We are all familiar with the phrase, “I’m sorry but the guarantee has run out so there’s nothing we can do”. This is often a complete lie – at least in many cases. If the manufacturer’s engineer says it then technically it is true because they have no obligation under the sale of goods act – but the retailer does. Retailers can’t just fob us off. Here is just one example which proves that this response is not always true.
Expensive coffee machine example
A Which? member bought an “expensive” coffee machine and after 30 months it broke down suffering a serious fault. This is 18 months out of guarantee. However, Which? advised him that an expensive coffee machine should be expected to last more than 2 and a half years so he was entitled to have it repaired free of charge by the retailer who had sold him a product that was not of satisfactory quality.
Had the fault been relatively minor the advice may have been different, likewise, if the coffee machine had been a cheap one, or it had been used in an abnormally heavy way such as in a works canteen. We can’t take it for granted that any fault on any appliance at 2 and a half years should be repaired free of charge under the sale of goods act, but it’s useful to have real life examples like this as a yard stick because it can help us gauge our own circumstances.
Out of guarantee appliances
When relating to washing machines or other white goods appliances it will depend on how much it cost, how it has been used, and what’s gone wrong. If you buy an expensive appliance (especially a brand which sells on a high quality image) which suffers an expensive breakdown after a few years you may be entitled to a free repair if you have used it normally and looked after it. I have heard of people winning cases when drum bearings have failed on washing machines almost 5 years old.
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Conversely, if you paid £199 for a budget washer, and used it every day – twice a day – to wash for a family of 5 and it is exhausted and scrap after 3 years, it may well be that this is acceptable due to the cheapness of the appliance and the hard life it’s had. Even with such a short life it would have only cost £66 per year – £1.27 a week. I would think £1.27 a week to do 14 washes is pretty reasonable. So it’s necessary to try and look at the whole picture before deciding if you should be disgruntled or not.
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Consumer Rights Act 2015 doesn’t cover all breakdowns
It’s important to be aware that the sale of goods act does not say that an appliance or product should never break down, or even that it shouldn’t break down before a certain time period (other than the first 6 months in which case it would be deemed to have an inherent fault). It says they should last a reasonable time and be free from inherent faults.
Relatively minor faults are not the issue in my opinion, it’s very expensive faults – especially those that aren’t economical to repair or cannot be repaired by design. Sadly, too much is open to (mis)interpretation and most retailer’s staff still say there’s nothing they can do once it is out of guarantee, but this is completely untrue in many cases. They too often completely ignore their responsibilities under the sale of goods act.
Another example
Here’s another example (from Which? legal). A customer had an automatic garage door fitted, which came with a 2 year guarantee. During the guarantee a part failed twice and was replaced. However, when the same part failed again 8 months outside the guarantee the company claimed he had to pay because it was out of guarantee. Which? said this was untrue. Under the Sale of Goods act goods should be of satisfactory quality and this includes being durable, so the same part failing 3 times in 3 years is definitely not complying.
Which? advised him he was entitled to a free repair. In this case, the company involved still refused so he was able to claim from the credit card company who eventually agreed it was jointly liable under section 75 of the Credit Act. If they hadn’t agreed to pay, he would have had to take the garage company to the small claims court.
There’s another example of a customer with an iPhone which was 4 months out of guarantee faced with a £130 bill because the on off switch went faulty. She eventually got compensation for the repair costs (with help from Which?) from T-mobile who had repeatedly refused to accept any liability. They eventually paid up when taken to the small claims court (without accepting any liability).
Is this why we have so much trouble getting appliances repaired or replaced when faulty?
The current system doesn’t work properly because it relies on the good will of the retailer to own up and admit they have a responsibility to repair or replace some appliances when they are out of the manufacturers guarantee. In practice, because the manufacturer has no obligation under the sale of goods act then once their guarantee has run out they tend to wash their hands of any problems. The retailers are then left to to foot the entire bill, and they don’t like it. For a more in depth look at this problem see here – Is the sale of goods act too hard on retailers?
R Grillo says
I had a dispute a Shower manufacturer over a 7 month old spare part failure. The spare was purchased direct from the company. Initially the company hid behind its 90 day parts warranty, but, after the CAB and Trading Standards were brought into the matter, the company asked me to post the faulty part to the head office, and issued a replacement a day or two later.
I’d replaced the shower by then with one of another brand. Still, the new and used spare parts got me a few quid back on ebay, so it was worth the hassle.
Whitegoodshelp (Andy Trigg) says
Hi: Many people don’t realise the sale of goods act also applies to spare parts bought or even fitted by an engineer. In my opinion 90 day guarantees are disgraceful and imply to me that a company isn’t serious about customer’s rights. The idea that you can charge someone say, £250 for a new motor for example, and then try to insist it is only guaranteed for 90 days would be comical if it wasn’t such a serious problem. A new part should be fit for purpose, last a reasonable time and be free from inherent faults just the same as a brand new appliance.
The reality is there is no law which obliges any company to guarantee anything. Our rights are all tied up in the sale of goods act, anything else is just as the phrase goes, in addition to our statutory rights. Clearly 90 days will never stand up in a small claims court but it will fob many people off. Well done for fighting it.
Joan Morgan says
I have an idea it fridge which was purchased on 15/11/14 …fridge part WS never that cold till one morning it was warm I mean really warm rang indesut whobadvised defrost for 48 hours did this no change finlky had an engineer 02/07/15 who confirmed it was faulty and said in future models will have different compressor/ thermostat ….well again its warm and upon ringing indesit they said out of warranty part replaced was only 90 day warranty and tried to sell me extended warranty …..argos who I purchased from ate telling me its indesit and replaced part was guaranteed for 12 months from fitting indesit are saying contact argos argos are saying indedit …..argos and indesit have both said I need an engineers report £109 charge and then they will think about repair ….can I claim this charge back if fault is proven ? And what happens then am I entitled to repair or refund and if so off who ? Retailer or indesit ? Thank you iml completely getting passed from one to the other x
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Hello Joan, there are links in my article above which explain Is manufacturer or retailer responsible for faulty appliances?.
Jay oldsmith says
The fact that manufacturers are allowed to make inferior products with such a short life and then refuses to repair them contributes massively to the mountains of pollution. Take a look at the images online of huge heaps of useless white goods. It is a hidden issue which needs highlighting,
We should be fixing everything we can to reduce the terrible impact on the planet that these goods have. Take a look on Trust Pilot at all the major brands. They all get one star. They all all the same. They should be called to account and we can all do that by demanding our rights. That way we help the planet too.
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Hello J. Yes I’ve been saying this for at least the last 10 years. I have written many articles (including this one Do we really need to dump our old inefficient appliances?) Unfortunately though, the truth is that there are already appliances that are greatly superior in build quality and longevity, and much better for the environment (eg Miele). But they remain niche products because most people will not pay out the extra cost for them.
At the end of the day it’s the the public’s fault in my opinion. Despite modern advances in environmental campaigns and thinking, the vast majority of people prefer short termism in exchange for cheaper prices. I doubt that any government will enforce better build quality because essentially poor build quality needing constant replacement and sold at cheap prices are at the heart of the economy. If you were to force all manufacturers to build products that were of sufficient quality to rarely break down and last for a minimum of 15 to 20 years then two things would happen. Prices would catastrophically rise. Most products would probably quadruple in price. Selling a high quality product that lasts for a long time doesn’t need replacing or repairing often is not a very good business model unless you are charging a very high premium price for it.
The second thing that would happen would be the economy would crash as millions of jobs selling, repairing manufacturing packaging all these products just drain away. It’s sad but true I’m afraid. Of course if the world genuinely is in danger it will have to be done at some point.