Zanussi Fridge Repair - Breach of Contract?

EP

ThisnotThat said:

EP said:

There's no mention of not providing a refund.

No,  there's this

• An offer of a discounted appliance if we can't repair 

ThisnotThat said:

EP said:

No...that's not a refund -where does it mention a refund?

It doesn't. Just like Repaircare don't say they'll give you a discount appliance, because if they don't say they'll give you something, then the assumption is they won't give it to you.

They don't say they'll give you a pack of hobnobs and a hug if they can't repair your fridge either.  Do you know why? Because (I suspect) they won't give you a pack of hobnobs and a hug if they can't repair your fridge.

You made an assumption and you assumed wrong. It happens. Move on.

First you say it does, then you say it doesn't? Consumer rights override what is/isn't in T&Cs, don't assume otherwise.

JJ_Egan

In the opinion of many posters they have not Broken Consumer Rights nor breached the contract .

If your fixed point of view is that they have then take them to the Small Claims Court .

ThisnotThat

EP said:

ThisnotThat said:

EP said:

There's no mention of not providing a refund.

No,  there's this

• An offer of a discounted appliance if we can't repair 

ThisnotThat said:

EP said:

No...that's not a refund -where does it mention a refund?

It doesn't. Just like Repaircare don't say they'll give you a discount appliance, because if they don't say they'll give you something, then the assumption is they won't give it to you.

They don't say they'll give you a pack of hobnobs and a hug if they can't repair your fridge either.  Do you know why? Because (I suspect) they won't give you a pack of hobnobs and a hug if they can't repair your fridge.

You made an assumption and you assumed wrong. It happens. Move on.

First you say it does, then you say it doesn't? Consumer rights override what is/isn't in T&Cs, don't assume otherwise.

No, I said they told you what they would do if they couldn't repair it, which does not say" We will give you a refund."  It's perfectly clear that the "no repair" scenario results in you getting a discount on a new appliance, as nowhere does it say that you will receive a refund.

That you chose to ignore the warning signs on the page and didn't bother to read the terms and conditions that spell this out is your problem, and hopefully, in future, you won't jump into contracts before you read the terms.

EP

I read the T&Cs before. Just because it does not explicitly mention a refund does not mean under consumer law a refund is not due. Sorry, but you are completely out of your depth.

JJ_Egan said:

In the opinion of many posters they have not Broken Consumer Rights nor breached the contract .

If your fixed point of view is that they have then take them to the Small Claims Court .

Ultimately, this is the correct advice, but not before exploring the possibility of a charge back/s75 claim first.

ThisnotThat

EP said:

I read the T&Cs before. Just because it does not explicitly mention a refund does not mean under consumer law a refund is not due. Sorry, but you are completely out of your depth.

JJ_Egan said:

In the opinion of many posters they have not Broken Consumer Rights nor breached the contract .

If your fixed point of view is that they have then take them to the Small Claims Court .

Ultimately, this is the correct advice, but not before exploring the possibility of a charge back/s75 claim first.

And it doesn't mean a refund is due either.

S75 will fail and you have no chargeback rights.  They gave you what they agreed to give you, a repair if economical, money off a new product if not.

Bradden

EP said:

 Sorry, but you are completely out of your depth.

Ultimately, this is the correct advice, but not before exploring the possibility of a charge back/s75 claim first.

1st comment seems a little harsh.. your posting history doesn't give much of an idea on how knowledgeable you are.

The second comment is a little odd.. you accept the advice that no consumer law as broken but think a S75 claim would have merit. Kindly explain your thinking on this... I can't follow the chain of thought to end up there. Thanks

ripplyuk

Reading through this, it seems Zanussi have created a scenario where their customers are stuck in a loop of having to buy another Zanussi product, unless they want to lose their money. Offering a repair worth up to £500 (which you’d assume would cover literally any fridge issue!) for only £135 is very tempting and seems good value. But since they won’t refund that, there’s no incentive for Zanussi to actually repair it. In fact, it’s a strong incentive for them not to. The customer then has to buy another Zanussi product, or they lose the entire repair fee. 

It seems like an unfair contract term to me. It would be interesting to see this tested in court. 

ThisnotThat

ripplyuk said:

Reading through this, it seems Zanussi have created a scenario where their customers are stuck in a loop of having to buy another Zanussi product, unless they want to lose their money. Offering a repair worth up to £500 (which you’d assume would cover literally any fridge issue!) for only £135 is very tempting and seems good value. But since they won’t refund that, there’s no incentive for Zanussi to actually repair it. In fact, it’s a strong incentive for them not to. The customer then has to buy another Zanussi product, or they lose the entire repair fee. 

It seems like an unfair contract term to me. It would be interesting to see this tested in court. 

It might cover parts, the cost of fitting them is a different issue.

I see no reason for Zanussi to be operating some sort of underhanded scam as you're implying.  It's very easy to offer "fixed price repairs."  You just work out what the average cost of a repair is and charge more than this. Presumably it is below £135.

EP

ripplyuk said:

Reading through this, it seems Zanussi have created a scenario where their customers are stuck in a loop of having to buy another Zanussi product, unless they want to lose their money. Offering a repair worth up to £500 (which you’d assume would cover literally any fridge issue!) for only £135 is very tempting and seems good value. But since they won’t refund that, there’s no incentive for Zanussi to actually repair it. In fact, it’s a strong incentive for them not to. The customer then has to buy another Zanussi product, or they lose the entire repair fee. 

It seems like an unfair contract term to me. It would be interesting to see this tested in court. 

Agreed. £135 for telling you the fridge is beyond repair, then they send you an offer of three fridges, minus a discount of £75.

As the thermostat did not operate, I assumed it was the problem, and was going to replace it myself (having watched a few Youtube videos to see if I could do it).  Then I decided it may not just be the thermostat and went for the £135 deal, enticed by the prospect of £500 of repairs or a refund (as I expected). The engineer changed the thermostat and regassed the fridge and it did not work. How much would that cost? A new thermostat is around £30 retail, so a lot less for Zanussi.

Under 7 What to do if your repair fails within 3 months of repair it states:

If we are unable to repair your product you will receive a full refund minus the original callout charge.

The fridge did fail within 3 months of the original repair. That would be reasonable - paying a callout charge...Why not this AND the discount?

ThisnotThat

EP said:

ripplyuk said:

Reading through this, it seems Zanussi have created a scenario where their customers are stuck in a loop of having to buy another Zanussi product, unless they want to lose their money. Offering a repair worth up to £500 (which you’d assume would cover literally any fridge issue!) for only £135 is very tempting and seems good value. But since they won’t refund that, there’s no incentive for Zanussi to actually repair it. In fact, it’s a strong incentive for them not to. The customer then has to buy another Zanussi product, or they lose the entire repair fee. 

It seems like an unfair contract term to me. It would be interesting to see this tested in court. 

Agreed. £135 for telling you the fridge is beyond repair, then they send you an offer of three fridges, minus a discount of £75.

As the thermostat did not operate, I assumed it was the problem, and was going to replace it myself (having watched a few Youtube videos to see if I could do it).  Then I decided it may not just be the thermostat and went for the £135 deal, enticed by the prospect of £500 of repairs or a refund (as I expected). The engineer changed the thermostat and regassed the fridge and it did not work. How much would that cost? A new thermostat is around £30 retail, so a lot less for Zanussi.

Under 7 What to do if your repair fails within 3 months of repair it states:

If we are unable to repair your product you will receive a full refund minus the original callout charge.

The fridge did fail within 3 months of the original repair. That would be reasonable - paying a callout charge...Why not this AND the discount?

No, it did not fail within 3 months of the repair,  as the engineer never repaired it.