Right to replacement or refund for faulty exercise equipment after 6 months and 2 failed repairs

pianoman81

I bought an elliptical trainer online in April (purchased on a credit card). It developed a fault (a noise issue) within the first week, which I promptly reported to the retailer. The machine has a two-year warranty. After some email correspondence trying to diagnose the issue, the retailer determined mid-June that an engineer visit would be needed. I was told that the engineers would bring a selection of spare parts with them in the hope of completing the repair on the first visit.

The engineer visit didn’t take place until the end of July thanks to delays on the retailer’s part. The engineer brought no spare parts and hadn’t been given the details of the fault. Unsurprisingly, they determined that replacement parts (rubber bushes) needed to be ordered, which they would then return and fit. They advised that it was fine to keep using the machine in the meantime (despite the noise) as the parts that needed replacing were partly eroded but hadn’t completely worn down.

After this point, trying to get any updates from the retailer was like getting blood from a stone, as telephone calls and voicemails went unanswered and email responses took a week or more and then didn’t provide the requested answers or firm timescales.

I eventually learned that the engineers received replacement parts at the end of August but had to return them as they were the wrong ones. It then took until the end of October for the second set of parts to be delivered to the engineers. In the meantime, the noise had significantly worsened, so I had to stop using the machine mid-October as it had become unbearable.

The engineers visited me last week, only to discover that the second set of parts were STILL the wrong ones and therefore couldn’t be fitted. To make matters worse, a second fault (warped frame) has developed as a knock-on effect of the first one – when the engineers told me it was fine to keep using the machine, they clearly didn’t expect that it would take another three months before they could return and fix it, so they suspect the usage over this period of time might have contributed to the second fault.

As a result, the list of required replacement parts has now grown, which is frustrating given that the retailer hasn’t yet managed to correctly supply the original requested parts despite two attempts.

I have emailed the retailer to request a replacement machine and removal of the faulty one since it’s now completely unusable and I don’t want to wait another three months or more for them to have another go at ordering the right parts.

I’ve had a vague and non-committal response that they will look into it, but given their poor communication and lengthy delays so far, I’m not feeling too confident. I’m now in two minds as to the best course of action.

I would therefore welcome advice on my options so I can decide what to do next:

1) Do I have the right to reject a further repair attempt and insist on a replacement since so far they have had six months to repair it and have failed despite two engineer visits?

2) Alternatively, could I now insist on a refund (or file a section 75 claim with my credit card provider)? I’m wondering whether a different model and/or a different retailer would be a safer bet at this stage.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this!

Sandtree

The question is what a “repair attempt” is defined as... unfortunately I cannot help you with that one but would somewhat struggle to say they’ve already had two repair attempts when in reality you’ve had one diagnostic appointment and a visit to attempt to repair it that was abandoned because of the wrong parts.

That part aside, if you have allowed them a failed attempt and its broken “again” then your only right is to demand a refund... you never have a right to insist on a replacement or repair. Plus the refund can be reduced for use received.

If you paid by credit card and the item is within the required value band (which I imagine it would be) then you have always had the right to claim against the card issuer irrespective of what the retailer was doing. As its over 6 months 99% of credit cards will initially ask for an independent engineer report confirm the issue is inherent and potentially also a quote for fixing or two.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If the frame is damaged just reject the trainer, send the retailer a letter before action for the full value.

Regarding reduced refunds I'd argue the fault was reported within the first week and you haven't had a full usage out of the item due to their prolonged failure to repair.