Claiming compensation from a retailer or repairer
Consumers in the UK may be entitled to compensation where goods are faulty or where repair services are carried out negligently or without reasonable care and skill. These rights primarily arise under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Your Legal Position
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015:
• Goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described.
• Services (including repairs) must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and at a reasonable cost (if not agreed in advance).
If these standards are not met, you may have a right to:
• A repair or replacement (for goods)
• A repeat performance (for services)
• A price reduction or refund, where the issue cannot be resolved
In cases of negligent repair, you may also claim for consequential losses, provided they are reasonably foreseeable.
Steps to Take Before Court Action
1. Raise the Issue Directly with the Trader
You should first make a formal complaint to the retailer or repairer:
• Clearly set out the issue
• Specify what remedy you are seeking (e.g. refund, re-repair, compensation)
• Provide a reasonable deadline (typically 14 days)
This is often referred to as a “Letter Before Action” and is a procedural expectation before issuing court proceedings.
2. Check Trade Association Membership
If the trader is a member of a recognised trade association:
• Submit a complaint through that body
• Many associations have codes of practice and dispute resolution schemes
• While not legally binding, they can exert commercial pressure on the trader
3. Consider Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
ADR schemes (such as mediation or arbitration):
• Are typically lower cost and faster than court
• May be binding or non-binding, depending on the scheme
• Are encouraged by courts and may impact cost decisions if unreasonably refused
Issuing a Claim (Small Claims Track)
If the matter remains unresolved, you may issue a claim via the County Court:
• Claims up to £10,000 are allocated to the small claims track
• Lower limits apply for personal injury (£5,000) and housing disrepair
• The process is designed to be accessible without legal representation
However, you must ensure:
• You have complied with pre-action conduct, including written notice
• You can provide evidence, such as:
• Invoices and receipts
• Engineer reports or photographs
• Correspondence with the trader
• Proof of payment
Practical Considerations
• Burden of proof lies with the claimant
• Claims should be proportionate; courts expect parties to act reasonably
• You may recover court fees if successful, but legal costs are generally limited in the small claims track
Additional Support
Consumers can seek guidance from:
• Citizens Advice
• Trading Standards
These organisations can assist with understanding rights and next steps, but they do not typically pursue individual claims on your behalf.
Summary
While the small claims process is designed to be user-friendly, a structured and evidence-based approach is critical. Most disputes can be resolved without court action if handled clearly and formally at an early stage.
Useful Links
Hi Andy
I hope you can give me some guidance. I purchased a Blomsberg Washer/Dryer 21 October 2021 with a 3 year warranty. Unfortunately it sprung a leak 2 weeks ago and I arranged for an independent engineer to fix it. Unfortunatley it was not worth repairing – the bracket or whatever it is called supporting the drum had a crack. I contacted the retailer and told him I was thinking of making a claim, but he more or less advised me not to waste my time as it would get nowhere. I did contact Blomsberg and told them I was not prepared to pay another call out fee and told him it wasn’t fit for purpose. He referred me to the complaints department, but of course there was no reply. My husband and I are retired so the washing is minimal, apart from when the family visit during holiday periods. Also I have not lived at the premises for the past 12 months and for another of those years I was on my own at the property, so again it has hardly been used. Over the 4 period it has only been used for less than 2.5 years (if considering regular use). The machine cost £501 and I feel this was not fit for purpose. The machine has not been abused, nor has it made rocking noises when in use, so I feel the materials used were not substantial. The retailer told me that Blomsberg are now making the machines with a different material, so it is obvious that the materials were sub-standard in the first instance. I would really appreciate your comments.
Hello Judith. Unfortunately, as it is out of guarantee, the manufacturer is very unlikely to be interested in helping. Other than honouring any guarantees that they give, a manufacturer has no other legal or consumer responsibility. Even if it was the worst appliance ever made and totally unfit for purpose. In such a case, the government has made only the retailer who sold it to you responsible.
So, your only redress is with whoever you bought it from. Unfortunately they will be unwilling to help too – they always are. But under the consumer rights act 2015 they are legally required to compensate customers if it is established that something they sold broke any of the specifications in the consumer rights act.
However, there is no way they will accept what an engineer not related to them or at least the manufacturer says. They are likely to require that one of their own engineers (or if they don’t have engineers – the manufacturer’s engineer) has a look at it.
A common issue with modern washing machines is cracks appearing in the main outer drum because most of them are made of plastic. However, these cracks are almost always caused by coins or other metal objects left in pockets. They would need to establish if the part with the crack has been damaged by something or if it is as a result of some manufacturing issue. They will of course want to charge for sending an engineer and only likely to not charge (or refund) if they find it wasn’t caused by user misuse or accident.
These facts leave people in very difficult positions, and most decide it isn’t worth the trouble. I would say that if the independent engineer definitely said it was a manufacturing fault, or a result of poor quality design or materials then you may have a case if he is correct. But no retailer is just going to pay out compensation because a customer tells them an engineer has said x.
If you were to be able to show that the washing machine has broken one of the terms of the sale of goods act 2015 the retailer is entitled to knock off money for any time the appliance has worked ok. So for example if they agreed it should have lasted 10 years, they can say if you’ve had it 5 (for example) then you are entitled to 50% of money back. Sadly, though, these days it seems accepted that the average life of a washing machine is only about 7 years.
The sale of goods act appears to give us great protection. But in reality, very few people get their rights because the retailers are totally unhelpful and resentful that the onus is put on them. After the first 6 months, consumers have to prove the fault is with the manufacture, which in the absence of any free independent accessors, means they have to pay a lot of money for someone to see the machine, with no guarantee they will find in their favour.
In summary it sounds like you have a reasonable claim it hasn’t lasted a reasonable time – especially due to the relatively little use it has had. The big problem is you have to prove it to the manufacturer’s engineer (who isn’t even independent) at great expense.
Hi.
I’d be so grateful for your advice.
I bought a Beko washing machine in late Sept 2024. The flat downstairs was vacant at the time, but has since been bought and started to be refurbished. In late May, the builders downstairs reported a leak coming from my flat. It took three plumber call outs, and ripping down the ceiling in the flat downstairs to eventually identify it was coming from the 7-8 month old washing machine. It took this long to establish as it’s a very unlikely leak – the water isn’t leaking from an inlet or outlet, but only during certain cycles when water pours out from between the metal panels at the back of the machine. Even Beko’s own engineer was adamant the washing machine wasn’t the source of the leak. It was only showing him a video which shows the water pouring out and pooling on the floor, for him to open up the washing machine and discover a faulty part.
It’s clear the problem was on manufacture, but took quite a while for us to identify – in part because the flat downstairs was empty during the first few months of ownership.
Beko so far are being pretty non commital – they’ve suggested they will not pay the £250 plumber fees I’ve paid to investigate the source of the leak (3 call outs). Nor any compensation for 2.5 weeks it took Beko to come out to first look at the machine, and then get the part and fix it. I’ve sent them photos of the damage to the flat below’s ceiling but so far they’ve not acknowledged receipt of them.
They’ve asked if I have notified the building insurance – I’ve said I haven’t and don’t want to as I don’t want to push my premium up due to a faulty Beko product.
Please can you advise how much I can expect from them, and what to push for?
Thank you very much.
Hi. My understanding is that it is the retailer that you need to claim from under the 2015 consumer rights act. More details here Who is responsible for faulty appliances?. It is typical of companies to suggest claiming on insurances but as you say, that can end up costing you money so it isn’t fair. The damage caused by a faulty appliance is legally referred to as, “consequential damage”.
so helpful. thank you very much indeed for taking the time to reply – it’s extremely appreciated
Beko DTLCE70051B Condenser Tumble Dryer, 7kg, Black, B Rated.
This is a 2022 model. Domestic and General are unable to repair, as they are unable to get the parts from Beko.
I called Beko directly and they have advised that the part is not in stock and cannot tell me when it will be. I’ve been without a tumble dryer for nearly 2-months now.
The machine is out of the manufacturers warranty.
What are my options, as I am stuck with a tumble dryer that’s 2 years old and I’m unable to repair.
Is there such thing as the `Right to repair’ for tumble dryers, have Beko got an obligation to supply parts for this machine that is 2-years old?
Hi Tracy. If an appliance can’t be repaired, or can’t be repaired in a reasonable time, the retailer is responsible under the consumer rights act. The white goods right to repair is pretty useless. As they haven’t said the part is unavailable and just out of stock, it’s leaving you in limbo. Theoretically the retailer should refund or replace it, but they will almost certainly be very reluctant as theoretically the part could become available at any time. If the manufacturer said the part was discontinued, then the retailer would have no choice.
You could try telling the retailer that over 2 months is an unreasonable amount of time, and therefore you want it exchanged.
I have spoken to local plumber, said it will come out OK! Coming 2mo sort things out for me! I’m absolutely disgusted with what I have put up with British gas and their workers. I’m still going to write a note to them saying how appalled I am the way I was spoken to was shocking
I’ve just had problems with British gas home care insurance! Leaking toilet phone Monday morning they came out Tuesday said they couldn’t fix it as screws were rusty. Wednesday phoned them 8-29am said they would send someone out between 8-30am and 12midnight,didn’t turn up went on chat with 3different people said nt insured as they could not get screws out 9-30 today ( Thursday) phoned again Gareth said insured then declin come on phone said I wasn’t ( put phone down on me 9-50) I phoned again spoke to Tanya said insured booked someone to come check over! I then went on chat spoke with Kathryn wanted to know y the phone was put down on me ! I also mentioned I had got someone coming 2day she replied no Tanya should not have booked me in! Another day wasted. She was quite rude said we will not put it in !! 4 days stuck in house, ruined carpet and they said I need to buy more modern toilet and pay for plumber to put it in 40years with insurance so I’ve cancelled it told got to pay £70 as dyno rod been done work/ they didn’t do any work! Didn’t have to pay £70 offered £20 compensation. Did not take I said £120 agreed wish I hadn’t as its going to cost more than that to get sorted + time off work .
Hello Diane. This sounds too complicated to be able to just give accurate advice. The best thing you can do is get in touch with someone like Citizens Advice or Resolver. Although there is every chance they will also not be able to help much. The big problem here is that you have repair cover, they have sent someone out to repair it, but they have said that it cannot be repaired. So you would have to discredit their opinion somehow.
If they genuinely cannot get to the parts to repair it then they have a point. I would have thought that you could just carefully drill out the screws, but having said that it could be very difficult. This is because the surrounding parts are made of porcelain that could easily break.
There is a chance that the people who came out to fix it just used the rusty screws as an excuse not to do the work because it is difficult. But it’s also perfectly possible that when some screws have properly rusted in enough, they will not come out without breaking the toilet basin. As I said, this is a difficult one to advise about. I would be tempted to try to find a local plumber who would be willing to try and get the screws out.
Also I’m not sure exactly what your insurance covers although I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if there are so many restrictions and exclusions that it is mostly useless. I personally would never take out such an insurance that supposedly covers the whole house. It’s highly unlikely to prove good value for money in the end.
I would also carefully read the terms and conditions to find out if they are justified in saying that they cannot repair it. If the screws that are rusted in all the ones holding the toilet in place so the floorboards them if they cannot drill them out without damaging the toilet bowl they can still drill them out and I would have thought that a proper insurance would cover a replacement bowl if it was necessary.
High spec telly has stopped working after 4 years. John Lewis have said its not repairable. Purchased it because of the spec and because it was expected to last 11-16 years. John Lewis have offered half the purchase price as compensation.
If it has lasted only a third of its expected life time is there an argument that it was of unsatisfactory quality to begin with?
John Lewis aren’t willing to engage in negotiations.
Hello Melanee. John Lewis are saying that it’s expected lifespan is eight years. This is a white goods help site, so I don’t have any information as to what the expected lifespan of a modern TV is. Although, eight years doesn’t seem horrendously bad. Maybe ask yourself if it had lasted for eight years trouble-free, and this had happened, would you be more inclined to accept it?
A lot also depends on the price you paid, although as with many things these days, a higher price does not in any way mean a higher quality product. In most cases, it just means that you have paid extra for higher specifications and features. If it wasn’t extremely expensive, then the difference in potential compensation between 8 years and say 10 years is unlikely to be enough to justify the stress and hassle in fighting for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the average life expectancy of a modern TV is around eight years. The average life expectancy of a washing machine has fallen to 7 years (and I remember when it used to be between 10 and 15 years). To challenge this you would need to find evidence to give to John Lewis that the average life expectancy is longer than that.
Thank you for the prompt and very helpful response.
Hi, we bought a dishwasher from John Lewis Nov 2019 which had a 3 year guarantee. The machine stopped working after 3.5 years and an engineer attended via an insurance we took out. He advised the motor had been leaking for quite some time and needed to be replaced along with the pcb, wiring harness, heater and wiring diagram. They rendered the machine a write off, beyond economical repair. They would not give a replacement as the insurance doesn’t cover the extent of repair costs on a first visit. I’ve been in touch with John Lewis who have requested an engineers report – however the insurers D&G and the repairers for a written report and they are both advising they are unable to produce this as the details are logged through their system only. I have received an email from the repairers detailing all the above but Lewis’s won’t accept this. Do I have a claim for the dishwasher only lasting 3.5 years? Which is not a reasonable time? The dishwasher cost was £359.00 and is an Electrolux/John Lewis brand.
Hello Angela. I don’t think a retailer is being reasonable if they say they won’t accept an email from the repair or insurance company. I would definitely challenge them on that. If they persist, you will need to enlist the help of a consumer rights body like Which? or https://www.resolver.co.uk/
Essentially they sold you a washing machine that has only lasted 3 years, which is well short of a reasonably expected lifespan (unless it’s been heavily used for a large family for example). So under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 it is not of sufficient quality, and has not lasted a reasonable time. That breaches 2 of the rights listed.
To be honest though, the list of parts required does seem ludicrously high, so I’m wondering if JL are suspicious of that. But if water has leaked onto the motor (which is what I assume you meant, as a motor can’t leak) and it’s all shorted out causing a lot of damage it would be a big job.
The other thing I don’t understand is how an insurance or guarantee can decide something is too expensive and refuse to repair or otherwise comensate.
Hi Andy,
Thank you so much for your reply – John Lewis have now offered £125.00 compensation (after a lot of negotiating/calls to them). Although this is better than nothing, I still feel very out of pocket as the machine we have has actually gone up in price by £90.00 – therefore to replace will cost another £324.00 including compensation (Saving £35.00) on a new machine)
Re the insurance – this was misleading, we were under the impression that it was repair or replace when we took it out via phone call. However, when reading the paperwork sent via email it does state that if the machine needs to be replaced on a first breakdown they would cancel the insurance and reimberse any payments (we didn’t check this until after the event).
Hi, we’ve just had an £800 dishwasher break down with multiple faults (leaking, not heating water, not draining etc…) after 4.5 years of standard use in a 4 person family. Would it be reasonable to approach the retailer for a claim on the product?
Hello Daniel. This a difficult one. The consumer rights act 2015 does not at any point say that a product should never break down. When it refers to the six years that we have to claim for any breaches (five in Scotland), it doesn’t mean that we have a six year guarantee. So it is perfectly acceptable and normal for certain appliances that work very hard, and very physically – and potentially every single day – to break down. So something like this would depend on whether it can be seen as unreasonable to have broken down.
Normally after 4 1/2 years I would say this is not highly unusual, or unacceptable on a dishwasher (or a washing machine etc.). What may make a difference though, is if the faults that have occurred are extremely serious, and particuarly if they render the appliance beyond economical repair.
So if faults have occurred that make the appliance scrap because it’s not worth repairing, then you have a case that you paid over £800 for an appliance that has only lasted 4 1/2 years. So, unless it had been used in a commercial environment, you could argue that this is in no way a reasonable amount of time for an appliance that costs so much money.
You should easily expect 10 years from a decent quality dishwasher, even a relatively cheap one can last that long. In this scenario, you would be claiming that the appliance has only lasted half as long as expected. So if this claim was accepted then you would be entitled to half of the money back because you have already enjoyed half of the life.
If the fault turned out to be relatively routine, then it might be difficult to claim that is totally unreasonable. Unfortunately, there are no real guidelines or charts to follow at all. The consumer rights act only talks about subjective phrases like “reasonable time”, which are often easy to challenge.
So at the end of the day, I would say that it all depends on exactly what has gone wrong, and how much it is going to cost to put right.
Hi, I bought a new build property in October 2020 and the fridge freezer stopped working February 2023. The warranty was expired and we were advised to take out the repair and care with domestic and general. They came out a number of times and attempted to fix it once, that failed. They’ve stated its unsafe and not repairable.
I can’t believe a fridge freezer of 2 years is not working and can’t be fixed! It’s cost is around £750/800.
I’ve been back and to between the newbuild company and the manufacturer and I’m getting nowhere. When we moved into the property we git given the manuals and it stated we had 1 year warranty. We started havingbissues with the fridge freezer making loud cracking noises (apparently it’s been common when I’ve queried with others) and I raised this with Redrow August 2022 as it’s integrated and I was concerned there was a fitting issue. They didn’t send anyone out and inhad to chase them and months went by. I’ve just found out that it actually had a 2 year warranty that they hadn’t informed us and if they had communicated this to us or dealt with our raised issue in time, then it would have been in warranty and I could have dealt with the manufacturer.
Is there anything I can do? Honestly I want a replacement.
Hello Jennie. Forget the manufacturer, if they have refused to help (which I’m sure you won’t forget when deciding which brand to purchase in the future) this is because they have no obligation in consumer law other than to honour the guarantee that came with the appliance.
You are right when you say that it is totally acceptable for a white goods appliance costing £800 to only last two years. It has clearly not lasted anywhere near a reasonable time. However, the only people responsible in UK consumer law, are the people that you bought it from. This is usually a retailer. However, if you bought a new house, and the appliances came with the house, then you bought the appliances from whomever you bought the house from. So they are the retailer, and they are responsible for your rights under the consumer rights act 2015.
Over the years, I have seen many cases where people have had problems with builders when appliances that came with the house breached the consumer rights act 2015. It seems that either the builders genuinely do not think they have any obligations, or they just don’t want to comply.
Read up on the consumer rights act here appliance out of guarantee doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pay and Consumer rights act 2015 for appliances
You may need to get official consumer assistance from somewhere like Which? or citizens advice.