GHD's caught fire while using, what can I do?

[anjumanji]

I have a pair of GHD straightening irons that I bought in July 2003.

 

While I was using them a couple of weeks ago they caught fire. A flame shot out from the cable where it joins the irons, scaring the s**t out of me, so I dropped them onto the carpet!

 

I sent them back to Jemella, the people who manufacture the GHD's with a covering letter explaining what had happened.

 

I received a reply this morning stating that they were well out of the warranty period and that the break in the cord where it caught fire was due to "excessive flexing of the lead wire over a period of time". Also that "the plates were loose which is due to wear".

 

They offered to repair them at a cost of £43.00.

 

I used my irons over three years, on average, a couple of times a week and I NEVER wound the flex around them when storing them.

 

Does anyone know whether I have any recourse, can I demand a FOC repair or replacement irons or will I have to buy a new pair.

 

Any help and advice would be most appreciated.

 

Angie (now with frizzy hair!)

[hagenuk]

Sorry to say this but I think that you have worn them out and the manufacturer is under no obligation to repair them beyond the stated garantee period, which is usually one year.

 

You will need to buy some new ones I fear.

[anjumanji]

Thanks for your message. I would understand if one day I tried to use my irons and they wouldn't work, I wouldn't expect GHD to do anything about it. But the fact that they caught fire is worrying. Had I been using them on the back of my hair, it could well have caught alight. Surely they would have had to answer for it if my head turned into a giant fireball?

[lisamellor]

i dont know about this one.... you see if you only use them a few times a week for a period of 15 mins max each time to straighten your hair then over a week it is 1 hour of use a week, so over a year its what 52 hours a week so over 3 years its 150 hours use ??? so i would say that 150 hours use is not a lot.... i am a hairdresser and have had my ghds for 4 years and use them many times a day 5 days a week.... so if you write to them and say that they have not been used to their full potential bla bla bla,and surely they should last longer than 150 hours (approx) and that you only use them for personnel use as you are not in the hairdressing trade, and that BECAUSE THEY ARE SOOOOO GOOOOD YOU ONLY NEED TO USE THEM ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK...... kiss up, then ask them to pleeeaseee reconsider their decision, offer to pay for the postage and packaging. maybe this would help....!!

 

good luck lisaxx

[dolly]

My GHD's have done the same, I've had them 14mths and one day a massive spark shot out from where the cable goes into the irons. Since then they haven't worked - they turn on and start to heat up and then they die. I never thought about writing to them..I might just do that.

[pmhread]

Seem to remember a big post about this a while ago... think it was bw.... will have a look

[pmhread]

Here you go:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/3366-ghd-straighteners-result.html?highlight=Hair

[anjumanji]

Thanks for that Lisa, I'll try the kissy up tack and ask them to reconsider.

 

Dolly, the address to post your straighteners to is :

 

Jemella Ltd

Unit 12

Ryefield Way

Silsden Nr Keighley

West Yorkshire

BD20 0EF

 

the telephone number is 0845 3301133

 

If you send by special delivery it's about £5.00, recorded will be cheaper though.

[Bookworm]

Well, I'll take a guess what the kissy-up will get you, which is a great big fat wad of nothing, but hey, I hope my cynical self gets proven wrong (by law of average, it MUST happen some time!!! )

 

If kissy up gets you nowhere, let me know and I will happily post here the letter I had to send to Jemella to get things sorted. Meanwhile, do read my thread as linked by pmhread, and especially the court claim report.

[anjumanji]

Thanks for the link, very interesting, especially with regards to the court action against them. In their letter to me they stated that they had very stringent safety tests....

 

Anyways I just saw this when I googled faulty ghd's....

 

"Just to let you know what happened when I phoned GHD about their faulty hair straighteners. I simply said that according to the Sale of Goods Act I was entitled to compensation for faulty goods for up to 6 years after the item was bought, regardless of the 1 year warranty. The women on the phone said she'd speak to the supervisor, so she disappeared for a minute. When she came back to the phone she said that GHD would repair the hair straighteners for free and send them back to me by recorded delivery in the next few days. I received the repaired hair straighters 7 days later."

 

So a change of heart, I will state that my level of usage would in no way count as excessive and I will also mention the sale of goods act.

 

I think I'll insist on a new pair rather than a repair, owing to the fact they'd caught fire once and could do so again.

[anjumanji]

If kissy up gets you nowhere, let me know and I will happily post here the letter I had to send to Jemella to get things sorted.

 

That would be great thanks.

[Bookworm]

GHD

PO BOX 397

Keighley,

BD20 0WX,

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I was extremely disappointed in your answer regarding the ceramic styling irons I returned.

 

I do not accept that an appliance that is approximately 16 months old should fail under “wear and tear”. I do not accept that what seemed to be an electrical internal problem inside a non opening casing could possibly come under “wear and tear”. I do not accept that because it is over 12 months old, it exonerates you from your obligations as regards satisfactory quality. I certainly do not accept that one should have to pay £23 for repairs when one has paid £110 or so for an item less than 18 months after purchase.

 

I refer you to The Sales of Goods Act 1979 and its explicit terms:

“The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) says that goods should be as follows:

·Of satisfactory quality.

This means the goods must meet the standards that any reasonable person would expect, taking into account the description, the price and all other relevant information. In some circumstances, the retailer may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer about the goods.

 

Satisfactory quality includes the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety and durability and whether they are free from defects (including minor faults). (…)

Also:

“A guarantee is extra to your rights under the Sale of Goods Act.”

 

I must say that when I posted about this problem on the Consumer Action Group, the response about your company was very complimentary and I am therefore even more surprised about your current response.

 

I must ask you to reconsider your response, failing which, I must ask you to return the faulty item to me so that I may pursue the matter further, up to and including the issue of Summons in the County Courts if necessary.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Obviously, you'll need to tweak it, and I would add the additional info found since, but you get the picture.

[anjumanji]

Lovely! Have just emailed it to myself at work, so I have something to do tomorrow!

[anjumanji]

Just called them up and they offered me a new pair for the price of the repair which is £43.00. Should I accept?

[pmhread]

No way!!! You want the new pair for free as a replacement of the faulty ones

[anjumanji]

The woman I spoke to (Barbara Chapman) was insistent that they had been overused due to the plates being loose. She also said that the fact they caught fire was one of the hazards of all hand held electrical items, eg hoovers, irons etc. I mentioned the court case and she said that it had nothing to do with the cord catching fire and was an other safety issue and that the items in question were all made in 2002 and had since been recalled. When I mentioned the article referred to a woman whose starighteners had caught fire and that she informed Trading Standards I was told the article was inaccurate and not to believe the papers!

[hagenuk]

I think we should be careful here. It is all well and good to champion consumer rights but let us not exceed our rights and expect to get something for nothing. You admit that you bought this product in 2003, it is now 2006 and you admit using the product. On what grounds are you claiming that the supplier is still liable?

 

My company supplies many large retailers and we are constantly being asked to replace products that we have supplied that have clearly been damaged by customers or have worn out through normal use over time.

 

I have read another post on this site where a Landlord is asking a tenant (the tenant posted) to pay for a sofa and mattress that have been in the property for four years because it is the Landlord's opinion that they are worn out and the tenant should pay. Yet the advice to the tenant is to hold out due to the fact that after four years you would expect wear and tear and the Landlord should not expect payment. I agree with this as I am sure most of you would.

 

Yet now this thread appears to advocate that we should expect to get anything replaced anytime we like. You should take their offer of a new pair for the price of the repair; they have no obligation under any law to do even this.

 

You can try for more by all means but do not be surprised if they dig their heels in, I would.

[pmhread]

Of course no-one can make the decision for you at the end of the day... If you feel you haven't had £100 odd of usage out of these things then you have a right to complain.

 

After 3 years of light usage, I would not expect to be nearly set on fire by a pair of hair straigheners..... and not just because I'm a bloke LOL

[Rich44]

Personally as these are supposedly built to be used professionally then 3 years of light use should mean they should last longer, also read the other thread where the importers of these have been fined a lot of money by TS for selling electrically inferior products so yes I think they should repalce them

[Bookworm]

She also said that the fact they caught fire was one of the hazards of all hand held electrical items, eg hoovers, irons etc

.

 

Really? I am sure Trading Standards AND Health & Safety would be DELIGHTED to hear that novel intepretation! There isn't a chance you recorded this, by any chance?

 

I mentioned the court case and she said that it had nothing to do with the cord

catching fire and was an other safety issue and that the items in question were all made in 2002 and had since been recalled.

 

She is, hang on, what's the word?... Oh, yes, LYING.

The prosecution brought by Gloucestershire County Council Trading Standards Service followed a complaint made by a Gloucester resident in January 2003 who had been alarmed to see flames and sparks coming from the product after the power cord failed.

 

When I mentioned the article referred to a woman whose starighteners had caught fire and that she informed Trading Standards I was told the article was inaccurate and not to believe the papers

 

And of course, she would have no interest in being economical with the truth, would she?

 

You have choices here: 1 - You can pay less than 1/2 price for brand new irons.

2 - You can call their bluff and hold out and see who blinks first. It could end up with you taking them to small claims, where you could and would rely on previous case to prove your point.

3 - You could call TS 1st and see what they have to say? With Jemella's history, they may well be able to advise you one way or another?

[anjumanji]

Oh no, just seen your message BW after paying up for a new pair.

 

I'm about to order these also, SCP TOURMALINE CERAMIC HAIR STRAIGHTENER which are on special offer at £34.95, down from £79.99 this month only. They have a 14 day return policy on them.

 

If they are no good I'll return them within the 14day period and keep the new GHD.

 

If they are good, then I have a brand new pair of GHD which will go on ebay for £65 or to a deserving friend / family member for £43.

[lisamellor]

hey if you wanna sell the ghds please email me.

 

but to be honest once you have used the ghds you will find it hard to go back to another pair.

 

lisaxx

[rally236]

Hi, I realise that this thread ended a while back....I have just had the same problem. Today, sparks shot out of my straighteners from the area around the ceramic plates. Following this a flame ignited through the cord at the end nearest to the ceramic plates. After a couple of seconds, the flame died away. I have the straighteners since December 2003 but to be honest they have only been used on average twice a week, not "heavy" usage by any standard.

 

I emailed GHD today and after reading the information here, am eagerly anticipating their reply.....did anyone have any success?

[CAGisforME]

Yes - they did.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/3366-ghd-straighteners-result.html?highlight=Hair

 

Perhaps start your own thread, rather than dredge up old ones and hopefully the CAG can help you out.

 

Good Luck

[skbuncks]

deleted cos im an idiot