Faulty IRobot Rights

Flibbertigibbet4545

I purchased an IRobot Essential robot vacuum on debit card in August. It was working fine until it fell down the stairs at the end of February. It has sensors which are meant to prevent it doing so. It didn't seem damaged but as it was under warranty and I was concerned the same would happen again, I reported it to IRobot who asked me to take lots of photos and return it for repair. This was done at the start of March. I'm meant to be able to track the repair online but all it says is that it has been returned to the Repair Centre. Customer Services team are very nice but useless in so far as they cannot provide updates and can only escalate - which they've apparently done - but I've had no response. I know it's not been overly long yet but I am starting to worry that this will drag on for months and am wishing I hadn't bothered with the return at all! Is there anything within my consumer rights that I'm able to do?

powerful_Rogue

Flibbertigibbet4545 said:

I purchased an IRobot Essential on debit card in August. It was working fine until it fell down the stairs at the end of February. It didn't seem damaged but as it was under warranty and I was concerned the same would happen again, I reported it to IRobot who asked me to take lots of photos and return it for repair. This was done at the start of March. I'm meant to be able to track the repair online but all it says is that it has been returned to the Repair Centre. Customer Services team are very nice but useless in so far as they cannot provide updates and can only escalate - which they've apparently done - but I've had no response. I know it's not been overly long yet but I am starting to worry that this will drag on for months and am wishing I hadn't bothered with the return at all! Is there anything within my consumer rights that I'm able to do?

You mention warranty and then consumer rights. Which one are you currently claiming under?

If under warranty  then it all depends on the terms of the warranty.

If under consumer rights, what was the date in August and the date in February, as these rights change depending on whether it's less or more then six months.

Flibbertigibbet4545

I'm claiming under the warranty which is 2 years. But if IRobot never repair my device or take months to do so, where do I then stand, as that effectively makes the warranty worthless. 

LightFlare

Unless it was designed to “fall down the stairs” then I wouldn’t be surprised if they refuse any claim.

Flibbertigibbet4545

LightFlare said:

Unless it was designed to “fall down the stairs” then I wouldn’t be surprised if they refuse any claim.

It's not meant to fall down the stairs. It has sensors that are supposed to prevent it doing so which are presumably faulty, hence why I was asked to send it for repair. I just want it repaired or replaced and returned to me, which I'm starting to think might not happen. 

flaneurs_lobster

LightFlare said:

Unless it was designed to “fall down the stairs” then I wouldn’t be surprised if they refuse any claim.

These things have "cliff sensors" that are supposed to protect them from doing a header. I bet there's a bunch of disclaimer in the T&Cs saying "Our "Doesn't Fall Down The Stairs" technology does not guarantee that your robot won't fall down the stairs".

Flibbertigibbet4545

flaneurs_lobster said:

LightFlare said:

Unless it was designed to “fall down the stairs” then I wouldn’t be surprised if they refuse any claim.

These things have "cliff sensors" that are supposed to protect them from doing a header. I bet there's a bunch of disclaimer in the T&Cs saying "Our "Doesn't Fall Down The Stairs" technology does not guarantee that your robot won't fall down the stairs".

Haha! I actually did check them and couldn't see anything like that although I wouldn't be shocked if they do try and wriggle out of doing anything. But right now they've pretty much stolen my device! 

powerful_Rogue

Flibbertigibbet4545 said:

I'm claiming under the warranty which is 2 years. But if IRobot never repair my device or take months to do so, where do I then stand, as that effectively makes the warranty worthless. 

What does the warranty say?

Flibbertigibbet4545

powerful_Rogue said:

Flibbertigibbet4545 said:

I'm claiming under the warranty which is 2 years. But if IRobot never repair my device or take months to do so, where do I then stand, as that effectively makes the warranty worthless. 

What does the warranty say?

Nothing of much use! No mention of how long repairs take/SLAS or anything like that. https://support.irobot.co.uk/s/article/3096