John Lewis - Miele Dishwasher, out of warranty

byjimini

Hi all.

Bought a Miele dishwasher from John Lewis online in January 2021. Warranty is 2 years; 3 years and 2 weeks after purchase, it just stops working - no fault codes or noises, just dead.

Miele don't supply spare parts so our only option for repair is their £179 (plus £110 per hour)/£279 service - which is 40% of the purchase price (£700) just to get it going again.

Have since spent a few hours on the phone to JL escalating a complaint and constantly being told Consumer Right act doesn't apply, that it's out of warranty and not their problem, that the £279 repair fee is reasonable, that I must talk to Miele and not them, that Legal and General offer repair plans that I could have taken out, etc.

I went all the way up the top of the customer complaints team, who said he had passed my complaints to a senior partner, and that their position is final.

I pointed out that the JL website is full of claims of longevity for Miele, "tested working for 20 years", premium brand etc, but said these are just adverts or written by Miele and not anything that they stand by.

Haven't been able to get through to Citizen's Advice on the phone and will try again next week.

Do I actually have a point here (in that this expensive premium dishwasher claimed to have long life should be lasting longer than 3 years) or have I turned into a miserable old fart?

user1977

byjimini said:

Miele don't supply spare parts so our only option for repair is their £179 (plus £110 per hour)/£279 service - which is 40% of the purchase price (£700) just to get it going again.

Says who? Has anyone even identified what the problem is?

lisyloo

Have you spoken to Miele?
https://www.miele.co.uk/c/good-reasons-614.htm

byjimini

user1977 said:

byjimini said:

Miele don't supply spare parts so our only option for repair is their £179 (plus £110 per hour)/£279 service - which is 40% of the purchase price (£700) just to get it going again.

Says who? Has anyone even identified what the problem is?

Miele won't send an engineer unless we pay the fee. John Lewis say they're not paying any fee for repair or report, it's not their responsibility as the warranty has expired.

We contacted a local repair company who says they refuse to touch Miele machines as they don't supply the parts to 3rd parties.

Aylesbury_Duck

If it's "just dead", have you checked the basics?  Has it tripped an RCD?  Does the socket it's plugged into still work for something like a lamp?  Have you replaced the fuse in its plug with one of the same rating?  You may as well eliminate a few possible causes before spending any time/energy on consumer rights.

Of course if it has blown its fuse or tripped a circuit, there's probably something that needs looking at, anyway, even if it works again.

Assuming you have already done this, or now do it and it still doesn't work, you still have consumer rights, but you'll need to pay someone to inspect it and diagnose the fault and likely cause before the next step.  That inspection cost is recoverable if the fault is "inherent" and not something you've done.  On that note, has it been installed absolutely correctly, with the right clearances, on a level base, etc?

byjimini

lisyloo said:

Have you spoken to Miele?
https://www.miele.co.uk/c/good-reasons-614.htm

Yes. They asked us to book a visit for the fee or referred us back to John Lewis to complain.

byjimini

Aylesbury_Duck said:

If it's "just dead", have you checked the basics?  Has it tripped an RCD?  Does the socket it's plugged into still work for something like a lamp?  Have you replaced the fuse in its plug with one of the same rating?  You may as well eliminate a few possible causes before spending any time/energy on consumer rights.

Of course if it has blown its fuse or tripped a circuit, there's probably something that needs looking at, anyway, even if it works again.

I have. Checked different sockets, replaced the plug fuse, checked the trip switches in my electrical box.

Aylesbury_Duck

byjimini said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

If it's "just dead", have you checked the basics?  Has it tripped an RCD?  Does the socket it's plugged into still work for something like a lamp?  Have you replaced the fuse in its plug with one of the same rating?  You may as well eliminate a few possible causes before spending any time/energy on consumer rights.

Of course if it has blown its fuse or tripped a circuit, there's probably something that needs looking at, anyway, even if it works again.

I have. Checked different sockets, replaced the plug fuse, checked the trip switches in my electrical box.

Ok, in which case, the last bit of my post is relevant (sorry, I added it as you were replying).

byjimini

Aylesbury_Duck said:

byjimini said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

If it's "just dead", have you checked the basics?  Has it tripped an RCD?  Does the socket it's plugged into still work for something like a lamp?  Have you replaced the fuse in its plug with one of the same rating?  You may as well eliminate a few possible causes before spending any time/energy on consumer rights.

Of course if it has blown its fuse or tripped a circuit, there's probably something that needs looking at, anyway, even if it works again.

I have. Checked different sockets, replaced the plug fuse, checked the trip switches in my electrical box.

Ok, in which case, the last bit of my post is relevant (sorry, I added it as you were replying).

Not at all, appreciate the response. And love the username, was born at Royal Bucks. 

Aylesbury_Duck

byjimini said:

user1977 said:

byjimini said:

Miele don't supply spare parts so our only option for repair is their £179 (plus £110 per hour)/£279 service - which is 40% of the purchase price (£700) just to get it going again.

Says who? Has anyone even identified what the problem is?

Miele won't send an engineer unless we pay the fee. John Lewis say they're not paying any fee for repair or report, it's not their responsibility as the warranty has expired.

We contacted a local repair company who says they refuse to touch Miele machines as they don't supply the parts to 3rd parties.

Almost right.  As it's out of warranty, Miele are entitled to charge.  John Lewis are entitled to ask you to pick up the fee in the first instance, but they're not technically correct to say it's not their responsibility as the warranty has expired.  They still have consumer rights obligations to you if the fault isn't something caused by you, it's very much their responsibility (John Lewis, that is).

Aylesbury_Duck

byjimini said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

byjimini said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

If it's "just dead", have you checked the basics?  Has it tripped an RCD?  Does the socket it's plugged into still work for something like a lamp?  Have you replaced the fuse in its plug with one of the same rating?  You may as well eliminate a few possible causes before spending any time/energy on consumer rights.

Of course if it has blown its fuse or tripped a circuit, there's probably something that needs looking at, anyway, even if it works again.

I have. Checked different sockets, replaced the plug fuse, checked the trip switches in my electrical box.

Ok, in which case, the last bit of my post is relevant (sorry, I added it as you were replying).

Not at all, appreciate the response. And love the username, was born at Royal Bucks. 

I know it well.  I think it's now a private rehabilitation facility.  I moved away many years ago but do visit occasionally.