Do I have a claim against Bissell ?

mike230652

I bought a Stainpro machine in May 2019.

It was lightly used, we have wood floors with one large rug and two carpeted bedrooms.

It stopped working in December 2022 and after much to and fro, Bissell accepted it for repair under the five-year warranty.

They couldn't repair it so sent a new Revolution ProHeat 2 in early February 2023 as replacement with remainder of warranty ie to May 2024

We've used it three times since.

Last week, on using it, I smelled a slight burning smell coming from it and almost immediately it went dead and blew all the downstairs circuits.

I tried sorting the problem by changing the fuse in the machine and plugging it in to two other sockets, but it's as dead as the proverbial DoDo.

Contacted Bissell whose response is, irrespective of it being a replacement machine, and only lasting just over two years, their warranty is five years and any inspection and repairs would be at my cost. Having gone through what happened to the machine they confirmed it sounds like a motor issue, hence they suggest returning it, but all at my cost.

I understand the five year warranty, but the replacement machine has stopped working after just over two years and was very lightly used in that time. ( We're early 70's with no kids at home and a small dog ).


Do I have any sort of a claim to present or chase Bissell with, or do I just accept their argument of a five year warranty having expired?

Thank you.

eskbanker

Warranties (from manufacturers) are a separate matter from statutory consumer rights (with retailers) but it's normal practice for replacement items not to reset the duration of a warranty.

You might be able to construct an inadequate durability claim against the retailer, even after six years, but you have the burden of proof to demonstrate an inherent fault present at the time of sale, e.g. via an independent expert report.

DullGreyGuy

mike230652 said:

I bought a Stainpro machine in May 2019.

It was lightly used, we have wood floors with one large rug and two carpeted bedrooms.

It stopped working in December 2022 and after much to and fro, Bissell accepted it for repair under the five-year warranty.

They couldn't repair it so sent a new Revolution ProHeat 2 in early February 2023 as replacement with remainder of warranty ie to May 2024

We've used it three times since.

Last week, on using it, I smelled a slight burning smell coming from it and almost immediately it went dead and blew all the downstairs circuits.

I tried sorting the problem by changing the fuse in the machine and plugging it in to two other sockets, but it's as dead as the proverbial DoDo.

Contacted Bissell whose response is, irrespective of it being a replacement machine, and only lasting just over two years, their warranty is five years and any inspection and repairs would be at my cost. Having gone through what happened to the machine they confirmed it sounds like a motor issue, hence they suggest returning it, but all at my cost.

I understand the five year warranty, but the replacement machine has stopped working after just over two years and was very lightly used in that time. ( We're early 70's with no kids at home and a small dog ).


Do I have any sort of a claim to present or chase Bissell with, or do I just accept their argument of a five year warranty having expired?

Who did you buy from? They are the ones your consumer rights exist with. 

A replacement continues the original purchase rather than restarting the clock, unless you are given a cash refund and choose to buy a new item as a replacement in which case the clock restarts from the second purchase. 

The law of limitations gives you 6 years to make a claim for breach of contract so given you bought it in May 2019 that will run out in May 2025. It doesnt mean you can't ask for them to deal with it but were you to go to court they would have  a statutory defence of it being statute barred. 

If a refund were given it can be reduced to reflect the use you've had from the two items and so in your case you'd have almost 6 years use deducted. There is no legally prescribed formula for how it is to be calculated but looking at the big retailers then with JL for example they'd be looking at 1/72 of the original price or 1.4%

Ergates

mike230652 said:

I understand the five year warranty, but the replacement machine has stopped working after just over two years and was very lightly used in that time. ( We're early 70's with no kids at home and a small dog ).

Do I have any sort of a claim to present or chase Bissell with, or do I just accept their argument of a five year warranty having expired?

Their argument is correct - a replacement under warranty doesn't reset the clock.

Okell

eskbanker said:

... You might be able to construct an inadequate durability claim against the retailer, even after six years, but you have the burden of proof to demonstrate an inherent fault present at the time of sale, e.g. via an independent expert report.

Won't the difficulty here be that the replacement that has broken down isn't the one that was supplied by the retailer?

I can't help thinking that a retailer should not be held responsible for the "fitness" of replacement goods supplied by the manufacturer under the manufacturer's warranty.

eskbanker

Okell said:

eskbanker said:

... You might be able to construct an inadequate durability claim against the retailer, even after six years, but you have the burden of proof to demonstrate an inherent fault present at the time of sale, e.g. via an independent expert report.

Won't the difficulty here be that the replacement that has broken down isn't the one that was supplied by the retailer?

I can't help thinking that a retailer should not be held responsible for the "fitness" of replacement goods supplied by the manufacturer under the manufacturer's warranty.

True - I was thinking that OP may have bought direct from the manufacturer (i.e. effectively the same company wearing two hats) but didn't make that clear and yes, if bought elsewhere then it's unlikely there'd be any further action possible.

born_again

Only thing I can think would be to get a 3rd party to give a report & given

I smelled a slight burning smell coming from it and almost immediately it went dead and blew all the downstairs circuits.

If they decided that there was a manufacturing fault & this is a safety issue.
It would give you a bit more leverage to get it sorted. But given the stated lack of use, do you really need the cost & work involved to do this?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/consumer-products-reporting-product-safety-issues

mike230652

Thanks to all.

I should have said that I bought the original machine direct from Bissell and have dealt only with them.

I think, on balance, I'll leave it. 

My main 'gripe ' was that - irrespective of the 5 year warranty - 2 lightly used machines from Bissell broke down in less than 4 years and just over 2 years.

I guess our next machine will be bought from elsewhere.

Thank you all again.