Broken washing machine - 16 months old

MarvinDay

diystarter7 said:

Hi
What do you mean can you provide examples of a "manufacturing fault" 16/20 months down the road, please?

Ford Ecoboost engines catastrophically failing, 
Tumble driers bursting into flames,

In fact, to make it easier, have a look at a few items on here:
https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/product-recalls/

A manufacturing fault can be incorrect assembly, poor quality or incompatible components or even something such as an instruction book being incorrectly worded.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Aylesbury_Duck said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Wear and tear is covered by durability, if a part in a washing machine wears out within 16 months it wasn't durable and the consumer is entitled to a remedy.  

Perhaps not.  It would depend on usage.  A large family or a household with special needs might run a machine once or twice a day for 16 months.  It might be reasonable for a part to fail through wear in that period.

Keep_pedalling said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

OP if you Google CEO email and search that site for Currys there is an email address for a higher level of customer service.

After 6 months the onus is on you to show a fault, you need to articulate that on the balance of probability the goods do not conform to the contract in terms of durability, basically that the machine failed prematurely through something other than misuse/user error. 

As above have a local repair company out to have a look and send their findings to Currys via the email avenue above. 

You don't need 100% proof and Currys aren't likely to want to go to small claims for a £500 washing machine that's 16 months old so anything you can offer them from a repair company to show you didn't damage the machine should be sufficient. 

Keep_pedalling said:

 rather than simple ware and tear

Wear and tear is covered by durability, if a part in a washing machine wears out within 16 months it wasn't durable and the consumer is entitled to a remedy.  

True, but I was thinking along the lines of wearing out by being hammered 5 days a week with a full load.

Unless the machine is recording the number of cycles (which perhaps they do now I don't know?) balance of probability would suggest normal usage unless the retailer could demonstrate otherwise.

born_again

pmk741 said:

Hi all,  

I bought a washing machine from Currys in October 2021, I still have the receipt. It is now broken, Currys are not willing to help me and they will not offer a free repair, repair only available at my own cost. Despite quoting the consumer rights act on the phone I’ve got nowhere the manufacturer is also not willing to help. Is the next step to give up and buy a new washing machine or do I make a claim via the credit card company I purchased the machine on? It was a 500£ machine and it should last longer ? unfortunately we are desperate for a washing machine so we can’t hold out for too much longer so I’m not too sure what the best thing to do is give up and just just accept that we didn’t buy the extended warranty or try and claim for a refund now a repair has been refused by the retailer? Any help much appreciated. 

Do you know what the actual fault is?

Ours stopped pumping water out. Was on the point of calling some one to look at it, but though lets check 1st. Turned out that waste pipe was blocked, so unblocking pipe cured the issue & saved a callout charge.

Rodders53

Make and model would help.  Plus the nature of the fault.  (Some display error codes).
It might allow some user fix suggestions (or not).


My brand-new Miele washer had a fault code displayed, but was still working mostly.  Technician arrived and use the IR data port to discover how much we'd used the m/c, types of wash etc.,.  Got another brand new machine delivered and the faulty one goes back for their QC to strip down and investigate how that problem could happen.

diystarter7

MattMattMattUK said:

diystarter7 said:

What do you mean can you provide examples of a "manufacturing fault" 16/20 months down the road, please?

A casting fault drive spindle or pump housing might take months, even potentially years to fail, a bad soldier on a PCB might take time to fail, a part not totally fitted correctly may take time to work loose and cause damage etc. 

diystarter7 said:

Why do you think millions buy extended warranties? I'll tell you why we buy extended warranties having shopped for a cheaper one, its for peace of mind and if it breaks down after a year up to the cover period, then at least you get the item repaired realtively quickly. EG, last time the washing machine broke dwon under warranty the previous machine, it was repaired the day after the next but it can be a bit longer and parts can be a problem but certainly quicker than what is happening to OP

Mostly it seems because they are asked if they want one and they feel it is somehow good, where as various reports from consumer organisations such as Which show that averaged over time the policies never pay for themselves. 

diystarter7 said:

Btw, OP, I'm not having a go at you but trying to help myself and others that read/etc this and possibly we can all save ourselves loads of money by not getting an extended warranty as I'm confused what would be a mamafaucting fault and fault 16 months down the road

Extended warranties are a waste of money, one should put the money aside if that is how they want to do things, self insuring across the range of goods would work out cheaper than external insurance, combined with either a local repairer or replacing the goods at end of life. 

Hi
Thank you but I and millions would disagree with you.
About you assuming "they" sold me the warranty. Simple answer is no. We have the item delivered, and often the manufactures extended warrranty is cheaper like for like and like I said its a piece of mind, but if it does break down after 12 months, no need to waste weeks before it is sorted and if it does not break down, its money well spent for peace of mind,

FYI, both times our washing machine broke down it was due to small chip in there - so was it a manufacturing fault and how would I have known that beforehand??

Thanks

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

diystarter7 said:

jon81uk said:

Get a local repair person to take a look and do a report, if they find it is a manufacturing fault then Currys have to repair or replace.

on81ukForumite

3.3K Posts

Get a local repair person to take a look and do a report, if they find it is a manufacturing fault then Currys have to repair or replace.

ReportQuote

What do you mean can you provide examples of a "manufacturing fault" 16/20 months down the road, please?

A manufacturing fault is a colloquial way of saying the goods do not conform to the contract, one aspect is durability so if a part fails before it's time that's a "manufacturing fault". If you leave lighters and keys in your pockets and they end up stuck inside the machine that's not a "manufacturing fault". 

Extended warranties are pretty much for convenience and as with most convenience come at a premium, a free repair without question is great if you don't fancy the headache of getting inspections or getting into a debate the retailer but consumer rights afford you good protection for goods that fail before their time without the user causing the problem.

Cover for accidental damage/user error (if an extended warranty covers such things) is the same as any other insurance really, a bit of a gamble

macman

OP, please tell us the make and model so that proper advice can be given. Many manufacturers offer a 2 year warranty (eg Bosch), but since you say that the manufacturer won't help, it's assumed that yours only had a one year warranty?
It might help others to point out that if you buy from JL rather than DSG, you get a 2 year warranty on all white goods and electricals.
Subject to the above, you are now reliant on your statutory rights under CRA2015, which are against the retailer and , after 16m,require you to prove a pre-existing fault by way of an independent report. Not possible to advise you if this is a course worth pursuing unless you tell us what the fault it.
You have no rights under CRA2015 against the manufacturer, only the retailer, and there is no chance of your card provider doing an S75 in these circumstances. You are out of time for a chargeback (120 days).
Your best resolution may be to get it fixed by an independent white good engineer, depending on the cost. If it's bearings failure, forget it.

macman

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

OP if you Google CEO email and search that site for Currys there is an email address for a higher level of customer service.

After 6 months the onus is on you to show a fault, you need to articulate that on the balance of probability the goods do not conform to the contract in terms of durability, basically that the machine failed prematurely through something other than misuse/user error. 

As above have a local repair company out to have a look and send their findings to Currys via the email avenue above. 

You don't need 100% proof and Currys aren't likely to want to go to small claims for a £500 washing machine that's 16 months old so anything you can offer them from a repair company to show you didn't damage the machine should be sufficient. 

Keep_pedalling said:

 rather than simple ware and tear

Wear and tear is covered by durability, if a part in a washing machine wears out within 16 months it wasn't durable and the consumer is entitled to a remedy.  

No. Budget machines are built to last little more than 500 cycles before the bearings can start to fail.  That could be one years use, or 10 years use; it totally depends on the circumstances. 
The OP has given us no indication of the nature of the fault other than 'it's broken', so  it could be something incredibly trivial and cheap to fix.

deannagone

As suggested before, I'd really recommend googling the fault to see if its a quick simple fix you can do yourself.  Its happened to me a few times.

macman

pmk741 said:

Thanks - how do I pursue this if Curry’s won’t acknowledge this on the phone? 

You do it by sending a complaint/LBA in writing to head office-forget phoning them.
But you will struggle with this, as DSG have history in not acknowledging claims under CRA2015: their default response is always to refer you to the manufacturer, and many of the store and admin staff are poorly trained in consumer law.
Which is why we advise buyers to use a supplier such as JL, who offer a 2 year warranty by default.