Is this very very minor imperfection to back of new fridge anything to worry about?

Sandtree

I'd be rejecting it... whilst the damage you can see is unlikely to cause any problems it could 1) cause problems with any future claims as it could be used as evidence of missuse and 2) you dont know how that damage has been caused and it could have caused other unseen damage that will be more of an issue in the future (particularly with item 1)

I'd want a very substantial discount to consider keeping the item otherwise a replacement or refund

sourpuss2021

Thanks, Sandtree.   They are taking it away and giving me a replacement on Saturday!   I just thought it would niggle at me if I got a discount then it broke in a few years.

sourpuss2021

This is the second time this year I've had an appliance from AO arrive damaged, and I have to say both times they've immediately agreed to send out a replacement.

Section62

sourpuss2021 said:

I've just spoken to AO and they are sending me a replacement fridge-freezer on Saturday!  I think I'd have regretted it if the fridge started having problems in a few years time and I'd long since spent any partial refund.

Good result

GDB2222

sourpuss2021 said:

Thanks, Sandtree.   They are taking it away and giving me a replacement on Saturday!   I just thought it would niggle at me if I got a discount then it broke in a few years.

I'm curious whether they even considered offering a discount? 

Sandtree

GDB2222 said:

sourpuss2021 said:

Thanks, Sandtree.   They are taking it away and giving me a replacement on Saturday!   I just thought it would niggle at me if I got a discount then it broke in a few years.

I'm curious whether they even considered offering a discount? 

If they considered it or if they did offer a discount? Hard to know what they thought but didnt say.

When I worked in mail order (internet sales were just in their infancy in the UK) if there were any safety concerns, which for a call centre full of teenagers and former housewives was on the side of caution rather than expert opinion, we'd not offer discounts however if no obvious safety concerns then discounts would be offered and for large goods requiring effort to collect these could be very substantial, with some categories our markup was 900% so big discounts could still be profitable...

For furniture delivered to scottish islands or NI then most the time it was cheaper for us to write it off than collect it but obviously you start by offering a 10% discount or such depending on the damage, visibility etc. Did have one or two who refused the item for free and wanted it collected.

sourpuss2021

I didn't mention a discount and they didn't propose it.   As soon as the chap saw the photos he said they would send a replacement.

I live in London so they'll have vans around every day.   Though who knows where their warehouses are.

I guess in this instance they will get a refund from Hotpoint. 

In other situations where the damage is cosmetic and doesn't present a safety issue, they resell it via eBay.  But I've got to imagine the costs they incur in carrying out that whole transaction - from my flat to the faulty goods depot and then on to the next purchasers' flat - are fairly high.

Sandtree

sourpuss2021 said:

I guess in this instance they will get a refund from Hotpoint.  

Not necessarily, unlike consumers they have no statutory rights and so it comes down to contracts. Other than a few exceptions the decision to take the risk of faulty goods can be actively taken and lower wholesale prices achieved in exchange. 

Nothing to do with you either way though.