Vax Steam Cleaner broken after 16 months - Argos and Vax not helping

matty_art

Hi folks,
Really hoping I can get a bit of advice from you lovely folks.

I bought a Vax Steam Cleaner for £70 from Argos in November 2018 on credit card and after being used only once a week since then, it's packed in - I've been through all the trouble shooting but steam isn't getting from the device through the head.

I contacted Vax as the device said it had a 2 year guarantee.  However, they are refusing to honour the guarantee as I didn't register the purchase with them - the requirement to do this is tucked away in the back of the manual in very small print.  I'm pretty annoyed with this, as I normally register everything, but missed it as it was hidden away rather than having a separate bit of paper which products normally have.

I then went to Argos to try and claim rights under the Consumer Rights Act as the product hasn't lasted a satisfactory amount of time.  They've basically told me it's outside their normal guarantee, I need to get an independent report to prove it's a manufacturing fault, and are telling me there is nothing more they can do.  They don't even have an email address to write to, they told me they don't have any email addresses and I need to write a letter...

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to resolve this?  It just feels like the product should last for longer than a hundred or so usages, and that VAX are just trying to get out of the warranty through a small clause.  I don't know what to do though 

Aylesbury_Duck

Everything you've been told is correct.  A warranty is a discretionary policy applied by the manufacturer and therefore they can dictate the terms of it.  I'm afraid they're under no obligation to spell its availability out to you.  

You do have consumer rights but as Argos have said, you need to get the unit inspected to see if there's an inherent fault. That would seem unlikely if you've used it 100 times, but it's up to you whether you want to get it checked or not. 

matty_art

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Everything you've been told is correct.  A warranty is a discretionary policy applied by the manufacturer and therefore they can dictate the terms of it.  I'm afraid they're under no obligation to spell its availability out to you.  

You do have consumer rights but as Argos have said, you need to get the unit inspected to see if there's an inherent fault. That would seem unlikely if you've used it 100 times, but it's up to you whether you want to get it checked or not. 

This is where I get a bit confused.  In Martin’s SADFART mantra, he says that products should last a reasonable amount of time.
Then the whole thing about proving a fault was in place at purchase doesn’t seem in line with that - a product can develop a fault after purchase (but in a non-reasonable amount of time).  How that stack up with the CRA?

Aylesbury_Duck

It's consistent with it. If your independent inspection shows that there's an inherent fault, you'd be entitled to a repair, a replacement or refund (tempered to take into account the use you've had to date, of course).  You would get the inspection fee refunded as well. 

Basically, after this long, the onus switches to you to prove the item is fault . That's reasonable. 

neilmcl

matty_art said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Everything you've been told is correct.  A warranty is a discretionary policy applied by the manufacturer and therefore they can dictate the terms of it.  I'm afraid they're under no obligation to spell its availability out to you.  

You do have consumer rights but as Argos have said, you need to get the unit inspected to see if there's an inherent fault. That would seem unlikely if you've used it 100 times, but it's up to you whether you want to get it checked or not. 

This is where I get a bit confused.  In Martin’s SADFART mantra, he says that products should last a reasonable amount of time.
Then the whole thing about proving a fault was in place at purchase doesn’t seem in line with that - a product can develop a fault after purchase (but in a non-reasonable amount of time).  How that stack up with the CRA?

It's not confusing at all. Yes products should last a reasonable amount of time but as it's over six months the onus is on you to prove that the product hasn't failed due to any excessive wear, accident or misuse.

LadyDee

I wonder in what manner you approached Vax?  I once bought a Vax cleaner from a car boot sale, gave them a ring and they allowed me to register it.
I bought one of the Vax steam cleaners from Argos, and when I couldn't retract the handle I rang Vax explained the problem and they sent me a replacement.
Bought a Vax battery operated vacuum and after a few tries couldn't get it to pick up properly.  They agreed over the phone to replace the whole thing and told me to just keep the bits of the first one as spares and throw away the rest.

matty_art

LadyDee said:

I wonder in what manner you approached Vax?  I once bought a Vax cleaner from a car boot sale, gave them a ring and they allowed me to register it.
I bought one of the Vax steam cleaners from Argos, and when I couldn't retract the handle I rang Vax explained the problem and they sent me a replacement.
Bought a Vax battery operated vacuum and after a few tries couldn't get it to pick up properly.  They agreed over the phone to replace the whole thing and told me to just keep the bits of the first one as spares and throw away the rest.

Well I think the problem was that I was speaking to them about troubleshooting the fault before I realised about the registration issue.  So they basically said I couldn’t register now, presumably as they knew it was faulty already.  This was on webchat to an Indian call centre and on twitter though as the phone line was closed yesterday. 

Do you reckon giving them a call might get better results?

matty_art

neilmcl said:

matty_art said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Everything you've been told is correct.  A warranty is a discretionary policy applied by the manufacturer and therefore they can dictate the terms of it.  I'm afraid they're under no obligation to spell its availability out to you.  

You do have consumer rights but as Argos have said, you need to get the unit inspected to see if there's an inherent fault. That would seem unlikely if you've used it 100 times, but it's up to you whether you want to get it checked or not. 

This is where I get a bit confused.  In Martin’s SADFART mantra, he says that products should last a reasonable amount of time.
Then the whole thing about proving a fault was in place at purchase doesn’t seem in line with that - a product can develop a fault after purchase (but in a non-reasonable amount of time).  How that stack up with the CRA?

It's not confusing at all. Yes products should last a reasonable amount of time but as it's over six months the onus is on you to prove that the product hasn't failed due to any excessive wear, accident or misuse.

Right thanks, I must be easily confused I guess!

On a practical level, how would one do this?  I would have thought an independent report for a steam cleaner would be pretty impossible to get, or at least not much cheaper than the cleaner...

JJ_Egan

Yes an independent report would cost circa £60- £75.

Should last longer yes maybe but needs proof you did not damage the product .

LadyDee

matty_art said:

LadyDee said:

I wonder in what manner you approached Vax?  I once bought a Vax cleaner from a car boot sale, gave them a ring and they allowed me to register it.
I bought one of the Vax steam cleaners from Argos, and when I couldn't retract the handle I rang Vax explained the problem and they sent me a replacement.
Bought a Vax battery operated vacuum and after a few tries couldn't get it to pick up properly.  They agreed over the phone to replace the whole thing and told me to just keep the bits of the first one as spares and throw away the rest.

Well I think the problem was that I was speaking to them about troubleshooting the fault before I realised about the registration issue.  So they basically said I couldn’t register now, presumably as they knew it was faulty already.  This was on webchat to an Indian call centre and on twitter though as the phone line was closed yesterday. 

Do you reckon giving them a call might get better results?

Oh yes, most definitely.  I always start by asking for help and, as above, have never been disappointed by their response.  Those web chat things have their use, but there's nothing like actually speaking to someone who can hear the tone of your voice.  Best of luck.