Thread: appliance deals soga

Hi any advice would be welcome. We bought a fridge freezer august 2007 and paid £320 for it. Last month it stopped working. contacted appliance deals and they said as it was out of guarantee there was nothing they could do. Pointed out that the sale of goods act came into force for this kind of thing and was told no it didn't. We have now contacted an engineer to come and have a look at it. when the fault is found what is the next step? or is the sale of goods act no help at all?

The legislation provides that goods should be of satisfactory quality and last a reasonable length of time.

What is a reasonable length of time? No definition of it. However, factors such as price, manufacture, how advertised may come into play. I would say that it is reasonable t expect a fridge freezer to last more than 2 years.

If there is a breach of contract, then the seller is liable for the cost of repair, replacement or partial refund. They cannot fob you off with the manufacturer, as your contract is with the seller.

See what the engineer says and come back to us. If it's found to be that the seller is liable then fire off a letter (we can do one for you) for breach of s. 14 of Sale of Goods Act, including a copy of the report, and request a remedy within 14 days.

PS. Some people think that goods should last for 6 years. That is not true, it is merely that you have 6 years to take action.

Hi there, thanks for your reply. We are waiting to hear back from the engineer as to when he can come. We phoned the number given to us by Appliance Deals on friday evening so would expect somebody to phone on Monday hopefully. Will let you know what happens.

Engineer coming out wed £85 charge plus extra for whatever parts are needed. Do we pay for the parts or do we just have a report done as to the fault? I know we have to pay for the call out service charge but if parts are needed what do we do then? let them repair it and try and claim from appliance deals? I do apologize if this is confusing but i have never had to do this before have always been very lucky with all appliances till now.......

You may be better off with just the report. The seller may argue that he was not given the chance to rectify himself (untrue as it may be).

You would be better off writing to the retailer first advising them that you intend to get an independent report done and who you intend to use, and the cost. this avoid dispute later.

Once agreed or you get no reply within 7 days, go ahead with the report and mail it to them asking for reimbursement, providing that a defect or fault is found. they should agree and refund repair or replace.

Simple really. from experience.

Make sure you send all letters recorded.

Right, thank you both for your replies. I will let him have a look at it and give me a report but won't let him repair it .... yet. Appliance deals know that I am having an engineer out as they gave me the number so that is okay.
I will let you know how I get on Wednesday.
Thanks again

Hi again,
Well the engineer has just left. He has raised the two front feet of the appliance as he says maybe the water isn't running to the back as it should? Apart from that it could be a blockage but we have to wait and see. If it is a blockage then it will start to thaw again and i have to get back in touch with him. He will then issue me with a report to the effect that the appliance is unrepairable. I won't have to pay the £85 again so that's ok. The appliance has never been moved from its original position when we bought it 21 months ago so I don't see how this problem can be solved by raising the front of it however we shall see over the next week or so what happens.... watch this space.

Dunno about appliances, but did the engineer say if there was a cause or whether it should happen?

What you need is a statement saying the item does not conform to the contract. And remember if that is the case, you can claim all your costs back from the seller.

Hi,
The engineer said it was one of two things. Either there were too many jars etc in the door, and the appliance was tilting forward causing the water to come through the vent between the freezer and fridge instead of back into the pipes? OR there is a blockage somewhere caused by something to do with gas and oil? I didn't really understand to be honest. However, he did say that if it started playing up again for us to contact him and he would send a report to say that it was not repairable . At the moment it is ok but we will wait and see. I can't believe that adjusting the front legs is the remedy as the appliance has been in the same position since we bought it and is perfectly level.

Like I said, no engineer but wtf is that engineer on about? He doesn't sound a good one - one that would explain things in plain English.

I agree . at the moment the fridge has been raised at the front so that it is tilting backwards in order for the water to drain to the back. It seems to be working ok at the moment. Mind you when you open the door it swings shut of it's own accord instantly because of the raised height! So we will wait and see what happens

Mine does that, but saves me the worry of forgetting to close it!

Good morning
Well here we go again, fridge freezer defrosting again so will telephone engineer this morning to get a report and then try appliance deals again

Let us know how that goes. Don't forget to claim your costs back as well.

Will keep you posted

Good morning,
Well the report has arrived and the engineer has stated that everything was checked and the front feet raised. Also has stated the symptoms .. defrosting every few days and so he has said that it is still faulty and that he is advising a system blockage. Also enclosed is my receipt for the £85 call out charge so what is the next step please? it absolutely boiling here today 32degrees! fridge defrosting and this is going to take a while to sort out with appliance deals so can anybody advise me on the next step ?

Update.

Appliance deals have offered to reimburse me with half the cost of the fridge freezer which is £160 but not the cost of having the engineer report. also they are willing to supply a new appliance and give £160 off. Any advice? should I accept or try for a replacement?

If anyone is following this thread and can advise me i would be most grateful.
I have been in touch with AD and asked for my £85 engineers bill to be refunded as well as the £160, I also explained that the appliance was obviously faulty as it had failed in so short a time and that I would have thought that either they or whirlpool should replace it. However since then we have really been given the runaround. Firstly they say that whirlpool are looking into it and that they may send someone out to repair it , even though their own recommended engineer says on the report that is not repairable. Then they say that they are "on the case" but you can't get to speak to anybody and their manager is too busy to speak to us. So... this has been ongoing since at least six weeks ago, between the initial fault being reported, to the engineer coming out raising the legs etc to now. They received the report last Saturday and we are still no better off. Should I just accept the £160 and buy a new one or hold out for what i believe to be fair?

Well the sale of goods act states they have a reasonable period of time to rectify the situation, and that any remedy should not cause significant inconvenience. And I'd say being without something as essential as a fridge freezer is pretty damn inconvenient.

What qualifies as "significant inconvenience" is down to you to decide, but you should send them a letter laying down how long your prepared to wait before taking further action. Naturally don't threaten them with any legal action unless your prepared to follow it through.