Rusty radiator from Amazon Marketplace

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

Hi all - 

Looking for some advice. I bought 7 radiators from an Amazon Marketplace seller two and a half years ago. One has started to rust (see photo). It still works OK but it has got significantly worse over last few months and am worried it will spread more. They were all installed correctly by a professional and have only ever been used and stored inside etc. - in short, no reason for them to have rusted. Contacted seller, who was particularly unhelpful, made me send lots of photos and then said that it wasn't covered under warranty as it still works. 

Amazon livechat, first time they sent a message to the seller asking them to resolve the issue (seller ignored), second time, they said they can't offer compensation. I explainedI wasn't looking for compensation from them, rather just for them to force the seller's hand. They said they would have if it had been less than 2 years, but they couldn't now as it has been longer than that. The radiator is still listed on Amazon as having a fifteen year warranty, but there is no detail on what this entails. 

Regardless, it is not unreasonable to expect a radiator to last longer than two and a half years without rusting... 

Can anyone advise on next steps, particularly if there is anything I can do to force Amazon to intervene?

Thanks in advance

Aylesbury_Duck

You have consumer rights, but in order to exercise them against the seller after such a long time, you'll need evidence that there's a manufacturing defect or inherent flaw that's led to that radiator rusting.  I suspect it's a flaw in the surface finish of that radiator, especially if the others are fine and in similar settings (is this one in a bathroom or similarly humid environment?).  What you'll need is someone reasonably qualified and independent to inspect it, provide a brief report with their verdict which you then send to the retailer.  The retailer then has the option to repair (unlikely), replace or refund, and any refund will be reduced to reflect the two years' use you've had of the radiator.  You can claim the cost of the report, too.

Looking at it pragmatically, what is the cost of replacing it with a new radiator?  You may decide it's not worth the hassle of what I've described.

On the warranty point, any warranty claim would be subject to the terms of the warranty, so if surface rusting isn't a covered defect, the warranty isn't going to help with that anyway.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

A warranty will only be as good as the terms it comes with which can be anything really, as long as they are fair. 

As the trader isn't helping out and it's been longer than 6 months you'd need to get something to show the goods do not conform to the contract in terms of durability, which is typically an independent report. With something like this it would need to show the materials failed rather than user damage, etc. 

If the report is in your favour you can ask the trader to repair, replace or refund, a refund can be reduced to account for ownership, probably 15 years minus 2.5 years would be fair. They'd also need to cover the cost of the report. 

If they didn't resolve you'd be looking at a letter before action and small claims. The regs state if the trader repairs or replaces they must bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage). If the refunded you may have a claim for damages to cover part of the cost of labour.

It's doubtful Amazon will intervene, you are well past the A-Z timeframe and the 2 years they mention may be a reference to EU law mentioning a least 2 years for goods to last but as it was marketplace (I'm assuming fulfilled by the trader rather than Amazon) Amazon only really acted as a marketplace. 

If you buy a lot from them you could Google CEO email and that site will give you the email address for a higher level of customer facing staff but anything offered would only be goodwill as far as I can see. 

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

Thank you both for your replies and laying out my options!

cx6

It is likely that a faulty seal where the bleed valve has been screwed in is causing a miniscule 'weep' of water which is causing the rusting.

Any plumber should easily be able to fix it (turn off the valves each side of the radiator, unscrew the bleed valve, sand or wire wool the metal to remove rust, properly install the bleed valve. You can then touch up the white with eg radiator paint.

IvanOpinion

I had a similar problem about 3 years ago.  I bought a radiator (the same as the one in your picture except it was grey) and after 5 years it sprang a leak.  it was supposed to have a 10 year warranty so I thought I would contact the seller.  I could not get a response; so I contacted Amazon, they tried a couple of times as well but could not get a response either.

Due to it being a very specific size I had to order and pay for another one of the radiators from the same supplier (they were the only ones I could find doing my size - at the time).  They responded within minutes and fair enough a new radiator arrived the next day.  So basically I found their warranty was worthless.

On the plus side they sent me a letter a few days later saying that they had not charged me the correct delivery.  I treated their communication with the same contempt as they had treated mine.

Assuming it isn't leaking, you can get special paint for radiators that can inhibit the rust and improve the look.  I remember my father used to paint his radiators with nothing more than Dulux non-drip gloss.

cx6

Be careful not to paint the radiator white with oil-based paint as it will yellow.

Use either water-based paint or special radiator paint.