Making Claim under Consumer Rights Bill and Section 75 Issues

normal

Hi

I bought a robot vacuum cleaner on Amazon a bit over two years ago. It first developed a fault when it was about 19 months old and the manufacturer repaired it. It then developed a similar fault 3-4 months later and I tried contacting the manufacturer to get it repaired again, but heard nothing back. Long story short, by the time I found an alternative way of contacting the manufacturer, the two year warranty it came with had expired and they refused to repair under warranty. 

I then tried to make a claim with Amazon under the Consumer Rights Bill asking for a repair, replacement or refund as the cleaner had failed to last a reasonable length of time. That claim was rejected by Amazon.

I then thought I'd try making a claim with American Express under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. I claimed a breach of contract with Amazon for not honouring the Consumer Rights Bill and the cleaner not lasting a reasonable length of time. I got the following response.

"Claims made under Section 75 are subject to strict criteria, and to successfully claim, you must demonstrate either a misrepresentation of the sale or a breach of the contract that you are a party to. After taking into consideration all the available information, it has not been possible to uphold your claim for the following reasons:

• There is no evidence of a breach of contract by Amazon.

• As you first identified the fault with the vacuum cleaner more than six months after its purchase it is, therefore, beyond the six-month timeframe to reasonably assume that any fault or defect was present at the outset. Therefore, in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the onus is on the consumer to demonstrate that there is an inherent fault or manufacturing defect. As you have already had the appliance repaired on one previous occasion, we consider that you will not be able to demonstrate this."

Are both Amazon and American Express correct in their denials? Or any other advice on how to pursue this?

Many thanks.

MattMattMattUK

normal said:

Hi

I bought a robot vacuum cleaner on Amazon a bit over two years ago. It first developed a fault when it was about 19 months old and the manufacturer repaired it. It then developed a similar fault 3-4 months later and I tried contacting the manufacturer to get it repaired again, but heard nothing back. Long story short, by the time I found an alternative way of contacting the manufacturer, the two year warranty it came with had expired and they refused to repair under warranty. 

I then tried to make a claim with Amazon under the Consumer Rights Bill asking for a repair, replacement or refund as the cleaner had failed to last a reasonable length of time. That claim was rejected by Amazon.

I then thought I'd try making a claim with American Express under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. I claimed a breach of contract with Amazon for not honouring the Consumer Rights Bill and the cleaner not lasting a reasonable length of time. I got the following response.

"Claims made under Section 75 are subject to strict criteria, and to successfully claim, you must demonstrate either a misrepresentation of the sale or a breach of the contract that you are a party to. After taking into consideration all the available information, it has not been possible to uphold your claim for the following reasons:

• There is no evidence of a breach of contract by Amazon.

• As you first identified the fault with the vacuum cleaner more than six months after its purchase it is, therefore, beyond the six-month timeframe to reasonably assume that any fault or defect was present at the outset. Therefore, in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the onus is on the consumer to demonstrate that there is an inherent fault or manufacturing defect. As you have already had the appliance repaired on one previous occasion, we consider that you will not be able to demonstrate this."

Are both Amazon and American Express correct in their denials? Or any other advice on how to pursue this?

Many thanks.

Yes. As the fault occurred after the first six months you would need to prove the fault was inherent at point of purchase, as you cannot do that your claim will be rejected. 

What model is it and what is the fault, something that can be fixed easily yourself or a major failure? Was this a £99 robot vacuum cleaner or a £999 robot vacuum cleaner? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

normal said:

• As you first identified the fault with the vacuum cleaner more than six months after its purchase it is, therefore, beyond the six-month timeframe to reasonably assume that any fault or defect was present at the outset. Therefore, in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the onus is on the consumer to demonstrate that there is an inherent fault or manufacturing defect. As you have already had the appliance repaired on one previous occasion, we consider that you will not be able to demonstrate this."

This bit is correct.

Part in bold is debatable, if you had the thing inspected and it was concluded a part failed before it's time you could go back to the card provider and see if they will entertain further.

If they won't you'd have to decide whether to go to small claims, proof is balance of probability (50/50) rather than 100%. 

How much was this cleaner OP? 

normal

Many thanks for the responses. It is a £699 Ecovacs Deebot X1 Turbo.(It was reduced from over £1000 at the time). 

It also has a mop function and the drainage function into the dirty water tank has failed twice on it. I can't work out the exact cause. I suspect it's because dirt particles build up in the drainage system, but I can't say for sure. Unfortunately it means that I can't use the mop function anymore as water just accumulates in the docking station.

MattMattMattUK

normal said:

Many thanks for the responses. It is a £699 Ecovacs Deebot X1 Turbo.(It was reduced from over £1000 at the time). 

It also has a mop function and the drainage function into the dirty water tank has failed twice on it. I can't work out the exact cause. I suspect it's because dirt particles build up in the drainage system, but I can't say for sure. Unfortunately it means that I can't use the mop function anymore as water just accumulates in the docking station.

From having a quick look, admittedly not extensive, it looks like it gets blocked if not cleaned periodically, it appears to be an issue if the Robot is not sent to vacuum first before mopping an area, there seem to be plenty of videos online showing how to unclog it, looks like a thirty minute job. Personally I would give that a go.

MyRealNameToo

normal said:

Many thanks for the responses. It is a £699 Ecovacs Deebot X1 Turbo.(It was reduced from over £1000 at the time). 

It also has a mop function and the drainage function into the dirty water tank has failed twice on it. I can't work out the exact cause. I suspect it's because dirt particles build up in the drainage system, but I can't say for sure. Unfortunately it means that I can't use the mop function anymore as water just accumulates in the docking station.

So sounds like you are saying it could be a design flaw or could be you not using it correctly. As AmEx have said, the obligation is on you to prove which it is which would normally be done by commissioning an engineers report, the cost of which can be added to the claim if it supports it being a flaw or is yours to bare if it says you should hoover before you mop as per page X of the manual. 

If its just crud in the system sounds like something you can resolve yourself