Consumer rights with an "installed product"

ProDave

I bought an air source heat pump 11 months ago, described as "new" and advertised with a 7 year parts an labour warranty.

11 months later I finally get it installed in my new build house only to find it does not work.

It gets slightly complicated. It is made by a UK manufacturer, but was sold by another company re badged under a different name. It has the original manufacturers name, model and serial number inside.

A further complication the original manufacturer has now stopped making them (but in business still making similar products) and I now realise what I bought was an end of line sell off.

So I have tried to get the supplier to repair it. Their response is "return it to us and we will repair it" which is absurd. You would not remove a gas boiler from the wall and post it back to the supplier to get it repaired, this as an "installed product" is no different.

I have tried the original manufacturer who say take it up with your supplier (see above)

On the advice of trading standards I have now sent a recorded delivery letter asking for a free repair or replacement under the consumer rights act 2015 and if I get a less than satisfactory response from them to continue the case with trading standards

I wonder how people think this will pan out?

Les79

They only thing is, after the initial 6 month period, the onus will be on you to prove that a fault is inherent and not simply caused by user error/damage.

It may also depend on who installed the item. Did the company install? If so, the clock may only have started ticking once installed. If you self-installed (or hired a private contractor) then sadly you are well out of the initial 6 month period.

If you are out of the 6 month period you may actually find that this offer of posting the item back is BETTER than their legal requirement (nothing) at this stage. So your letter may also sadly be ignored, as you have no proof of an inherent fault.

As a side note, did they effectively lie about the 7 year warranty?! That in itself is worthy of contact trading standards I'd say. Whether you could make a bigger case out of that point is probably better discussed with a solicitor.

Plus, I wouldn't trust trading standards to do a thing for YOU here. Your next step should be considering a MCOL claim (small claims). But then again you will likely need some sort of proof (report) of an inherent fault to progress your claim.

ProDave

What is happening is when you give it a heat demand it starts them almost immediately trips with a "low pressure" fault which from my understanding means there is insufficient refrigerant gas. So it was either sold de gassed, or it has a leak.

This is a monoblock unit and the only connections are water and electrtical. There is nothing you could possibly do wrong during the install to cause a refrigerant leak if one was not there to start with.

I have a saved and printed copy of the sales description stating the "7 year full parts and labour warranty"

I was really asking for clarification in the difference of the law with an installed product. If as I say you had bought a boiler from a builders merchant, and a plumber had installed it, and it went wrong, then the manufacturer would repair it or appoint an agent to repair it in situ. They would not be asking you to take it off the wall and send it back to them.

shaun_from_Africa

There are two different ways you can play this.

If you are claiming on the 7 year warranty then provided that the warranty documentation states that you are responsible for removing the pump and returning it to the seller or manufacturer for them to repair then it is perfectly acceptable and legal for them to insist on this.

However, if you are attempting to claim on your statutory rights as granted by the consumer rights act then as stated by Les79, the seller doesn't legally have to do anything until you can prove that the problem is due to a manufacturing defect.

If they ask you to do this and you are able to do so, they then have to provide a resolution to the problem and this could be a repair, a replacement or a refund (and this can be a partial refund to allow for the time you have had use from the pump).

If the seller opts to repair or replace then the CRA states:

If the consumer requires the trader to repair or replace the goods, the trader must!!!8212;
(a) do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer, and
(b) bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage).

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/23/enacted

How did you pay for the pump?

ProDave

So IF they insist on having it returned to them, will they be liable for the plumber and electricians labour to unistall it, the carriage to get it back to them, the carriage to return it to me, and the plumber and electricians labour to reinstall it?

If so it would be a damned site cheaper for them to send someone to fic it.

shaun_from_Africa

As I stated above, you have to decide whether you are claiming under the warranty or on your Consumer rights.
If it's the latter then you firstly need to provide proof that the fault is due to a manufacturing defect as without this the seller doesn't have to do anything.

Once you have this proof, send a copy of it to the seller along with a letter stating that the pump has failed due to a manufacturing defect and that you are requesting that they provide a remedy as is their legal obligation and that you expect them to either arrange for someone to visit and carry out the work in situ or to cover the cost of removal and transport back to them.

zoob

Im getting confused, does the rebadged heat pump you bought come with a 7 year warranty or is it the original manufacture unit come with the 7 year warranty?
Also was this bought as a retail consumer product or as part of Vat reclaimable consumables?

Les79

zoob wrote: »

Im getting confused, does the rebadged heat pump you bought come with a 7 year warranty or is it the original manufacture unit come with the 7 year warranty?
Also was this bought as a retail consumer product or as part of Vat reclaimable consumables?

Hmm, I never thought about that. One of OP's previous posts clearly states that they are a landlord in some capacity.

ProDave_on_08.06.2018 wrote:

When one of my tenants left the property in a terrible state needing a lot of repairs, I had to prove by way of photographs to the deposit scheme what the damage was before they allowed me to keep the depost which went part of the way to paying for the repairs.

Do they not have a similar scheme in England?

So maybe they have no "consumer rights" to speak of!

ProDave

The retailer I bought it from advertised the 7 year parts and labour warranty. I later found the original manufacturer was making that same claim. It is not clear which one is actually backing that warranty.

I am the end user. It was bought by me to be built into the new house that I am building. VAT will have been paid on the purchase.

I am unclear whether I am claiming on statutory rights or the warranty. I just want it to work.

The fault is an internal fault. I have sent them a printout of the fault log showing what is wrong, I would have thought that was sufficient "report" to show it has an internal problem and what the internal problem is.

peter_the_piper

Not sure if its a help but if you have a faulty fridge/ car they don't ask you to return it, you get the dealer/installer to repair and claim under warranty. Its clearly not feasible nor logical to insist on return.

zoob

What make of heat pump is it?