Return of faulty freezer

SpicyLentil

I purchased a freezer in August last year and it has stopped working. The manufacturer has confirmed that they will replace it, but have advised that they will not collect the faulty one and I will need to dispose of it myself.

Is this right?

thanks

HillStreetBlues

Did you buy it from directly from the manufacturer?

SpicyLentil

Yes I did. Does that make a difference?

Grumpy_chap

AIUI, under WEEE regulations, the producer must have facilities to receive their electronic waste back.  The rules are rather odd in that I think the requirement is for the producer to accept the end of life product back but the user has to get it back.

You might be best accepting the free replacement and then paying the local council charged waste collection to collect the broken freezer and recycle it.  That avoids the risk of the manufacturer going back on their offer to replace the item.  The cost of the council waste collection compared to a year of free use of the freezer is probably a fair trade off.

SpicyLentil

Hmmm. How is that right though? I purchased an item that ended up being faulty within 6 months and I have to pay to have that faulty item disposed of. The manufacturer isn’t doing me a favour by replacing it. I would have been quite happy if they’d fixed it. It costs £60 for my local council to dispose of it! Why should I be out of pocket

Alderbank

Was this a consumer purchase? It's a consumer purchase if it is not mainly for use in connection with your trade or business.
Are you claiming under a guarantee or under your consumer rights?

If under the manufacturer's guarantee the terms are whatever the guarantee actually says, no more and no less. However if you are claiming under consumer rights, s23(2) (Right to Replacement) of the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) says the trader must replace the goods and bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so.

Remind them of their duties under s23 of CRA 2015.

TELLIT01

It's all too easy to get wound up about something 'not right' over an offer from a retailer.  There is a big difference between thinking something is morally wrong, and being in breach of the law or regulations.  I wouldn't be happy either about having to pay for disposal, but I think it's a better option than to fight on and possibly have the offer of a replacement withdrawn.

Grumpy_chap

SpicyLentil said:

Hmmm. How is that right though? I purchased an item that ended up being faulty within 6 months and I have to pay to have that faulty item disposed of. The manufacturer isn’t doing me a favour by replacing it. I would have been quite happy if they’d fixed it. It costs £60 for my local council to dispose of it! Why should I be out of pocket

You purchased an item expecting a life-span of X years.
The item is being replaced after 6 months, so you will gain the life span of X years plus 6 months.  An extra 6 months for the £60 fee to the Council to dispose.

The WEEE regulations are a bit odd (IMO) in that the recycling has to be offered for free, but the manufacturer can charge for the collection if the consumer does not return the item to the manufacturer.  That return would likely cost you more than £60.

Notwithstanding, I'd try a soft pushback along the lines that @Alderbank has suggested as the manufacturer might be simply trying it on to save that recycling cost.  Beware, though, not to jeopardise the current full replacement that has been offered.

If you do end up with the old freezer and the replacement freezer, has the old freezer failed absolutely and completely?  It may be just one part that failed and repairable by someone suitably minded.  Before paying the Council £60 to take it away as scrap, you may be able to find someone through Freecycle of local social media groups that would be pleased to have a "6 month old freezer, stopped working, may be repairable, free to collector.  Must go within 7 days before I arrange Council waste collection."  That would be a win for you and a win for them and a win for the environment

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

I'd be inclined to keep any drawers and shelves as spares, any parts you can easily remove might be worth keeping or selling, when the LED light strip went in our fridge it was around £20 to replace. 

born_again

SpicyLentil said:

Hmmm. How is that right though? I purchased an item that ended up being faulty within 6 months and I have to pay to have that faulty item disposed of. The manufacturer isn’t doing me a favour by replacing it. I would have been quite happy if they’d fixed it. It costs £60 for my local council to dispose of it! Why should I be out of pocket

Does your local council not have tips that you can drop off for free?

Or as many do round here. Post on local facebook group item left outside for a waste collector to take, rather than pay the £30 council charge to take items.

SpicyLentil

I can see your points of view - I just don’t think it’s a case of they’re doing me a ‘favour’ by replacing it. It’s their product and it has failed, so no longer fit for purpose - especially as it’s only 5 months old. I find it unbelievable that disposal is down to the consumer in cases like this.

Good idea about advertising it locally.  Just to add it’s a chest freezer so nothing is really salvageable from it.

There is no option for me to dispose of it myself, due to ill health.

Thanks for your input everyone ☺️