GHD Straighteners - RESULT!!!

[Bookworm]

Contact Details:

 

GHD Uk

 

Tel:

0845 3301133

Fax:

01535 651 511

 

Address:

PO BOX 397

FREEPOST NAT3188

Keighley

BD20 0BR

UK

 

 

 

Not mine, I hasten to say!

 

For those not in the know, these are apparently the bees knees of all hair straighteners, can not be got in normal shops, only in hairdressers (and the ubiquitous e-bay, natch), and cost about £100.

 

Cue my DD, who bought a set about December 04, and promptly lost the receipt. I'm pretty sure she would have paid cash at the time, I don't know if she had a card at the time.

 

Of course, sod's law, the thing died on her a few weeks back, in a most explosive manner, as in literally caught on fire in her hand. Just as well it wasn't actually in her hair at that point, huh.

 

Ideas, suggestions? I'm not worried about being post-1 yr guarantee, that's something I'm prepared to argue. Of course, there's no proof how old the object was, but I don't think HGD was actually selling those things for that long.

Should I maybe contact HGD themselves direct rather than hairdressers who sold it in this instance?

 

[woolfie]

FYI they are called GHD!!

 

Cheers

 

Woolfie

[natalie]

I've heard about something similar and if I remember correctly GHD put it down to a dodgy batch or something, I'm pretty sure they encouraged people to contact them directly and replaced or refunded.

[crazidiamondxx]

Hi Bookworm, GHD update their straighteners every 2 or 3 months so there shouldn't be a problem with identifying the date of manufacter, subsequently this should narrow the date of purchase down to a significant time.

Hope this helps

Karen

[snoopy71]

can confirm if you send them off to the nice people at GHD or hgd :-P they are happy to send out a brand new pair. My partners hot plate kept falling off and within 10 days a brand new pair arrived with apologetic letter. Top work GHD fellas I say!!

[snoopy71]

yes just send them off to GHD and they are happy to send a new pair if yours cant be repaired my partners got replaced within 10 days

[Bookworm]

You guys! That's great news, thanks.

 

Yeah, I knew they were GHD, my brain obviously went on a tour of the Outer Hebrides that night...

 

Thanks again

[Bookworm]

Quick update, I phoned them, explained the situation, they said to send it special delivery and they'll look at it, see what can/can't be done, really polite, no mention of "oh well, it's out of guarantee" or anything like that, so far, I'm impressed!

[Bookworm]

How disappointing...

 

Got letter from them today, they're saying "wear & tear, outside warranty, £23 to fix."

 

Wear and tear? On a 16 month old, £110 appliance? They are having a bl**dy laugh! I know my daughter has long hair, but still!!!

 

Oh well, onwards and upwards, hey... Will let you know...

[Lusky]

I use GHD straighteners on a daily basis and so does one of my friends.

My first pair gave up ( sparks flying from lead ) after about 2 years and the same thing happened to my friend in a similar timescale. It would seem that this is their life expectancy..a bit short for £100 I agree.

[Bookworm]

Well, I have just written them a strong letter about it, in essence saying that I don't accept that 16 months or so is good enough, that I don't agree an electrical fault within a closed casing is fair "wear and tear", and that I expect them to comply with the Sales of Good Act 1979 standard of reasonable quality to either review their response or send me the thing back and I'll see them in court.

[cheddar]

Good for you, I mean for goodness sake, you pay a fortune for something like that which at the end of the day mustn't cost THAT much to make and they think that 16 months is a good life? Rubbish, I got a pair of Kodos (VERY similar to GHD's) nearly 3 years ago and they are still fine. Cost me £35 and get my hair in shape twice as fast as my GHD's did.

[rogerebaker]

im a hair dresser and we have broken ghd's quite regularly come in with no proof of age or anythin but ghd will fix them for 28quid and 1 year gara!!!!! nice 1

[seylectric]

I suppose it's a bit different if you are using them as a hair dresser though. Then £28 + another 12 months guarantee isn't bad.

 

But for personal use I would personally expect a lot more service than that for a top price product. Go for it.

[Bookworm]

Well, guess what the postie just brought me!!!

 

A fixed straightener, that's what! So full marks for that.

 

Not so good is the letter with it, which reeks of "we'll have the last word, even though we're in the wrong".

 

Still saying it's user's fault.

Also saying that as no proof of purchase, they assume iron was purchased on or around date of manufacture, which is 23 mths ago (because everyone buys things only then, and not up to the next upgrade, right?)

Arguing the Sales of Good Act, oh yes, saying the act only covers faults present at the time of sale (yeah, right.)

And finally agree to repair FOC as a...? All together now: "GOODWILL GESTURE"!!!

 

So, 10/10 for coming through, but 3/10 for actual customer care. And 0/10 for good faith.

[Bovvered]

Good job!

[dave]

I love this site!

[cheddar]

Woo Hoo! I knew you'd get this one sorted!

[seylectric]

Excellent, well done.

[lois]

Bookworm, you totally amaze me and in such a good way, well done you, what a blinding result!

 

xx

[Bookworm]

Just found this on MSE and I thought it would be worth adding here, in case others read this thread because the same thing happened to them:

 

Date: 17 May 2006

A Yorkshire based company whose haircare products are widely used in professional salons appeared before Cirencester Magistrates Court this week to face charges of supplying electrical products which were unsafe.

 

Jemella Ltd. of Bradford, West Yorkshire, the company behind the ghd ("good hair day") brand, pleaded guilty on 15 May to two offences of selling ceramic hair straightening irons which failed to comply with strict safety laws intended to protect consumers from the hazards of electrocution.

 

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.

 

As a result of the complaint, the Trading Standards Service commissioned an expert electrical safety report on the consumer's irons and two pairs of irons it subsequently purchased. In all three cases the experts reported that the irons failed to comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations.

 

The product, which retails for around £90 and is only sold over the internet and through salons, is imported into the UK by Jemella from Korea.

 

The Trading Standards Service brought proceedings in January 2004 but for two years the company mounted a legal challenge to the case. It was only on the first day of what was to be a five-day trial before Cirencester Magistrates Court that the company finally accepted that their product breached safety standards.

 

In passing sentence, Deputy District Judge Champion remarked that the case involved potentially serious breaches of safety standards which could give rise to a serious hazard for the user and that the company must have been aware of the problems. He also remarked that Jemella had fought the case at every corner when prosecution expert reports clearly showed a breach of the law. Judge Champion fined the company £2,250 on each of the two charges and took the unusual step of requiring Jemella to pay the Trading Standards Service its full prosecution costs of £35,705.

 

Roger Marles, Head of Trading Standards, said: 'This service takes complaints about electrical safety extremely seriously. Where the circumstances require it, we will prosecute companies that flout the law. In this case, there was substantial evidence of a breach of safety legislation. These were very expensive items and consumers should quite rightly expect the products they buy to be safe.'

 

[natalie]

Wow, that's pretty shocking, what does this mean for the consumer? do they have to refund faulty straighteners?

[Bookworm]

Truthfully, I don't know. Any company worth their salt would recall the faulty items, but I think the above clearly shows they are not reputable in that aspect...

 

I would imagine that it will be on a as-it-comes basis, if the thing fails, get if fixed FOC, and if they try to charge you £23, point out the court case...

[snoopy16]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've just broken my second pair of GHD hair straightners right in half! The first time it happened i went out and bought new ones and didn't bother contacting GHD or anything because i didn't know you could. Now that it's happened again, i'm really not keen on having to buy another pair for £105! I bought them from my local hair dresser back in March this year, i'm not sure how long the garuntee is for but i've still got a proof of purchase and the box and everything. Do you reccomend I contact GHD directly and explain that I broke them myself, or the hairdresser i bought them from? Should i even say that i broke them myself, or pretend that they "broke themselves?" I can't believe i broke my second pair and there's no way i'm paying another £100!!! Any replies appreciated, thanks everyone xxx

[Bookworm]

March this year? March 06? You'll have 1 yr warranty on this anyway, so take it back to hairdressers and ask for an exchange. If they try to fob you off to Jemella, stand firm. Read up on this site about warranties and on the Trading Standards site too. Your contract is with them, not Jemella.

 

Keep us posted, and start your own thread on this so your issue doesn't get confused with mine for new readers, thanks.