White company refusing to take back faulty Christmas tree

Appreciative_poster

Good evening, I've never posted on here before, but I really need some help please and I'm hoping you can all give me the insight I need to challenge The White Company. 
This time last year I bought a Christmas tree from them for £425. I used it for three weeks, packed it away in one of their Christmas tree storage bags and upon getting it out this year the pre-lit lights do not work at all. The bulbs cannot be changed and are all fixed to the tree. 
I contacted them straight away and was told instantly there is no warranty and nothing they could do. I pushed this further with a complaint as I said surely they do not expect a tree of this cost to work for three weeks only. Same response with a 15% voucher to buy another one! 
I would like to challenge them on the fact that the product is clearly not lasting a reasonable amount of time, especially given the cost. However I have no idea how to go about this and how to give it the most clout. Do I go back to them and state it's not a reasonable amount of time, or report them to someone? 
Any help is go gratefully received. This was a huge purchase for us, it was bought with the idea in mind it would last us an extremely long time, and I thought I was choosing a very reputable company. 
Many thanks in advance. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

You’d be entitled to a repair or replacement (or refund minus a few weeks use if they fail to do either) but burden of proof does lie with yourself to show it’s a “fault” rather than say a storage issue. 

It’s possible a local appliance repair person may be willing to take look and put on paper what is wrong, if in your favour you’d go back to them with that “report” and ask for the repair/replacement + the cost of the ”report”. 

Bit of a pain I appreciate with Christmas so close, complaining on their social media might gain some “goodwill” instead. 

Appreciative_poster

Thank you @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head
When you say I'm entitled to a repair or a replacement, they categorically say no as there is no warranty. So how do I go about challenging this with them? Can I report them and involve a third party? It seems crazy to me you can spend hundreds on a product and have absolutely no warranty on it. 
It was stored in their Christmas tree storage bags, which realistically is what everyone uses aside from a box. 

powerful_Rogue

Appreciative_poster said:

Thank you @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head
When you say I'm entitled to a repair or a replacement, they categorically say no as there is no warranty. So how do I go about challenging this with them? Can I report them and involve a third party? It seems crazy to me you can spend hundreds on a product and have absolutely no warranty on it. 
It was stored in their Christmas tree storage bags, which realistically is what everyone uses aside from a box. 

This is under your consumer rights and not their warranty. As @t@the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said in his post, the burden of proof is with you to show the fault hasn't been caused by something you've done or not done.

Appreciative_poster

Thank you @powerful_Rogue
So if I'm not in a position to pay for an independent electrical check, is there nothing I can do? 
Is it not worth quoting the consumer rights act about goods lasting a reasonable time to them, or contacting an Ombudsman? 

Aylesbury_Duck

Where has it been stored for the last year?  In a damp loft?  If it was used outside, was it completely dry when you put it away?

Hopefully an independent report will find an inherent manufacturing flaw, rather than something you may have caused yourself.  If it does, then you've got a way to go back to the retailer for a resolution.  Ignore their fob-off about warranty.

Okell

Isn't this a case of goods not being of satisfactory quailty (ie durability) rather than a "fault"?

The OP has paid > £400 for a Christmas tree with integral(?) lighting, and it's only worked for one christmas.

Whether or not it's faulty it's clearly not of satisfactory quality.  I don't suppose the White Co. advertise their trees along the lines of "Pay £400 but you'll be lucky to get a second Christmas out of it".

Shouldn't the OP be going back to the White Co and point out to them that the warranty/guarantee is irrelevant as the tree is obviously not of satisfactory quality under s9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and that they are entitled to a repair or replacement under s23?

screech_78

There’s no requirement for retailers to provide a warranty at all. Any warranty is over and above your statutory rights and even if did have a warranty, many retailers of Christmas trees exclude the lights in the warranty. 

I appreciate it was an expensive purchase but it’s most likely a storage issue (unless you can prove otherwise of course). I had a pre-lit tree many years ago and the lights went after two years. I just bought standalone lights and used them for another few years. You could never tell once the tree was decorated. 

Appreciative_poster

It was stored in a loft yes, our house was renovated over the last couple of years so we are lucky that it's newly insulated and definitely not damp. We were careful in ensuring this as I store a lot of clothes up there. 
I think I thought @Okell was saying was correct, but it sounds like I don't have any grounds for a complaint which I guess I find shocking really.
I wish I never bought it now! 

Appreciative_poster

I mean, surely the expectation is to store a 7.5ft tree in a loft. I can't believe they would expect it to be stored in a carefully warm temperature controlled environment for 11 months of the year! Surely the expectation is that almost everyone stores a large Christmas tree in the loft at best. So therefore shouldn't it last being stored in this environment? For what it's worth, I really don't think it was caused by storage.. the lights flickered when I first got it a lot, I just thought it was a plug issue as we had just had the house renovated. 
I was very much expecting the durability side of things to be something I could use to complain to them further, as in my mind I would expect an expensive product from a brand like the white company to have this durability. It's not even like they could argue it's been used for a year, it's literally up for three weeks and then put away for the next year! 

sheramber

For what it's worth, I really don't think it was caused by storage.

You need to prove that by getting a report  saying it is caused by a manufacturing fault. 

If it is proved to be a manufacturing fault then you can claim the cost of the report.