Grundig vs Currys - 5Y Extended Guarantee

aogra

Hi all, 

I am looking for some advice.

So I purchased a Grundig fridge freezer four years ago for £349 - it originally came with a 3 year guarantee but was extended to 5 years by registering with Grundig when purchased. About four weeks ago the fridge completely failed, it turns on, it makes all the right noises but it does not stay cold. Grundig was excellent, within 7 days they sent an engineer, the engineer said it was not repairable (a crack/leak in one of the internal tubes) and Grundig provided me with an uplift code to get a replacement from Currys, so far so good. Since then it has been a complete nightmare dealing with Currys. I have called them in excess of twenty times, and their latest thinking is that 'back office' has decided that even though it's under guarantee they only deal with the standard 3 year guarantee and not the extra 2 extended years (it's up to Grundig) and hence would not be able to send a replacement - their proposal is to collect the fridge and offer a depreciated refund of around 20%-30% of the value (£70-£100). I went back to Grundig and they told me that Currys is not correct, that the guarantee is for 5 years and that they should offer me a replacement as the uplift number will refund Currys in full to the trade value of the replacement. I have been going back and forth between Grundig and Currys for the past three weeks, in the meantime I've had no working fridge with two children under three years old in the house, so it has been a real struggle.

Really looking for some advice on next moves - many thanks!

Aylesbury_Duck

Grundig need to sort this out, your claim is with them.  If they have a contractual relationship with Currys such that a successful warranty claim to Grundig results in Currys replacing the fridge, then Grundig need to enforce that.  You have no warranty relationship with Currys so they don't need to engage with you if they don't want to.  What Currys have offered is a consumer rights solution based on Grundig's report, which is entirely fair if you were going down the consumer rights route, however, your warranty rights appear to be better so chase Grundig to get them enforced.

aogra

Thank-you Aylesbury_Duck, that is very helpful. Is my contract not with Currys? and Grundig is stating that them issuing a "upilift number" should be forcing Currys to offer me a replacement (as Currys will be refunded by Grundig) - is this a valid argument by them? or do you mean that it should be Grundig themselves sending me a replacement fridge and not Currys? or if not, how can Grundig can force Currys to send me a replacement fridge, i.e. they issued a uplift number, what else could they do? Thanks!

Manxman_in_exile

aogra said:

Hi all, 

I am looking for some advice.
... it originally came with a 3 year guarantee but was extended to 5 years by registering with Grundig when purchased. ...

What Aylesbury_Duck is saying is that your 5 year extended guarantee is between you and Grundig and that after four years Currys don't really have anything to do with this.  You got the extended warranty by registering with Grundig, not by doing anything with Currys, so enforcing the warranty is something you have to do with Grundig.

If Grundig are adamant that Currys basically have to be used as an "agent" for their (Grundig's) warranty, then you will have to be assertive with Grundig and instruct them to make all the arrangements with Currys themselves.

I'm not sure what you do if you get no satisfaction from Grundig as I presume that if you only had to register with them that you didn't actually pay any money for the extended warranty?

Aylesbury_Duck

Let's go back in time a bit, to the point where your fridge failed.  You have two routes to choose from: warranty or consumer rights. 

Your consumer rights allow you, even after all this time, to make a claim from the retailer (Currys) because that's who you have the consumer contract with, if you can show the fridge was inherently faulty, i.e. had some sort of design fault or a faulty component that would eventually lead to a premature failure.  If Currys accept that diagnosis, they have to repair, replace or refund, and they can take into account the four years of use you've had from the fridge.  After all, you would be benefitting from betterment if they fully refunded you or gave you a brand new replacement after all this time - think of it as four years' free hire of a fridge!

Your warranty rights are different, in that they are in this case, offered by the manufacturer (Grundig).  They cannot detract from your consumer rights, but may enhance the resolution available to you.  Warranty rights are in the warranty terms and conditions and you claim from the manufacturer.

In your situation, you have pursued the warranty route because it seems that you have a right to a replacement, which is better than the consumer rights outcome you are entitled to.  The warranty seems to say (although you need to check this) that up to five years after purchase, Grundig will instruct Currys to provide you with a replacement.  Currys seem to be disputing this.

The upshot is that if I'm correct in interpreting your warranty terms, Grundig need to make good on their promise to force Currys to provide a replacement.  The contract between the two parties is none of your concern, you just want what the warranty says you're entitled to.  So that means you need to be dealing with Grundig.

Manxman_in_exile

Yes.  And the problem for the OP with trying the consumer rights route would be establishing that the fridge was inherently faulty when bought four years ago.

(And - of course - overcoming the implications of your own "rule" that each £100 of purchase price should equate to approx one year of fault free use ...      )

Aylesbury_Duck

Manxman_in_exile said:

Yes.  And the problem for the OP with trying the consumer rights route would be establishing that the fridge was inherently faulty when bought four years ago.

(And - of course - overcoming the implications of your own "rule" that each £100 of purchase price should equate to approx one year of fault free use ...      )

  that rule only applies to washing machines and dishwashers.  They work hard and have many moving parts.  A fridge should last for DECADES!   

aogra

Thank-you both, that really puts it into perspective, I wish they had explained it to me like that! In the extended warranty it does say "The Manufacturer will cover the costs and arrange for the delivery of the new product and for the return of the old product" so it does seem like you both say that it is up to Grundig - I will go back to them with this new found knowledge - thank-you!

Manxman_in_exile

I think what you need to do is to try to explain to Grundig as politely but assertively as you can that while the question of the warranty is between you and them, how they choose to operate the warranty is up to them, and if they want to do it via Currys then they (Grundig) need to sort it all out with Currys - and not leave it up to you.

Manxman_in_exile

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

Yes.  And the problem for the OP with trying the consumer rights route would be establishing that the fridge was inherently faulty when bought four years ago.

(And - of course - overcoming the implications of your own "rule" that each £100 of purchase price should equate to approx one year of fault free use ...      )

  that rule only applies to washing machines and dishwashers.  They work hard and have many moving parts.  A fridge should last for DECADES!   

Ha!  My mistake!  As you may recall from the other thread our fridge/freezer is half way through its third decade so you are quite right.

macman

These insurance-based add-on policies aren't anything to do with Currys/DSG. They merely sell them on behalf of the policy issuer, and in doing so usually charge a 100% mark up on what you could have bought them for direct. They are pointless, and if you must have one, then buy one only when the manufacturer's own cover expires. 
If the policy is issued on behalf of Grundig, then it is Grundig that you must seek your remedy with. Though they don't really exist, it's just a brand owned by Beko, in turn owned by Arcelik, the unfortunately-named Turkish manufacturer.