What are my father's rights?

FutureMrsMac

Hi
My 88 year old father bought a convection/microwave from Curry's about 15 months ago at a cost of over £180.  Recently it stopped working. When he took it to Curry's he was told he was out of warranty and that they couldn't do anything and that he should contact the manufacturer. He did that but they apparently don't give out information to engineers so it can't be fixed.

Surely it's reasonable to expect a microwave (especially a nearly £200 one) to work for more than 15 months?!

My father is adamant that he has no rights at all now as the item has been used. I'm pretty sure he does. I just need proof so he'll do something rather than lose all that money!

I'd be grateful for any help!

BoGoF

Your father wants to exercise his consumer rights not warranty. After 6 months the onus is on the buyer to show it is an inherent fault and may need an independent report to confirm this if he wants to pursue (which should be refunded if claim is succesful). However one of the remedies may be a partial refund to reflect the use had. Realistically what is a 15 month old microwave that cost £180 now worth?

Alderbank

It's a bit early to conclude it is a write-off.

You say it just 'stopped working'. 99% of the time when a microwave stops like that it is because the 20A slow blow fuse has blown, as it is designed to do to protect the circuitry.
It is not really a diy job because you can get quite a belt from the high voltages inside, but someone who knows what they are doing can replace that fuse, which costs less than £1, in about ten minutes.
The huge numbers of these fuses sold on eBay and other sites shows how common this is.

As stated above, your father does have statutory rights but Currys' reputation for poor customer service is well founded and he might find it easier to just get the fuse replaced than to fight for his rights.

The most MSE thing to do would be to squeeze a partial refund out of Currys and get his local repair shop to swap the fuse.

FutureMrsMac

Thank you both. I'll pass the information on to him.