Hi, still trying to calm down after my visit to Currys today:x

We bought a cooker there less than 2 months ago and its been faulty from the start, the oven cuts out during cooking leaving food half done and only fit for the bin.

This happened in our second week of ownership but we weren't sure if it was us or the cooker, now we know for sure its the cooker at fault as its happened 4 times.

We went back to currys today to complain but were told the manufacturer would only consider a repair and it might take a month

So I've been looking up our rights and would appreciate some help from the forum

First, they insisted we could only get help from the manufacturer, but our contract is with Currys, no one else, do they have the right to fob us off in this way ?

Second, the fault has been there since we took delivery, do we have the right to a replacement or refund or do we have to accept a repair ?

I know we're over the 30 day limit but its not our fault, this seems so unfair, any advice ?

Currys are doing what they always do and hope nobody will notice. Get a complaint direct to the CEO and go instore and give them a copy. I would also inform trading standards as well.

If the fault was there from the start, then currys dont have a leg to stand on. They have to refund or replace.

Thank you ! just as I suspected, they did something similar to me years ago, I had hoped things would have changed. Anyhow, I just sent off an email to their customer services so I'll wait for a reply and let you know. Then as you suggest I'll go further with this.

Unfortunately you have lost your right to insist on a refund or replacement because you did not assert your right within 30 days of the date of the contract. This means that you must now rely on the six-month rule and that means that as the defect has appeared within the first six months you should inform them in writing that you are asserting a right under the consumer rights act and that they have a single opportunity to carry out a repair or else you will insist on a refund or a replacement – you will have to choose.

The repair must be carried out within a reasonable time and I would have thought that something as essential as a cooker should receive a visit and an attempted repair at the very least within seven days. Because Currys has such an appalling record I would set it all out in a letter before action and make it clear to them that after 14 days you will start a small claim in the County Court.

Don't muck around with these people. They will lead you round by the nose if you give them half a chance. Keep control of the situation. Send them your letter – don't bluff and at the end of 14 days simply issue the court papers.

If all of this means that you are without a cooker then you could reasonably include in your letter that you will be purchasing a new cooker if they failed to carry out the repair within the seven-day specified because this is an essential household item and you will therefore be claiming for the cost of a new cooker – even if it is slightly more expensive – and also the reasonable cost of storing the old broken one until they collect it.

Currys are a complete disgrace and it's about time somebody like trading standards sat up and took notice – but of course this never happens.

Ah ok.....not as straight forward as I had hoped, there are very few choices for kitchen appliances where we live, currys would have been bottom of my list but its about as far as I can travel.

I'll still wait for a reply from their customer services and take it from there, I'd like to know why Currys take no responsibility saying its down to the manufacturer and why they wont accept that it was broken before the 30 days were up.

Thanks for the idea of charging them for storage, I might also bill them for takeaways while I'm waiting

Stories charge should be kept very modest – no more than 1 pound per day and you should serve them notice in advance that this is what you will be doing and the cost to them. You must give them an opportunity to remedy the situation that once the court papers are issued then I would start levying the storage charge.

Why does Currys do this? Who knows. Poor staff development and I think that they are probably lulled into a certain poor customer service because so few customers will stand up to them. Their solicitors/legal department seem to make a personal matter of beating consumers down but when you issue the papers eventually Currys give up – but for people who aren't hugely confident, it can feel as if it is nerve wracking. Currys are rubbish company – but unfortunately nowadays there is very little alternative on the high street. You're generally speaking much better off with John Lewis. I don't think that in nearly 14 years we have had more than two or three complaints about John Lewis

Do you have a microwave that you could manage with while the cooker is being repaired?

HB

To add to the 30 days:

The first six months

If you discover the fault within the first six months of having the product, it is presumed to have been there since the time you took ownership of it - unless the retailer can prove otherwise.

 

During this time, it's up to the retailer to prove that the fault wasn't there when you bought it - it's not up to you to prove that it was.

 

If an attempt at repair or replacement has failed, you have the right to reject the goods for a full refund, or price reduction if you wish to keep the product.

 

The retailer can't make any deductions from your refund in the first six months following an unsuccessful attempt at repair or replacement.

demand they fix or replace it. If they wont, then outright reject it

I believe this is from the consumer rights act........ even outside of the 30 day period, if goods cannot be repaired in a reasonable amount of time or a repair would cause significant inconvenience then a full refund or replacement should be offered. Is this correct ?

If it is then I'll be taking them on, one month isn't a reasonable amount of time to repair a cooker and going without our cooker would certainly cause significant inconvenience. I'm disabled and my wife has Diabetes, we both have specific needs when it comes to cooking and foods.

get a full complaint in writing to the CEO and the store manager. Take the relevant legislation with you if needs be. If they keep refusing, then take it further. It is up to the retailer to sort any issues, and chase the manufacturer. Not you.