Domestic Oil tank leaking - manufacturer attempting to avoid liability

MikeFloutier

theonlywayisup said:

MikeFloutier said:

lincroft1710 said:

MikeFloutier said:

My feeling is that it will be covered. Consider any new-build property, fully furnished with all household appliances; fridge freezer, washing machine, tumble drier, power showers, cooker hob, oven, wood burning stove, microwave, extractor fans, central heating system with boiler, etc, etc, and oh oil tank.

As I said my feeling is that it’s unreasonable to think that none of these items would be covered by their warranties.

Yes, most will be covered by a warranty, but that doesn't mean the ultimate user of the item would benefit from its warranty. 

Maybe not, but I am the first and only user and have registered that fact with the manufacturer using their own form. I find it hard to imagine that the court would find for the respondent.

Warranties usually refer to the purchaser and most are non transferrable, but has been outlined a warranty is specifically what is written in the contract.  If it says purchaser, you may want to think before embarking on legal action.  

Many thanks, it’s good to have this sort of background understanding as I weigh the risk/benefit equation before deciding on my course of action.

MikeFloutier

lincroft1710 said:

Having re-read the thread, and I don't think I've missed it, but I'm old so may have done - have you actually contacted the manufacturer?

Haha, no I don’t think you missed it, as mentioned, I’ve been collecting data prior to starting anything.

Will let you know how it goes.

One thing I would say is that, although a thorough understanding of the law is important, it’s wise not to exclude human nature etc.

Also, I remember a phrase from a former life, working for Barclays, whilst studying law, something about “the reasonable man”

lincroft1710

Wouldn't it be simpler just to contact the manufacture first and explain your problem, before doing all this possibly unnecessary research

MikeFloutier

lincroft1710 said:

Wouldn't it be simpler just to contact the manufacture first and explain your problem, before doing all this possibly unnecessary research

Yes, good point, I was put off by all the negative press he was getting. I have now put in my claim; they promise to respond in 2-3 days.

MikeFloutier

Ok, well a week has gone by without any reply from the manufacturer, who promised a response in 2-3 days. 

I discovered that I can't use the Irish Small Claims Procedure for cross-border claims BUT I can use the European equivalent. The EU website was very helpful in this regard and a series of drop-down menus led me to discover the type of court my dispute would be heard by and then proceeded to track down the relevant district court by geography. They even give the address, phone number and name of the Chief Clerk to the court.

During this research I stumbled across an organisation called The European Consumer Centre - https://www.ukecc.net/about-us/eccnet-mission.cfm

Impressed by their website, I wrote to them on Wednesday and this lunch time received a full personalised A4-sized response of well reasoned assistance.

They set out what my strategy should be and how they could help, at the appropriate stage by direct mediation. Very impressive and well worth adding to the MSE arsenal.

However, just prior to receiving their email, I had decided to send a "pre-action" letter to the manufacturer. Before doing so I ran my strategy past the UK distributor who agreed but advised me first to make one last phone call to the manufacturer's CEO, who's mobile I had come across in correspondence; letting him know of my plan.

I did this and he immediately capitulated and instructed his delivery team to let me have a replacement tank. He also advised the distributor to supply the tank to me and that he would cover it.

Thanks again MSE, especially lincroft, for being the knowledgable listening ear that is so vital to folk like me in these sorts of situations where having someone alongside to help makes all the difference.

MikeFloutier

Just to confirm that the promised replacement tank finally arrived today, looking forward to getting it fitted.

many thanks for everyone’s help, much appreciated.

mattyprice4004

That's an absolutely brilliant result! Congratulations - I didn't think they'd be that reasonable or easy to work with. 

theonlywayisup

Echo above and thank you for returning to respond.  It helps other people in a similar situation.