Washer dryer broken further by repairer

RedQueenie

D&G have completely washed their hands of it saying it's down to me to make a claim against the company that came out to repair the machine in the first place. I went round and round with them on the phone and they refused to budge. 

pinkshoes

RedQueenie said:

My washer dryer developed a fault and was not drying anymore. I signed up to a Domestic and General 'Repair and Care' plan for £16 a month. The engineer came out and said I needed a new fan. The fan was ordered and the same engineer came out to fit it. He then left saying he had tested it and it was working fine and he would close the job.

So you signed up to the care and repair AFTER it had broken down? Is that permitted?

How old is this machine? 

Taking a more black and white view... you had a broken machine and still have a broken machine that perhaps isn't fixable, and never was a viable fix. In which case, your rights would be with the retailer you bought it from and you can use the engineer's reports to show that it has failed due to an inherent fault and nothing you have done.

BUT... it would then be up to the retailer to repair, replace or refund. If the machine is several years old, you are looking at a small partial refund. 

The ombudsman route could take a LONG time and the engineer is going to argue that they were not negligible, there was also an issue with the condenser that they didn't spot, so therefore it was never financially viable to fix.

prowla

I tend to treat washing machines as things which will need replacing from time-to-time and so paying extended warranty is a waste of money.

Incidentally, washer-dryers do tend to wear out quicker than separates.

RedQueenie

I realise I still have a broken machine however before they came to repair it I could still do a wash it was also fixable.
It was the first company not installing the seal when they fitted the replacement fan that cause the fan to melt and attached itself to the condenser meaning I now need a new condenser which they are now asking me to pay for.
If the fan had been fitted correctly my machine would be fully working and all for £192 (£16 x 12months) Now I'm faced with having to buy a new machine for a whole lot more.
When searching for a repairer I found the D&G website that offered either a repair for £150 or repair and care for £16 month for 12 months.

powerful_Rogue

How old was the machine and how much did it cost?

RedQueenie

The machine is about 6/7 years old and cost about £750. I realise it is more cost effective to get a new machine now. The question is more should they contribute to the cost as they are the ones that broke it beyond economical repair? And if so how do I go about that.
I'm fairly certain from what others have said on this thread that I need to get evidence and claim for the depreciated value of the machine and the cost of getting the report.

Aylesbury_Duck

Six years of regular use is pretty good for a washing machine.  I'd expect perhaps a little more for the price, but then again, a washer-dryer is always going to be a compromise because of what needs to be crammed in to the same sized cabinet.  Realistically, the residual value must be close to zero, so any contribution you might be able to get from them is going to be minimal.

I'd buy a new machine now, you need one, and decide how much effort you want to put in to pursuing the matter.

pinkshoes

RedQueenie said:

The machine is about 6/7 years old and cost about £750. I realise it is more cost effective to get a new machine now. The question is more should they contribute to the cost as they are the ones that broke it beyond economical repair? And if so how do I go about that.
I'm fairly certain from what others have said on this thread that I need to get evidence and claim for the depreciated value of the machine and the cost of getting the report.

In which case you would struggle with consumer rights as these tend to be for up to 6 years.

Washer dryers usually have a life span of typically 7 to 8 years (depending on use could be more or less than this) and don't tend to last as long as regular washing machines.

Sounds like your machine has reached the end of its life unfortunately.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

9-12 years for higher quality washing machines but appreciate the washer/dryer combo may reduce that.

I think the issue for OP is whilst they started this saga with a broken machine it was economically viable to fix and they may have gotten another year or two out of it, now they are left with a broken machine that is not economically viable to fix.

For D&G to just refund the £32 and say "not our problem" seems very off to me, unless they are acting as a marketplace to put two people together (like booking.com for example) I can't see how they can act as they have. 

RedQueenie

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

I think the issue for OP is whilst they started this saga with a broken machine it was economically viable to fix and they may have gotten another year or two out of it, now they are left with a broken machine that is not economically viable to fix.

Thank you for summing up my waffle beautifully :-)