Rusty towel radiator - guarantee not honoured

JohnSH27

In August 2018 I bought and installed a chrome towel radiator from "Only Radiators" with brand name Branton, advertised as having a 5 year guarantee. It is now quite badly rusted under some of the cross tubes on one side near where they join the vertical legs. I notified Only Radiators and sent photos of the rust and also, at their request, of the room, showing the radiator with towels on it. Only Radiators said the guarantee was with the supplier, not them, and they forwarded my request for a replacement.

The response from the supplier based on this photograph was ''It looks like there is wrong use as i can see from the picture. If they use in these conditions rads always covered towels and stays wet always and not enough ventilation at all. That can cause it''. I told them the towel rad was subject to normal use for towels after showering and there was an extractor fan in the room. However they are refusing to honour the guarantee, arguing wrong use. There are no details of the terms of the guarantee on Only Radiators website.

It seems to me that a towel radiator should be able to cope with damp towels as normal usage, and if the guarantee doesn't cover this then it is worthless.

Apart from leaving bad reviews, is there anything I can do about this? Has anyone else experienced this?

Ganga

depending on what it cost ,you can always take them to the small claims court ,i also thought that the person who supplied the product NOT the manufacturer ,others will be along to confirm or give you better advise

Bendy_House

"Ideal for warming towels and bathrobes..."

Now, we all know that towel radiators are also used to dry used towels, but it's interesting that this obvious 'use' is not mentioned in the spec.

I fear the situation is as carpy as that.

I couldn't see any further details of the guarantee either, although I haven't gone as far as checking out the manufacturer - Brenton - themselves.

Worth pursuing? I think it's certainly worth a 'threat' to pursue, and this might be enough - a 'letter before action' type of thing. But would you win should it go to an actual case? I don't know - this is a chrome-plated steel rad that I'm guessing cost around £65? For proper longevity, you really need SS.

Another_Level

Apart from the chrome rust, does the towel warmer still work ?

They can rust in the usual areas, as mentioned.  Better off with a stainless steel or power coated towel warmer made in uk or a known manufacture in europe.

Chrome towel warmers are prone to rust sooner or later, depends on how wet they get, how well manufactured and a few more reasons. 

Seen loads of rusty chrome towel warmers  Some are poorly coated and will fail if they get wet including condensation.

Ask the retailer for the manufacture details, pursue both companies.

twopenny

An eyeopener for me that hasn't got there yet.
You expect a towel/radiator to take damp towels. They are advertised for the bathroom so damp is a given you'd expect.
If they aren't up to that job you'd expect a disclaimer up front.

Bendy_House

twopenny said:

An eyeopener for me that hasn't got there yet.
You expect a towel/radiator to take damp towels. They are advertised for the bathroom so damp is a given you'd expect.
If they aren't up to that job you'd expect a disclaimer up front.

I suspect they'll claim that a steamy atmosphere (matron!) shouldn't affect it as it'll be hot and therefore nothing will condense on it. But place a damp towel over it - 'which we didn't say you could' - and, well, you know...

Moss5

Dear OP,
Relax.
Do not allow these chancers to turn you into a bitter person.
5-year peace-of-mind warranties have given you peace of mind for 3-years. That is value for money.
Only now do you discover it was a joke.
I'm sure you now feel stupid for putting damp towels on a towel rail.
I have been scamed by DVLA who charge me £480/year RFL because my £38k car had a list price of £42k.
All other scams are tame by comparison. These towel-rail people are amatuers.

Bendy_House

Yeah, don't become bitter whatever you do...

Chickereeeee

Another_Level said:

 Better off with a ......... power coated towel warmer made in uk or a known manufacture in europe.

Plus they radiate 20-30% more hear than chrome ones.

greyteam1959

Chickereeeee said:

Another_Level said:

 Better off with a ......... power coated towel warmer made in uk or a known manufacture in europe.

Plus they radiate 20-30% more hear than chrome ones.

And where do you get that information from ??

BUFF

it's true - I used to work for a market leader of bathroom/designer radiators in Europe. Metal plating dropped the heat output noticeably (even with a lacquer over the top to regain some of the loss).

Our chrome rads were extremely expensive, comprised a tiny % of sales & gave us the biggest hassle. To be fair if you were paying those prices you were going to expect perfection - they were backed by a 10 year guarantee though