goods can depend on the use they've been put to and their original price.
It's also worth noting that if a refund is offered, it doesn't have to be for the full price paid as the retailer can make a deduction to cover the use of the goods that the consumer has had.

Mr_Poves wrote: »

Common fault on dryer's , the heater element have thermostats that trip and blow , sometimes due to water being thrown up through the fan .
They are designed to break every 12 - 24 moth's at £50 alone just for the part .

Really?
How do you explain that the drier I've currently got has lasted well in excess of 10 years and the one before that lasted even longer.
maybe the inbuilt faults were missed on the ones I've had.

Mr_Poves

George_Michael wrote: »

Not quite correct.
Your rights to a remedy last for up to 6 years from purchase (in England) and in Scotland it's up to 5 years from when the fault was discovered.
The "up to" part is what is important as the life of the goods can depend on the use they've been put to and their original price.
It's also worth noting that if a refund is offered, it doesn't have to be for the full price paid as the retailer can make a deduction to cover the use of the goods that the consumer has had.


Really?
How do you explain that the drier I've currently got has lasted well in excess of 10 years and the one before that lasted even longer.
maybe the inbuilt faults were missed on the ones I've had.

Well I've replaced the same part on my last 2 dryer's multiple times over the last 6 year's , infact I'm on 1st name terms with the parts guy , I did fail to mention It's on condensing dryer's not vented .
EDIT - I've just actually read that full comment again , I missed the sarcasm in the last sentence .
I do often wonder why people actually come on here to try and help people or advise - when people like yourself seem to know it all , maybe we should just leave it to you ?