What if you have an appliance that is only just out of guarantee and you’ve been told it is unrepairable? In this example someone had bought a Zanussi fridge freezer 14 months previously. It was 2 months out of guarantee and had broken down. The manufacturer’s engineer said the fault was due to an internal gas leak and was unrepairable. The customer asked me what her rights were. She had paid £630 for it..
..Note that although this specific question relates to a fridge freezer, the situation should be relevant to any white goods appliance.
Just out of guarantee and unrepairable
Under UK consumer law, the manufacturer’s only obligation is to carry out repairs under their guarantee period, which has now expired. If it was repairable and they were quoting for an expensive repair it might bring up other consumer rights issues against the retailer (out of guarantee doesn’t always mean you should pay). But as the appliance is not repairable the manufacturer is washing their hands of it.
You would think that as they made the appliance and you are one of their customers they would offer to replace it themselves. They commonly don’t. As far as they are concerned you didn’t buy it from them. They didn’t get your money (although they obviously do indirectly) so it’s nothing to do with them.
The retailer is responsible
I advised that they should contact the retailer and request a replacement under the Consumer Rights Act (previously sale of goods act).
The retailer is unlikely to be helpful
Ironically the first thing most retailers are likely to do is ask the manufacturer for credit to replace it, which is commonly denied. If the manufacturer refuses to give them credit a retailer will often try to limit their costs by denying any responsibility. They may claim there’s nothing they can do because it’s out of guarantee.
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Unfortunately most of us will have to fight for our consumer rights. Front-line staff are commonly untrained on the full extent of consumer rights and may genuinely believe you have no rights. You may have to go to their superiors or even enlist help from consumer advice bodies. Hopefully if you make sure they know you understand you have rights and won’t be easily fobbed off they will comply. The retailers know very well that most people won’t. In this case, after insisting on a replacement, the customer confirmed that the retailer did exchange the fridge freezer without any quibble.
Do you automatically get a brand new appliance if the old can’t be repaired?
It will depend on the age of the appliance. A retailer can try to reduce their costs by asking the customer to pay a contribution. The logic is that you have already enjoyed a certain percentage of an expected lifespan so shouldn’t be entitled to a complete replacement. This does make logical sense, but whether or not they would try this is dependent on the circumstances and the retailer.
Here’s how it would work
In order to ask for a contribution towards the cost they need to work out what percentage of life you’ve already enjoyed. They would need to say how long the appliance would be expected to last on average. These figures aren’t easy to know or agree upon. Say for example they claim a fridge freezer would normally last 10 years (which is 120 months), they could say you’ve enjoyed 14 of those months which equates to just over 10%.
What if the appliance was older and couldn’t be repaired?
If an appliance has been deemed unrepairable by the manufacturer but it is further out of the guarantee period then things may be quite different. If an appliance is a year out of guarantee – or maybe even 4 or 5 years out of guarantee then you may still have rights under the Consumer Rights Act. There’s usually little point in complaining to the manufacturer although it has been known for them to accommodate customers out of goodwill (and clearly this makes sense). However, it is the retailer who has the liability.
The critical point here is that the appliance is unrepairable. Therefore however old the appliance is at this point this is exactly how long it has lasted – so the question becomes – is this acceptable? (Consumer Rights Act gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances?)
What if it’s repairable but very expensive?
This is far more common, and much more complex. If an appliance is only days or possibly a week or so out of guarantee then you would hope that out of good will the manufacturer would offer to repair it free of charge. But they aren’t obliged to, and often won’t. If this is the case you need to remember your rights under the Consume Rights Act are against the retailer who sold it to you. You may still be entitled to a free repair depending upon the circumstances.
You would need to contact the retailer and you would need to show that your appliance has not lasted a reasonable time, has not been fit for purpose, or it had an inherent fault at the time of sale. Whether or not you have any justification in such a claim will depend on all of the circumstances – how much you paid, how long you’ve had it, whether it has been nothing but trouble or previously trouble-free, how you’ve looked after it, and how much it has been used. Some of the elements in this calculation are subjective and not clear-cut. This is why you may have to seek consumer advice from someone like Which? and why sometimes a small claims court judge may have to decide.
More related information
- You might find it interesting to read my article here, which explains why retailers are commonly reluctant to help us when we have a case Is the sale of goods (consumer rights) act too hard on retailers?
- Sale of Goods Act gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances
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My parents bought a brand new Beko WMB 61631W washing machine and to cut to the chase they have insurance but in the two and half years they have owned this it has been repaired (through their insurance) 6 times that includes the whole drum being replaced! Now today after getting the brushes replaced last week the machine was making a whirring noise that the engineer said would ”wear off” but now, today 3 days later the whirring noise got louder and louder then a smell of burning and it conked out tripping all the electricity in the house!!! When does one repair too many become unacceptable? I mean they are now afraid to use the machine even if it is fixed yet again. Should they not be just replacing it with a new machine? Do they have say with the insurance company to force their hand to have the machine replaced for a new one? Thank you.
Hello Tom. When the engineer said that the noise would wear off he was assuming that the noise was caused by the new carbon brushes. When new brushes are fitted the motor is initially noisier than before until the brushes bed in. However, the smell of burning and tripping the electricity sounds very much like the main motor has now failed. The amount of repairs you have had in such a short time is arguably unacceptable. However, whether you have a fair claim or not is dependent on how much it has been used.
Beko are one of the cheapest washing machines you can buy. To be totally honest with you budget washing machines are only really fit for washing for one or 2 people. If the washing machine is washing for 4 or 5 people then in all honesty it wouldn’t be too surprising that for it to keep breaking down. Most budget washing machines would be completely worn out after 2 or 3 years washing for a large family and these days. Believe it or not, if washing for 4 or 5 people manufacturers actually class this as virtually commercial washing. It is totally ludicrous, especially being as this is not communicated to consumers buying appliances.
Having said all that, if the washing machine has had relatively light use, washing for only one or 2 people then you might have a case. If you need a washing machine that can cope with washing every day or virtually every day you need to look at something like a Miele, but of course they start at over £600.
Hi my parents bought a Zanussi tall fridge from Currys’s in July 2016 & 2 weeks ago it stopped working so they paid for a repair agent from currys’s to look at it & the gas is faulty so unrepairable, so they went back to currys to get it replaced as it wasn’t very old to be told it was out of guarantee & they would have to buy another one, so not only did they pay £130 plus for the repair they have had to pay out £399 for a new fridge.
I think currys are in the wrong & am not happy with the way they have been treated.
Hello Maria. If you buy a fridge, and it doesn’t even last two years I would say that is a very strong case. of not lasting a reasonable time under the sale of goods act. Unfortunately your experience show what I describe happens with virtually all retailers in my article Out of guarantee even by a long time doesn’t always mean you should pay
Retailers rely on people being ignorant of their rights, or being unwilling to get into a stressful fight about it. A white goods refrigeration appliance should surely last longer than around seventeen months. The retailer should at least have offered you a healthy discount off a new one. Unfortunately you have a more complicated case because you also paid for repair.
When you say “repair” – do you mean that Zanussi charged you £130 just to tell you they couldn’t repair it? If I were you I would seek professional consumer advice. Either from a government consumer website, or from someone like Which? All Which? members are eligible for personal consumer advice and they often even fight your case for you. You could become a member by following this link Why subscribe to Which?. You may very well find it valuable to be a permanent member after the trial period.
Essentially when the fridge was beyond economical repair at not even 18 months old I would say has not lasted a reasonable time under the terms of the sale of goods act. Under the sale of goods act a retailer is entitled to reduce any compensation amount to allow for the fact that you have already enjoyed a certain amount of use from the appliance. To me I would expect at least 70% off of a new one. A fridge should last 7 to 10 years.
Hi Andy
They paid Currys the repair fee for someone to come out to tell them the gas was faulty
Hello Maria. The only people you can try and get compensation from are Currys. They sold you and appliance which has lasted a woefully inadequate amount of time and cannot be repaired. They are responsible under the sale of goods act. Unfortunately most of the retailers refused to do anything. There is a chance that if you quote them the sale of goods act and tell them you have been sold an appliance that has not lasted a reasonable amount of time and was therefore not fit for purpose they may offer you some compensation. If not, the only option you have is to threaten to take them to the small claims court. Get in touch with a consumer group like Citizens Advice, or if you become a Which? member get in touch with Which? In cases like this they are usually more than happy to help.
Hi Andy I bought an oven from my appliances on line in November 2015 and it had a 2 year warranty which has now expired the oven now is faulty so I challenged them on The SOG and they tell me as it was purchased after September 2015 it is no longer covered by the SOG aus this correct ? Doing some research I see the SOG was in fact replaced by the consumer rights act does this mean that the 6 year period for fair usage no longer applies your help would be appreciated regards Steve
Hello Steve. Very little has changed. The new Consumer Rights Act is supposed to strengthen our rights. It would be interesting if they are claiming that you no longer have certain rights. We still have up to 6 years to claim if the appliance had an inherent fault, or is not of satisfactory quality (5 in Scotland).
I’ve just spent all morning updating my article about the Sale of Goods Act to include more about the Consumer Rights Act 2015 – Sale of Goods Act gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances. Please try to read it carefully and see if it helps.
Thanks Andy I had a long conversation with the consumer services who backed up every thing I have said to the supplier so I emailed them exactly what they suggested I should say now they are not replying to my emails next step is a letter followed by a small claims court as they just will not accept any liability what so ever regards Steve
That’s a shame Steve. Please let us know how you get on in the end. You might find it valuable to become a Which? member as not only are they the best source of consumer help and information but they have telephone help lines for members and will help fight valid cases Why subscribe to Which?
Thanks Andy I will join which as now the gloves are off I even offered to pay the Labour if they covered the parts again they declined I will definitely let you know how it goes once again thanks for your help Steve
Good morning Andy just to let you know I rang the retailer this morning and made them fully aware of my rights and mentioning Which which I joined today very helpful thanks .. And surprise surprise they changed their tune very quickly and have agreed to a repair :) so once again many thanks for your help regards Steve
Many thanks Steve. I’m sure you’ll find being a which member extremely useful. It’s a source of information and help that I would not like to be without. I think the main difference is that if you have bought your appliance after the first of October 2015 you have to quote the consumer rights act. I have to say that I strongly suspect that some retailers are being disingenuous when they try to imply that you no longer have any rights, or have greatly diminished rights if you bought from them after the sale of goods act was replaced. As I say in the article I linked to, the main purpose of the consumer rights act was to improve and strengthen our rights. I think if someone has bought a product after October 1 and then mistakenly quotes the sale of goods act retailers should not be shooting them down saying the sale of goods act no longer applies. Although technically correct, as far as I can see they have just about the same obligations as before.