What are our consumer rights related to washing machines and white goods appliances that break down? Especially soon after purchase. Trying to get an appliance exchanged can be stressful and difficult. So before we jump in and angrily demand a replacement, it’s best to try to look at the subject objectively.
Both the customer and retailer’s points of view are explored in this article. Note that I am talking only about UK consumer rights.
I don’t want my washing machine repaired – I want it exchanged
Many customers want an exchange if a washing machine breaks down when they haven’t had it very long. Especially if it’s very soon after purchase. Unless a retailer had a 28 day exchange policy this used to be difficult. But the new Consumer Rights Act 2015 now makes this very simple. It says that if a new appliance goes faulty within 30 days we are entitled to a full refund if that’s what we want.
Is the washing machine really faulty?
However, before jumping in, try to make sure there is definitely a fault on the appliance. Make sure that the fault is not caused by faulty installation or a user fault. Failing to read the instruction manual causes a lot of avoidable problems. As an engineer, I know that a substantial percentage (if not the majority) of all calls to a new appliance within the first week are likely to be user faults or installation faults.
If it’s a washing machine check this list that I have compiled separately, is the washing machine actually faulty? It shows 9 examples of “faults” that are not washing machine faults at all. They are all caused by installation or user errors. Remember, you can be charged if it turns out to be one of these faults, so it makes sense to check it.
They won’t exchange any appliance without sending an engineer to check it first
It’s easy to see why it’s highly unlikely anyone will exchange an appliance simply because it’s reported faulty, once you’ve read the list mentioned above. It’s almost certain an engineer will need to inspect and confirm it is genuinely faulty.
Can I insist on an exchange if the washing machine IS faulty?
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives us the right for a full refund if an appliance is faulty within the first 30 days. If the appliance is genuinely faulty, you can request your money back.
The sooner a fault occurs, the more likely a retailer will exchange it. They tend to get very reluctant after roughly a month. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that faults within the first 6 months are inherent. This means the fault must have been present when sold, even if it didn’t show before. The retailer must prove otherwise. So if a substantial fault occurs within the first 6 months, you have a better chance of getting it exchanged. After 6 months, it is extremely difficult to get an appliance exchanged, even if consumer law says you are entitled to it.
Should you complain the manufacturer?
Under UK consumer law, the manufacturer is not responsible. Only the retailer has any obligation regarding faulty goods. A manufacturer has an obligation to honour their guarantee. But they have no obligation to exchange faulty appliances. Neither can they give your money back because you gave it to the retailer. Some manufacturers will get involved. They will sometimes offer to exchange an appliance. If they offer something acceptable, that’s fine. But if they don’t, remember the retailer is bound by the Sale of Goods act. It’s them you should be negotiating with. (Related: Why can’t I complain to the manufacturer? They made it so aren’t they ultimately responsible?)
Retailers can sometimes insist on repairing – not replacing an appliance
Automatically rejecting a washing machine over any fault is not necessarily a good idea. It’s common to instinctively want to reject something that breaks down the first time you use it, or within a short time of buying. As customers, we often appear to undergo a psychological rejection of goods, which is not based on any logic. It’s almost as if the washing machine is cursed, and doomed to constant failure so it must be got rid of.
Try not to lose sight of the fact that any product can develop a fault. It doesn’t mean there is something seriously wrong with it. It doesn’t mean that it will never stop breaking down. Bear in mind that a minor repair may be considerably more convenient for all concerned, including yourself. What’s the point for example of going through all the hassle of getting a washing machine exchanged if it can be fixed in 5 minutes with hardly any effort?
Also bear in mind that a retailer can insist on a repair if they can show that replacing the appliance is disproportionately more expensive than a repair.
You might be entitled to reject it if the product is faulty from the start, but it makes sense to just see what the fault is first. Some faults can be pretty minor and hardly warrant a total rejection.
There is sometimes a stalemate caused by conflicting statements in the Sale of Goods Act. It gives us the right to reject a faulty product, but also gives retailers a right to repair it if it only has a minor fault.
Faults within the first 6 months are deemed to have been present when sold
As previously mentioned, a new amendment to consumer law has shifted the burden of proof of a fault from the consumer to the seller. This is only applicable within the first 6 months. This means a fault within 6 months is automatically assumed to be an “inherent fault” unless the seller can prove otherwise. It’s as good as saying if a new part can’t last a mere 6 months, it must have been faulty (or of sub-standard quality) when it was fitted to the washing machine. So it was therefore sold with an inherent fault.
Why are retailers so reluctant to exchange a faulty appliance?
This could be why – Is the sale of goods act too hard on retailers?
Faults on appliances out of guarantee
Once the appliance is out of the manufacturer’s guarantee you will always be told that you have to pay for a repair – even if The Consumer Rights Act 2015 shows you are entitled to a free repair or compensation. You can be entitled to a free repair or partial refund long after the first year.
It will depend on all of the circumstances, but you can still be covered by UK consumer law as this article describes Out of guarantee even by a long time doesn’t always mean you should pay
The Consumer Rights Act 2015
Some people think that because the Consumer Rights Act (formally Sale of Goods Act) gives us up to 6 years (5 in Scotland) to claim compensation it means we have a claim any time it breaks down within the 6 years. This is definitely not the case. Read this article here – Consumer Rights Act (formally Sale of Goods Act) gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances
Which? Consumer Advice special offer
I’m not a consumer expert. My consumer advice is my personal understanding based on a long study and research on the subject coupled with my 40 years experience in the trade, and years of writing and advising on my web sites.
Which? are a great source of independent consumer advice and product reviews and you can benefit from their highly respected opinions and experience online – you can usually get a special offer trial offer – (Why subscribe to Which? )
Distance selling regulations
You have additional rights if you buy your appliance over the internet or through a mail-order catalogue. Read this article for more information on Distance selling regulations on returning appliances
Spares
Spares4Appliances is a spares company run by repair engineers who understand all about spare parts for appliances.
This is the first comment: Comments are listed in chronological order (jump to latest comments)
Hi,
I am interested in your advice.
Curry’s delivered a washing machine that leaked the first time I used it. It was a Hoover D8PX and the rubber bung on the hose at the front next to the filter cap was not present. It spilled the entire loads worth of water all over my laundry room and into a cellar area below. There is quite a lot of water damage to the floor, walls and ceiling below the washing machine.
They have accepted that they sold me faulty goods and the new machine is being delivered today. Are they liable for the damage done to my house?
Cheers,
Nik.
I would have thought definitely, within reason. If the damage was particularly severe they might question how because the water should have come out within seconds and so you’d expect it would be stopped and the water mopped up. This could still be enough to damage laminate flooring etc. but I suppose it depends how much the claim is for as to whether they think it’s reasonable or not.
Often companies try to get people to claim on their house insurance, which is out of order really. They have insurance called product liability and they should claim on theirs.
Let me know how you get on as it might make a useful and interesting article.
Excellent information just what I needed! I bought a new Siemens wash machine & within 8 weeks it emitted the most terrible smell like drains!! On Siemens advice I did several 90* washes only for the smell to come back 3 weeks later! I repeated the process again then the smell returned after 6 wks! In all I’ve lost count of how many 90* washes I’ve done with soda crystals!
Yesterday I took the clothes out of the machine to find them spotty with black oil marks!!! The machine was purchased in March so machine is not yet 5 mths old!!
The engineer is coming next Wednesday so I’m without a machine till then. Whatever happens I will ask for a new machine and different make!!
Hi,
We bought a Hoover washing machine and around 7/8 months later it had to have the heater replaced after it was causing an e03 error. We have had an engineer out twice since then for the same e03 error and are now having to arrange our 4th visit in a month to get this sorted.
This as you can imagine is massively inconvenient and we have lost more money than the machine is worth in having to take the days off work.
They are still refusing to replace it without an engineer seeing it again. Which will mean IF he approves it we will then have to take more days off to have the replacement installed.
We have requested for them to just replace it. No luck.
Any advice?
The machine is clearly faulty and nothing the engineers do can seem to stop it doing it again. Which means we have to manually remove wet clothes from the machine and dry them and then go about arranging the engineer again.
Very frustrating. It is normal for a retailer to insist on an engineer diagnosing the fault before authorising any exchange to make absolutely sure what has gone wrong and that it is nothing to do with misuse in any way. It does sound like it may have gone again, though I’ve never heard of a heating element going so often, that’s very unusual indeed. Quite a few error codes have more than one possible cause. All of my Hoover codes give E03 as being a timeout on pump, which could be several things including something stuck in the pump filter. Only their dishwashers give E03 as being related to the heater, maybe they have changed on later machines machines.
Unfortunately retailers absolutely hate Exchanging appliances unless it is within the first week or so. If the manufacturer doesn’t agree to exchange in the machine the retailer will have to foot the bill and they are understandably extremely reluctant to do this even though they are often obliged to under the sale of goods act.
Bought a washer dryer from John Lewis about 4 years ago and it has already stopped working (not coming on) what are my chances of getting it replaced given that John Lewis are supposed to pride themselves on good customer service and quality products?
After 4 years it’s highly unlikely that anyone would exchange an appliance. Even if they conceded they had liabilities under the sale of goods act they would only be obliged to repair it, or if it was unrepairable they’d be able to knock off the 4 years you’ve had use of the washer in any refund.
It will depend on exactly what has gone wrong as to whether or not you have a claim under the sale of goods act, which allows for the fact that products can and do break down due to wear – especially ones like washing machines that are very mechanical.
If something relatively minor has failed it may be judged to be reasonable that such things happen. The sale of goods act gives us up to 6 years (5 in Scotland) to make a claim but it doesn’t say there is a 6 year guarantee (Sale of Goods Act gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances?).
On the other hand, if something really expensive has gone, especially anything that makes it beyond economical repair then depending on how much it cost and how its been used it might be judged to have not lasted a reasonable time.
Hi
Brought a washing machine from John Lewis 9 months ago, when first used it had a slight pump noise, this slowly got worse to the point of being really noisy, I have a 2 year guarantee from John Lewis and a 5 year one from Panasonic, engineer arrived said it was a noisy pump and ordered another one, a week later new one fitted, after he left I put some washing on and the noise returned, also noticed he had scratch the machine when replacing the rubber seal with screwdriver’s! and I found a screw next to the machine, second engineer came out but the fault could not be repeated, one week later it’s back intermittently called John Lewis and an engineer coming out this week any advice? I have recorded the noise, but John Lewis and Panasonic state they can not open file.
I bought a hotpoint tumble drier in May and it has been recalled because of the possibility of catching fire. I am waiting to hear when they will visit and make safety adjustments. As it is still well in gaurantee can I request a refund as I would rather not keep the machine?
HI
I had a washing machine delivered on 17/12/15 from AO.com and it broke down with an error code on 23/12/15. I immediately rang to report this and the earliest they could get an engineer out to me was 30/12/15. I have patiently waited (up neck in washing over Christmas) and the engineer has arrived to tell me that yes the machine is faulty and has given me an uplift number to get an exchange. The previous day I had rang AO and asked them if I got the uplift number from the engineer on the day how soon could I get a replacement s I had already been waiting all over Christmas, and they advised me I could have it the next day delivery. What a surprise!!!! I’ve just rang with the uplift number and been advised that the earliest they can deliver a new machine is saturday 2/1/16. I therefore insisted but got nowhere and therefore asked for a fun refund by the end of today so that I could go and buy a new machine from somewhere else tomorrow, as I could not wait until saturday. Is it me or am I being unreasonable. Does anyone know my rights in this situation? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks