Consumer Rights v Manufacturer Warranty

molerat

At the end of January 2018 I bought a small kitchen appliance from Argos for £38. It was a discontinued product and I purchased it with vouchers. The manufacturer stated it had a 12 month warranty which could be extended to 24 months via on line registration.

Mid January 2019 the item stopped working and as it was less than 12 months old I was faced with the dilemma of consumer rights v manufacturer warranty.

Taking it back to Argos would have given them the option of repair, replace or refund. As the item was no longer available and of relatively low value I suspect they would have chosen the refund path which would have been given in vouchers, the method originally paid. The current model of the item is selling at £80 so I would have been £42 out of pocket replacing. I probably could have got it cheaper elsewhere but would still have £38 of vouchers looking for a home.

I decided on the manufacturer option as they offer repair or replace. I phoned them up and after a brief chat they decided that replacing was their best option and would, as my model was no longer available, the latest version be acceptable. They gave me a reference and asked that I e-mail or post a copy of the purchase receipt which I did and next morning had a despatch confirmation and a few days later the replacement item was delivered to my door. No going in to town in the cold, no parking rage, no queuing and no arguing with shop assistants - all done from the comfort of my armchair.

The moral here is think carefully before asserting your consumer rights when other options are available and may be the better choice


Next comes a bit of DIY. I suspect the failure is down to a basic electronic component so nothing to lose (still got a hair dryer I similarly repaired 40 years ago although you would question why I have got a hair dryer at all)