Zanussi Fridge Repair - Breach of Contract?

p3ncilsharpener

EP said:

Sandtree said:

EP said:

Can we get a refund - under breach of contract? Or chargeback/s75 claim?

What part of the contract have they breached?

Contract was for "repair" of fridge - no one can dispute that.
Consideration was £135.
Performance of contract. Was the fridge repaired? No. They have admitted that.
Has there been a failure by one of the parties to perform their duties as stipulated by the contract? Yes - the duty was one of repair and this was not performed. (How can you fail to perform a contractual obligation and not be in breach of contract?)
I now need to be placed in the position I would have been in had the breach not occurred. This would be a full refund - not a £75 discount on a new appliance.

No, the contract is what you signed, which clearly states that if they cannot repair it they will give you a discount on a new product.  As I already said, even the ad shows that there is a clear "no repair" scenario and makes it clear what happens under those circumstances.

You have absolutely no claim against them but if you want to flush more money down the toilet take it to court and enjoy being told by a judge that you have no claim too.

Sandtree

EP said:

Sandtree said:

EP said:

Can we get a refund - under breach of contract? Or chargeback/s75 claim?

What part of the contract have they breached?

Contract was for "repair" of fridge - no one can dispute that.

All contracts are subject to terms and conditions, no reasonable person (the normal test in law) is going to think that £135 is going to cover the cost of repairing a machine no matter what is wrong with it or the position of parts... £135 is not going to cover the cost of creating tooling and a bespoke part if it happens that the part your machine needs is out of stock and no longer made.

You may say you assumed that its a "repair or refund" but you are saying that the contract was for repair alone so you are somewhat accepting that there were T&Cs even if you didn't review them. Those T&Cs state that its not a refund but a credit towards a replacement. 

Al_Ross

You could have bought a new good fridge for £135.

pinkshoes

I personally think their T&Cs are a little ambiguous and could be read a different way.

It says if they can't fix it  you get £75 off a new one, but you are paying for a REPAIR, not an attempted repair.

What exactly has it failed for? Because 5 years isn't that long for a fridge, so could you not go down the "Consumer Rights Act" line and claim the fridge has failed due to an inherent fault? I assume the engineer who said it cannot be fixed did not state on his report that this was due to mis-use? (as per their own T&Cs). 

So you are now in possession of an engineer report saying it has failed and can use this to claim a repair, replacement or (partial) refund.

BUT... how long would you say a fridge should last? 8 years? Mine is about 15 years old and still going strong. But basing it on 8 years, and say it cost you £450, then it has lasted 5/8ths of its recommended life, so they owe you 3/5ths of the price you paid for the time it didn't last.

£450 x (3/8) = £168.75.

You would need to claim against the RETAILER though, not the manufacturer. 

Al_Ross

The compressor motor will have failed.This can be replaced and would certainly cost less than £500 to do so.The engineer is taking the easy option by saying B.E.R.

I would complain to their head office and threaten them by posting on media,watchdog etc

Money_Grabber13579

Al_Ross said:

The compressor motor will have failed.This can be replaced and would certainly cost less than £500 to do so.The engineer is taking the easy option by saying B.E.R.

I would complain to their head office and threaten them by posting on media,watchdog etc

I agree, it seems too easy for them to say that anything which would cost them more than £135 is beyond economic repair and then keep the money anyway. Plus, £75 off a new appliance purchase directly from them likely isn’t going to be a good deal as other discounts will be available from retailers.

The contract states that for £135, they will provide parts and labour to repair the fridge up to a cost (to them) of £500. Even if the parts aren’t available, a new fridge would be less than £500 so if you have contracted them for a repair (which the OP has), the fridge should be repaired, even if that means giving them a new fridge. That’s unlikely to happen in practice, so the money should be refunded.

p3ncilsharpener

Money_Grabber13579 said:

Al_Ross said:

The compressor motor will have failed.This can be replaced and would certainly cost less than £500 to do so.The engineer is taking the easy option by saying B.E.R.

I would complain to their head office and threaten them by posting on media,watchdog etc

I agree, it seems too easy for them to say that anything which would cost them more than £135 is beyond economic repair and then keep the money anyway. Plus, £75 off a new appliance purchase directly from them likely isn’t going to be a good deal as other discounts will be available from retailers.

The contract states that for £135, they will provide parts and labour to repair the fridge up to a cost (to them) of £500. Even if the parts aren’t available, a new fridge would be less than £500 so if you have contracted them for a repair (which the OP has), the fridge should be repaired, even if that means giving them a new fridge. That’s unlikely to happen in practice, so the money should be refunded.

No, it shouldn't.  The T&C's are quite clear, the fact that a new one might cost less than £500 is irrelevant.

Jumblebumble

p3ncilsharpener said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

Al_Ross said:

The compressor motor will have failed.This can be replaced and would certainly cost less than £500 to do so.The engineer is taking the easy option by saying B.E.R.

I would complain to their head office and threaten them by posting on media,watchdog etc

I agree, it seems too easy for them to say that anything which would cost them more than £135 is beyond economic repair and then keep the money anyway. Plus, £75 off a new appliance purchase directly from them likely isn’t going to be a good deal as other discounts will be available from retailers.

The contract states that for £135, they will provide parts and labour to repair the fridge up to a cost (to them) of £500. Even if the parts aren’t available, a new fridge would be less than £500 so if you have contracted them for a repair (which the OP has), the fridge should be repaired, even if that means giving them a new fridge. That’s unlikely to happen in practice, so the money should be refunded.

No, it shouldn't.  The T&C's are quite clear, the fact that a new one might cost less than £500 is irrelevant.

Do you not think that this might just fall under unfair contract terms ?
We charge £135 to tell you that we will give you £75 discount which probably does not turn out to be a discount at all. 
Win Win for Zanussi
 Contrast this with Miele a few years ago
We had a Miele made by bosch fridge which packed up
Miele charged us £200 odd for a fixed repair but could not repair it as the leaking pipe was inside the sprayed foam insulation
Their response was to give us a brand new  fridge  now made by Liebherr with 2 years warranty and remove the old one
This is far fairer

Sandtree

Money_Grabber13579 said:
The contract states that for £135, they will provide parts and labour to repair the fridge up to a cost (to them) of £500. Even if the parts aren’t available, a new fridge would be less than £500 so if you have contracted them for a repair (which the OP has), the fridge should be repaired, even if that means giving them a new fridge. That’s unlikely to happen in practice, so the money should be refunded.

That isnt a repair, thats a replacement

p3ncilsharpener

Jumblebumble said:

p3ncilsharpener said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

Al_Ross said:

The compressor motor will have failed.This can be replaced and would certainly cost less than £500 to do so.The engineer is taking the easy option by saying B.E.R.

I would complain to their head office and threaten them by posting on media,watchdog etc

I agree, it seems too easy for them to say that anything which would cost them more than £135 is beyond economic repair and then keep the money anyway. Plus, £75 off a new appliance purchase directly from them likely isn’t going to be a good deal as other discounts will be available from retailers.

The contract states that for £135, they will provide parts and labour to repair the fridge up to a cost (to them) of £500. Even if the parts aren’t available, a new fridge would be less than £500 so if you have contracted them for a repair (which the OP has), the fridge should be repaired, even if that means giving them a new fridge. That’s unlikely to happen in practice, so the money should be refunded.

No, it shouldn't.  The T&C's are quite clear, the fact that a new one might cost less than £500 is irrelevant.

Do you not think that this might just fall under unfair contract terms ?
We charge £135 to tell you that we will give you £75 discount which probably does not turn out to be a discount at all. 
Win Win for Zanussi
 Contrast this with Miele a few years ago
We had a Miele made by bosch fridge which packed up
Miele charged us £200 odd for a fixed repair but could not repair it as the leaking pipe was inside the sprayed foam insulation
Their response was to give us a brand new  fridge  now made by Liebherr with 2 years warranty and remove the old one
This is far fairer

No, it's not unfair.