Faulty Hotpoint Oven

Toby7

I received delivery of a new Hotpoint Oven last Tuesday. I bought it from The Hotpoint Store on EBay.

 I’ve tried a few of the functions in the week that I’ve had it and it has worked fine. On Wednesday, I tried the rotisserie function for the first time which worked well and because the inside got greasy, I put it on an eco clean (it is a self cleaning oven with 2 clean functions - eco clean or pyro clean). The self clean function is one of the reasons I bought this particular oven and Wednesday is the first time I had used that.  I followed the manual instructions and removed everything and wiped it down before turning it on. Once it finished the clean cycle, the oven was left with black marks on the oven floor towards the door which feels baked in and the glass door on he inside was covered in black grease marks. I tried to wipe it with a damp cloth but that didn’t remove any of the marks. My oven is now dirty and it is hard to see through the door.

I contacted Hotpoint via eBay yesterday and they asked me to call the Hotpoint customer services which I did. I requested a replacement as it was faulty and they said I could not have that. They first advised that I need to wipe it down with. damp cloth (I told them I did but that I shouldn’t have to more than that on a lightly soiled oven otherwise what’s the point of a self cleaning oven). They could only send an engineer on the 28th to check the fault and that I may be liable for £54 for the call out as it would be under warranty. I did not book as I wanted to see my options.

It might be of note to mention that the reason we got a new oven was because of a fault with the electrics. We had that fixed by an electrician before putting the oven in (it’s a 13amp plug in one) and also have had a full electrical survey and the corrective works done since.

Can anyone give me advice regarding my rights in this situation? I’ve had the oven a little over a week. In my initial eBay message, I sent detailed photos of the problem so it is documented. The oven worked well before the using the eco clean and still works using the cooking functions but now looks dirty, I can’t see through the glass door and one of the reasons we bought it for does not work. I would be really grateful for any advise anyone can provide before I contact them again today.

Aylesbury_Duck

I have a self-cleaning oven (different make) and the extent to which it's self-cleaning are clear - it's not completely self-cleaning!  Have a good look at the specs and description to see if it's actually doing what's promised.   It may be that the self-clean function clears the worst of the residue but that you need to clean the door glass and floor of the resulting marks.  That's the case with mine - I use those teflon mats on the floor of the oven and clean the inside of the glass periodically, but the rest of the oven is cleaned through the cleaning process.

The retailer has the right to inspect the goods if you're claiming a fault - that's fair.  Make it clear you're addressing this under your consumer rights, not warranty.

JJ_Egan

Are these Ebay items  refurbs  B grade etc .

Toby7

Thanks both for replying.

It was sold as brand new from the official Hotpoint eBay store and was delivered by a Hotpoint truck.

I followed the instructions from the manual regarding removing everything including racks and giving it a wipe down (I’ve screenshot the manual below). I did use the eco clean as it was only dirty from the rotisserie chicken. As far as I was aware, after the clean, I should only need to wipe down with a damp sponge. I tried that and the marks on the bottom look like they have been painted on and did not budge. The glass door left streaks and still had black marks. This is the first time I’ve used that feature.  They can get an engineer out on the  28th but I’m concerned that it will come too close to the 30 day limit to reject a faulty item. 

Thanks again for replying.

Aylesbury_Duck

Are there youtube videos from Hotpoint you can watch, to see if yours is behaving as it should?

Toby7

I’ve just found one posted on YouTube by Hotpoint. At 15 seconds in the video, he actually says It should just “leave a little ash to wipe away. Nice and simple”. I’ve tried firmly wiping with a damp cloth and sponge and the black marks won’t budge. It doesn’t look like it’s just over a week old. 

I would understand that they need to inspect it if it developed a fault but this is the first we used the feature and it did not do what it said it would do in the manual or the ad. The effect is also clearly visible in the photos regardless of what the actual fault is. 

I actually really like the oven and don’t want a refund but would like a direct replacement of a faulty product. Even if the engineer fixed it and replaced the door, the bottom is aesthetically damaged.

If I agree to an engineer coming out, do you think it would affect my consumer rights to reject the item as faulty as they would be coming out under warranty?

Aylesbury_Duck

If you wish to reject it then it's fair that they inspect it.  They may go by your photos but that would seem unikely.  I see two options: you either send it back to them for them to inspect or they come out and inspect it.  If they concur that it's faulty, then you can see what your options are.  Just make it clear you want to reject it under your consumer rights and see what they say.

JJ_Egan

Engineer visiting your hoe under Covid  i would ask when ??

DoaM

Why have you posted the instructions about the Pyro cleaning cycle when you said you used the Eco cleaning cycle?

Toby7

Okay, thank you I’ll try that. I am concerned about the possibility of incurring a £54 charge for the engineer visit that they mentioned. 

We had one electrician come to our home last week to fix the electrics and put a new fuse board in as they were immediate fire risks. There was also an exposed live wire which he fixed. We assessed these as urgent repairs but I believe those types of businesses were encouraged to go back to work. It was a bit awkward as we talked him through from a distance but we’ve got a caravan on the drive so we stayed in there the whole time he was in the house so we were able to do it in a social distancing way.

Hasbeen

Toby7 said:

I’ve just found one posted on YouTube by Hotpoint. At 15 seconds in the video, he actually says It should just “leave a little ash to wipe away. Nice and simple”. I’ve tried firmly wiping with a damp cloth and sponge and the black marks won’t budge. It doesn’t look like it’s just over a week old. 

I would understand that they need to inspect it if it developed a fault but this is the first we used the feature and it did not do what it said it would do in the manual or the ad. The effect is also clearly visible in the photos regardless of what the actual fault is. 

I actually really like the oven and don’t want a refund but would like a direct replacement of a faulty product. Even if the engineer fixed it and replaced the door, the bottom is aesthetically damaged.

If I agree to an engineer coming out, do you think it would affect my consumer rights to reject the item as faulty as they would be coming out under warranty?

It looks like whatever it is has now been baked on by the 400 deg heat. Will be difficult to now get off with just a wipe.

You can arrange for the callout but may be liable for the £54 charge?

Personally I would get some good oven cleaner and let soak in / disolve before attempting to wipe again.

Also it looks as there are marks/streaks on the inside of the door glass. There will be instructions in manual to take off and clean, that's normal maintenance.