Tumble dryer has broken one day out of warranty

glentoran99

Ant555 wrote: »

Have you checked its not one of the 4 million Hotpoint dryers that are at risk of fire due to a defect?

https://safety.hotpoint.eu/

first post

In case it makes a difference my (now broken) machine was one I exchanged my last dryer for (having paid a £59 fee) during the publicised tumble dryer safety recall last year.

MRSB

Thanks very much for your replies, I really appreciate all the advice.

I don't feel that I'm in a position to attempt a repair myself, but thank you very much for the advice regarding that too.

I complained via social media earlier on and had a reply quickly from Hotpoint. I was advised that as a guesture of good will an engineer would come to assess my dryer free of charge, with the view to repair or replace, also free of charge. Finally some decent customer service I thought, but alas there is a hitch.

This free assessment visit will 'become chargeable' if the dryer appears to have been tampered with according to the social media customer services person, (they could not tell me what that charge would be), so it is a complication that we have taken the top panel off of our dryer, (that's the only thing my Husband did).

Now I discussed whether my Husband could open the dryer up to investigate the fault during my initial telephone conversation with Hotpoint, and was told that as it was out of warranty, there were no terms and conditions to void and as such we were fine to open up the machine. This was seconded by the advisor's manager, however I did not get to speak to this manager directly. The only caveat was that we took care to reconnect everything correctly in case we decided to take out the extended warranty, as then the terms and conditions, specifically no tampering or modification, would be back in play. We took time stamped pictures with the panel off to show that this investigation happened outside the warranty period as advised by the customer service agent as well.

I told the social media customer services person this and they could not help or deviate from the 'the assessment visit will become chargeable if you have tampered with the machine' spiel, so I gave up and rang customer services again in hope of speaking to a manager as the issue could not be escalated unless I telephoned apparently.

I have been waiting since before 2pm today for a call from one of two possible managers that could assist, with a promise that I would definitely get a call back before closing today. I haven't received a call and they are now closed so I shall be ringing first thing tomorrow.

Here's hoping that I can get through to a manager tomorrow and can sort this out prior to my booked visit on the 26th. Of course I will tell the manager all about the conflicting information detailed above, but whether that will be enough for them to back down and confirm that this free visit will actually be free remains to be seen.

Thanks again everyone

Apodemus

Fingers crossed that they will do the decent thing!

keith969

You dont mention what type of tumble drier it is (one that vents to the outside vs. a condensor one etc). It may be from the sound of it that the motor needs replacing. If the £49 fee for the extended warranty covers repair for existing faults including parts and labour (be sure to get that in writing) - then it sounds worth it as a repair will probably cost quite a bit.

Unfortunately you get what you pay for, and Hotpoint aren't known for quality. They have designed-in obsolescence.

[Deleted User]

Should make you aware that if you pay the 49 pounds for a year extended be sure you read all the terms and condition. Most state that the will replace the part and free engineer call out but you have to pay for labour that can cost 100 quid alone. Seem you sorted it with social media so good luck

barnaclebill

As far as I know under the sales of goods act the goods should last a reasonable time with normal use and the warranty is an extra so if it failed after one year and one day and cost £200 it was not fit for normal use so I would not open it and demand a repair for free under the sale of goods act