Reasonable length of time?

hangryconsumer

jon81uk said:

Click on the cog symbol to edit posts.

There is no cog symbol for me. Is this because I am a newbie?

jon81uk said:

You need a report to prove it is a inherant fault which would have been there at time of purchase which caused it to not last a reasonable length of time.

If the report does not show there is an inherent fault, then where does that leave me? Several weeks down the line using a laundrette and having to pay £20 for it to be removed.

You could basically conclude that Candy washines are such poor quality that they would never have lasted more than 3 years in the first place. My previous was a Whirlpool - 8 years. It doesn't sound like the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives us many fair rights at all.

molerat said:

Motors don't usually fail these days, it is usually either the brushes or in the case of brushless motors the driving circuitry.

washerhouse.com/en/oshibka-e08-candy/

TELLIT01

I would suggest the OP speak to their local Trading Standards department to get an idea of what is a reasonable length of time for the washing machine.  As suggested by Fosterdog, that will depend on the amount of usage it gets and possibly the price. 

hangryconsumer

comeandgo said:

I’m in a similar position to you, my Bosch dishwasher failed after  less than three years, it will cost more to repair than it’s worth but nobody wants to know.  It will cost £105 to get someone out to say whether inherent fault and this is after £140 for failed repair.  John Lewis say as it has lasted nearly three years then can’t be inherent fault as it would have showed up before now.

Interesting. Bosch is one of the brands I was considering for a new machine but they are twice the price of everything else. Samsung only slightly cheaper.

I take the point about usage rather than age being a factor in what is "reasonable", however the machine is used no more than the previous Whirlpool which lasted 8 years.

Merlin139 said:

Motor brushes can easily be replaced. I watched the Video on You Tube for my machine a few times before I did it. Our last machine I did this twice. Purchased the brushes from Amazon for about £15 a set and turned the machine upside down. First time took around 2 hrs. Second time about 3 years later it was less than 20 minutes. Also replaced the door rubber after watching another video. Just believe you can do it.

Or you can pay an engineer.

Fair point. I did open up the back of the machine as per that video on washerhouse.com, but as the electrical faults started back in November (basically some of the programmes disppeared and were unable to be selected) I don't want to waste time and money replacing the brushes (and more laundrette time!) only to find that the programmes are still unavailable due to some other random electrical issue.

bris

I have had to change many a brushes, my machine is used 2 or 3  times a day and they last about a 1 to 2 years 

This is wear and tear and not a fault.

Op just take the motor out and check the brushes, it's the likely culprit.

They are easy to replace and can be found on Ebay or Amazon.

Candy washing machines are just rebranded Hoover machines.

hangryconsumer

bris said:

I have had to change many a brushes, my machine is used 2 or 3  times a day and they last about a 1 to 2 years 

This is wear and tear and not a fault.

Op just take the motor out and check the brushes, it's the likely culprit.

Ok, I'll have another look this afternoon. If the brushes look fine then I'll just buy a new machine.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

hangryconsumer said:

Washing machine purchased 2019. Barely 3 years old, and it started to fail with electrical malfunctions in November 2021, and now the motor has failed. Using a laundrette because I thought that under Consumer Rights Act 2015, I'd be able to get a refund because it didn't last a reasonable length of time. Probably a lot less hassle just to buy a new machine that could have been delivered within days.

• Contacted the manufacturer who said I have to pay call out fee and parts to repair it, because it's not under warranty.
• Contacted retailer who said the same, but that they might agree to contribute towards the cost of the repair as a "goodwill gesture"
• Retailer says they might give a partial/depreciated refund if the machine is deemed to be beyond repair (but I'd have to pay someone to verify that this is the case)
  

Is this correct? Even under CRA2015, I would still have to pay for the costs of repair? Surely this can't be right?! It didn't last as long as a it should (my previous machine lasted 8 years!) and they should refund me.

In a ideal world I just want a refund so that I can buy a new machine. I will also ask them if they'd consider a 50% discount off the cost of buying a new machine with them since they'd still be profiting off me (especially with the delivery charge and disposal/recycling charge on top).

OP perhaps we can give the trader the benefit of the doubt and assume they misunderstood your first communication.

You should write to them (email, letter, etc) to give details of your order and specifically state that you are seeking a remedy of a repair or replacement as required under the Consumer Rights Act due to the goods failing to conform to the contract in terms of durability. 

They can come back to state they require you to demonstrate this and should that occur you can ask a local appliance repair company to inspect the machine and state what the issue is. The retailer should cover any costs for this, if the result is in your favour. 

Some posters have used the term inherent which although correct isn't the best use of words, you are simply looking to show that cause of the fault is something that has failed which couldn't be caused by your misuse of the machine, this would show that the components used during manufacturing were not of a sufficient quality to last the full lifespan of the product.

If the retailer refuses to repair or replace then you would be looking at a the final right to reject for a refund, the refund amount may be reduced to account for ownership, i.e time of ownership vs expected lifespan.

If you find yourself facing a reduced refund the first offer will likely be low and haggling for a better price is always wise.  

elsien

TELLIT01 said:

I would suggest the OP speak to their local Trading Standards department to get an idea of what is a reasonable length of time for the washing machine.  As suggested by Fosterdog, that will depend on the amount of usage it gets and possibly the price. 

Trading standards don’t work like that any more, or not in my area anyway. 

The website says their focus is on criminal investigation and advice to businesses. If you are a consumer then you are redirected to citizen’s advice.

Sandtree

elsien said:

TELLIT01 said:

I would suggest the OP speak to their local Trading Standards department to get an idea of what is a reasonable length of time for the washing machine.  As suggested by Fosterdog, that will depend on the amount of usage it gets and possibly the price. 

Trading standards don’t work like that any more, or not in my area anyway. 

The website says their focus is on criminal investigation and advice to businesses. If you are a consumer then you are redirected to citizen’s advice.

If you can get to speak to them here they tell you to speak to CAB and that CAB will escalate to them if needs be... there does appear to be regional differences though as other posters here have claimed success from talking to their local TS

hangryconsumer

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

OP perhaps we can give the trader the benefit of the doubt and assume they misunderstood your first communication.

You should write to them (email, letter, etc) to give details of your order and specifically state that you are seeking a remedy of a repair or replacement as required under the Consumer Rights Act due to the goods failing to conform to the contract in terms of durability.

When I emailed them, I specifically referenced the CRA2015 so I'm not sure in what way they would have misunderstood it.

I took off the motor and found one of the carbon brushes worn right down, so I will replace this and see what happens. The other carbon brush seems almost at full length (I will compare with the new one) and so there appears to be a VERY uneven wearing. @bris Is this usual in your experience of replacing the brushes?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

hangryconsumer said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

OP perhaps we can give the trader the benefit of the doubt and assume they misunderstood your first communication.

You should write to them (email, letter, etc) to give details of your order and specifically state that you are seeking a remedy of a repair or replacement as required under the Consumer Rights Act due to the goods failing to conform to the contract in terms of durability.

When I emailed them, I specifically referenced the CRA2015 so I'm not sure in what way they would have misunderstood it.

In that case perhaps they hoped you weren't aware of the finer details and would blindly accept their response