Faulty tumble dryer out of warranty

Petperson

Hello I purchased a Hoover tumble dryer from AO.com almost exactly 2 years ago. About a week ago it stopped working and an odd smell comes out of the dryer when it is turned on. Hoover have told me that I can either pay £120 (plus VAT I think) to have it repaired, or sign up to a repair plan for a year for £201. The machine itself cost £250 so that seems crazy!

I don’t think it’s right that the machine has broken down after only 2 years- there must be a fault as it’s been well maintained (filters emptied regularly etc) and in the same place in my home since it was delivered so I haven’t damaged it.

Do I have any rights to have it replaced or a repair at a reasonable cost?

Thank you very much

Sandtree

You need to speak to AO as your rights are with the retailer. 

As its over 6 months old its your obligation to prove there was an inherent fault rather than it being from miss-use or just the natural life expectancy for a budget tumble drier. AO may decide to inspect it themselves but more likely it'll be for you to sort out.

TadleyBaggie

You probably have no warranty rights, however consumer law you might have. These would be against the retailer (AO) and not the manufacturer however. AO will almost certainly require you to get an independent report which would need to show that the fault was present when the item was purchased.

Alderbank

Petperson said:

Do I have any rights to have it replaced or a repair at a reasonable cost?

As others have said, you have some consumer rights from the retailer AO but it might be difficult to enforce them. But do see what they have to say first. They won't replace it. If you get them to agree it is an inherent fault and they can't repair it they would pay you its current value which might be about half what you paid.

Hoover probably consider £120 (plus VAT) is a reasonable cost of repair and sadly they might be right. You could look for a good repair guy local to you. Social media groups will often recommend one. He might look at the machine at small or no cost and tell you if he can fix it and how much it would be. If he says it would be more than £120 then at least you have options.

Martin_the_Unjust

Haven’t you got a local repair man/shop/person? There isn’t a lot that can go wrong with a dryer that’s not an easy repair.

Alderbank

Martin_the_Unjust said:

There isn’t a lot that can go wrong with a dryer that’s not an easy repair.

I agree. My money is on a slipping belt. About a fiver plus labour.

Petperson

Thank you! I’ll try AO and see if I can find a local repair person