Curry's/Knowhow- who to sue?

Cookie_Girl

Hi everyone. It’s my first post and I could really use some advice.

My problem is with Curry’s/Knowhow. As briefly as I can make it, we bought a cooker and a plan which gave us free repairs and a replacement after four mechanical failures. The cooker failed repeatedly, got repaired, and when it happened again earlier this year I asked for a new one.

The guy I spoke to on the phone said that was fine as we were entitled to a new one, but that an engineer needed to come out anyway, to do a report. He followed that up by saying that he would order the part for the engineer to fix the cooker when s/he came.

I questioned this – a repair and a new cooker? Yes, the engineer would fix the old cooker, write a report that it had been a mechanical failure again, and I would get a voucher within 72 hours of the report going in which I could spend on a new cooker or anything else I wanted.

When the engineer came I said I needed her to do a report so I could get the new cooker/voucher. She said she didn’t know anything about that but would call in to ask as she did the repair.

The repair done, she came through to say that I wasn’t entitled to a new cooker as the old one was now working.

I called Knowhow to question this and was told the same thing, that as the cooker was now working I couldn’t have a replacement/voucher for a new one. Obviously I wasn’t very happy with that as two members of their staff had completely misled me and I was stuck with a cooker that had already gone wrong several times and was likely to again. I’d bought a dud.

So, I complained in writing but was told the same thing. Nothing, apparently, can be done now.

I’m planning legal action against them for the value of a new cooker plus costs, so my questions are as follow:

Should I bother?

and

Who do I sue (small claims?) – Curry’s or Knowhow? Is there a legal distinction between the two? I bought the cooker and the plan from Curry’s but it was Knowhow and their staff that misled me…

Any advice will be very welcome.

P.S. I assume all the calls are recorded, so I gave them the date and time of calls when I complained and invited them to have a listen to what I'd been told.

Caz3121

how many repairs have they done?
It states - Request a replacement
If your product goes wrong again after the 3rd repair, you can request a replacement.

Cookie_Girl

It was the fifth repair. I forgot about requesting a new cooker the time before (the fourth time) but remembered this last time, so did.

The sticking point is that I apparently should have refused the repair. However both the guy on the phone and the engineer were told I wanted a new cooker. And I was specifically told on the phone that I would be getting a repair AND a voucher.

They had two opportunities to get it right. The guy on the phone should have said it's either a repair or a new cooker, and the engineer should have said if you want a new cooker I won't repair this one. Or something similar.

As it is, I was mislead twice and I've got an old cooker that keeps going wrong. It's great that they repair it under the plan (which I paid for!) but it still means taking time off work to be in for them and having a broken cooker as I wait.

So I want to do something about it. Had enough of being fobbed off.

JJ_Egan

What are you sueing for ??
Being misled as you say you sue Knowhow .
Your soliciter will be the one to ask .




<I assume all the calls are recorded,>


That may be a wrong assumption .

DoaM

Send them a SAR for copies of all information they hold on you, including copies (or transcripts) of all calls. That will let you know whether that call was recorded.

Not sure if it has changed, but there used to be a maximum charge for servicing a SAR (£10) and they had up to 40 days to respond with the information.

Cookie_Girl

I'm planning to sue for the cost of a new cooker plus costs.

Not planning to use a solicitor because the fees will be more than the cooker and I can manage it through small claims no problem. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether Curry's and Knowhow are one and the same. You never know how businesses are structured! So I thought I'd ask here, in case someone knew and could point me in the right direction.

I've actually asked this of both Curry's and Knowhow but guess what - I'm being ignored. Big surprise...

Cookie_Girl

Thanks DoaM, I'll do that.

Cookie_Girl

Just had a thought, they'll probably say they don't have a record of my calls. It would be very useful for them if they didn't. Then it's just my word against theirs.

SuperHan

Each of their websites will tell you the name of the legal entity you are dealing with.


Have a look at Knowhow and Currys website. If they refer to the same entity, then that answers your question.


It's all publicly available information, and you'll need to know for your small claims paperwork too.

agrinnall

DoaM wrote: »

Not sure if it has changed, but there used to be a maximum charge for servicing a SAR (£10) and they had up to 40 days to respond with the information.

GDPR/DPA 2018 scrapped the charge for a SAR, and the response has to be within 1 month.

How long should the organisation take?

An organisation has one month to respond to your request. In certain circumstances it may need extra time to consider your request and can take up to an extra two months. If it is going to do this, it should let you know within one month that it needs more time and why. For more on this, see our guidance on Time Limits.


Can the organisation charge a fee for this?

A copy of your personal data should be provided free. An organisation may charge for additional copies. It can only charge a fee if it thinks the request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’. If so, it may ask for a reasonable fee for administrative costs associated with the request.


https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-of-access/

cono1717

Currys / Knowhow aren't the legal entity, you need to bring any litigation against DSG Retail Limited