Thermagas t/a Warm or Wet (www.warmorwet.com) / Sirocco Fires - dreadful customer service

[alanfromderby]

I recently bought a Royal 400 Solo Gas Fire from warmorwet.com (Thermagas Ltd). When my Gas Safe engineer came to do the installation it became clear that the fire was faulty. He diagnosed it as a faulty gas valve.

 

I suppose I should have then smelled a rat when I contacted Thermagas to report the fault, as they said they were not responsible and directed me to the Sirocco Fires (the manufacturer) premium rate support line, which charges £1 per minute!

 

Eventually however, after I said I was not prepared to pay for a premium rate telephone call, and that it was their responsibility to resolve the problem, they agreed to call the company themselves.

 

A couple of days later I got a call back from a Sirocco engineer, who said that he could not come out for at least two weeks, but doubted that it was the gas valve. He said it was most likely an electrical fault and said he would send out the relevant part, which turned out to be a battery box. Please remember that this diagnosis was done on the telephone without looking at the fire, and totally went against what my Gas Safe engineer had diagnosed from a full inspection!

 

When the part arrived I called my gas engineer back, and again, nothing worked. His view was that they had just sent the cheapest part in the hope that it would "do the job" and save them having to come out and properly diagnose what was wrong.

 

I contacted the retailer and manufacturer again by email, and eventually the Sirocco engineer rang again. This time he said that he would order a full "tray", and when it arrived he would arrange to visit. I asked that he contact me with an update, as I did not want to allow the issue to drag on too long.

 

Two weeks passed by, and no call. I then rang and left a message with the engineer (no reply), and also contacted Thermagas by email. After a second email I got a promise that a message had been sent to Sirocco asking them to get in touch.

 

This morning I had an email from Arthur Wright, CEO of Sirocco, with an address in Poland. The email said that the parts were out of stock, and I would have to wait for at least a month before the parts would arrive in Poland from Italy, and then be sent to the engineer.

 

He also had the nerve to suggest that I would have to give them my Credit/Debit card number!!

 

I would warn anyone about buying this type of fire (or indeed any Sirocco fire) as clearly if you have a breakdown it is possible that parts will have to be sourced from Italy via Poland. I could understand it if the gas fire was old, but this model is available from numerous suppliers.

 

I would also suggest that for Thermagas to direct its customers to a £1 per minute premium rate telephone number, rather than seek to resolve issues themselves, cannot be said to offer good customer service.

 

The item was faulty when supplied, and I have to say that Thermagas Ltd (trading as Warm or Wet, Leigh St, Chorley) have tried every trick in the book to deflect me from my rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended).

 

I have no doubt that they have a stock of these gas fires from which they could obtain the required part, and could easily have arranged to get an engineer to visit and resolve the matter during the last month. Instead, I have been played between retailer and manufacturer.

 

I have now formally rejected the gas fire, and advised them that I want the matter resolving this week. I will update as things develop.

 

It is worth adding that this has been going on throughout the coldest March on record.

[BankFodder]

It is clear that Thermagas are responsible for the goods which they supply and which they install.

 

I think that you should get quotes for whatever work is necessary to repair or to install and replace and then send them an LBA and follow up with a claim as quickly as possible.

 

I bet you will see a completely different standard of behaviour once the claim papers are served on them.

[alanfromderby]

Thermagas promised that a manger from Sirocco would call me back either last night or this morning. No call, no email, no surprise!

 

The issue as far as I am concerned is clear cut. Sirocco will not send out an engineer to inspect the fire, Thermagas (warmorwet.com) will not accept the fire back without an in situ inspection. So, it is a clear stand-off.

 

Claim now issued against Thermagas Ltd under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended).

[alanfromderby]

Well, had a message last night from Arthur Wright, CEO of Sirocco, again stating that they have no parts so cannot repair the fire, and also accusing me of being unreasonable.

 

Somewhere, someone is missing the point. My contract is with Thermagas, and they have duties under the Sale of Goods Act. I have no contract with Sirocco whatsoever, yet Thermagas seem to believe they can sit back and do nothing.

 

The facts are simple, these gas fires are still being sold and are in stock. I understand that the fires are supplied by the manufacturer directly when an order is placed. Logic therefore suggest that there is a batch of new fires, with the necessary parts, that could be accessed today. The part could then be replaced when the new stock arrives. Simple. As yet, this simple solution has failed to get a response.

 

I think that another issue needs highlighting in all this, and that is the fact that Termagas (warmorwet.com) will not deal with technical questions and complaints about faulty products when you contact them. Their first advice is that you ring the premium rate telephone number supplied by the manufacturer. This number costs £1 per minute, and means Sirocco make money on the call. When will these companies learn that being a retailer comes with responsibilities which you cannot just delegate to others.

 

So, still no progress, no offer to resolve the issue, no date when the issue may be resolved, just complaints about me complaining!

[ericsbrother]

Then send a "letter before action" to thermagas telling them that you expect them to adhere to the SoGA and they have 14 days to put things right or refund you your money otherwise you will issue a claim against them in the county court without further notice. If they dont play ball, do exactly that. help with templates available here.

[alanfromderby]

The claim has already been issued.

 

Thermagas just wish to delegate the whole issue to the manufacturers, and have failed to make any agreement whatsoever to resolve the matter.

 

Their exact words are, "..the fire must be left in place for it to be tested for whatever the alleged fault is and a proper determination is made", yet they have failed to make any attempt to carry out this inspection. The original issue was raised with them on 8th March, and the only attempt to diagnose the problem has been by telephone - they have had 5 weeks.

 

SoGA requires that repairs be carried out in a timely manner, and that customers should not be inconvenienced. In cases where repairs are not possible in a reasonable time-frame then a refund or replacement should be offered.

 

The manufacturer (Sirocco) are basically saying that they do not have the parts so cannot fit parts they have not got. They will also not send out an engineer to properly diagnose the fault.

 

Basically, Thermagas have sold me a fire that (for whatever reason) does not work, and due to the alleged lack of spare parts is unlikely to be repairable for many weeks. Personally, I feel that parts could be obtained from one of the fires that are sitting in a warehouse waiting to be sold, since the same model of fire is still available at various retailers. However, this would require someone to get off their backside and actually wish to help resolve the issue. From the snide comments that have been forthcoming from Sirocco I am guessing that they are being somewhat disingenuous when they say they want to resolve the issue quickly.

 

Even without the fault, the product was not advertised as being an obsolete model for which spare parts were not easily available - perhaps another SoGA breach?

[alanfromderby]

Well, another day goes by, and Thermagas, Thermagas Heating Ltd, Thermagas Spares Centre Ltd or thermagasplc.com, warmorwet.com, or whatever they want to call themselves, have now decided that the best approach is to totally ignore my requests for a resolution. I have offered Christine Whalley (Director), or Chris Whalley as she calls herself, a further week to come up with a solution, but they have made no attempt to agree a date to come and inspect the gas fire. It would seem that this company has no idea of their responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

 

From the look of it I am not alone having problems with this company: http://www.canyoutrustthem.com/index.php?go=details&id=20334

 

If you are considering buying a Royal 400 Solo remote control gas fire (made by Sirocco in Poland) please be aware that however good the fire may be, if it goes wrong you could well find that the company has no spare parts.

Edited April 15, 2013 by alanfromderby

[alanfromderby]

It is an interesting picture that is starting to form.

 

Thermagas Ltd have not filed their accounts this year, but are based in Essex, not Chorley. Thermagas Heating Ltd are based in Chorley, but are showing as "Dormant". With all their different trading styles it may be that they are actually unincorporated, which will make things much more interesting when it comes to enforcing any judgement.

 

I wonder if anyone can join the dots for me. I have seen something mentioned about "M W Distributions" being linked as well. I cannot believe that Chris Whalley is the only person involved, even though all roads seem to lead back to her.

[Honest Consumer]

I have a similar problem, only difference I purchased the fire from The Fireplace Warehouse, (yes I didn't read this prior to purchasing the Sirocco Fire!!!!!)

I have put in a Warranty claim with Sirocco after The Fireplace Warehouse refuse to have anything to do with the fault., and now Sirocco are requesting debit card details prior to the visit via a link they have sent me, which I followed, the website fails all security certificate checks, and yet on that same website they are requesting the debit card details.....

 

 

If you could please let me know what the outcome was with Sirocco

[silverfox1961]

I have a similar problem, only difference I purchased the fire from The Fireplace Warehouse, (yes I didn't read this prior to purchasing the Sirocco Fire!!!!!)

I have put in a Warranty claim with Sirocco after The Fireplace Warehouse refuse to have anything to do with the fault., and now Sirocco are requesting debit card details prior to the visit via a link they have sent me, which I followed, the website fails all security certificate checks, and yet on that same website they are requesting the debit card details.....

 

 

If you could please let me know what the outcome was with Sirocco

 

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

What utter rubbish. Your contract is with The Fireplace Warehouse, not the manufacturer. I would write to them and remind them of their obligations under SoGA. The seller sorts it out then claims from the manufacturer.

 

Report them to Trading Standards as well

[citizenB]

alanfromderby, is there an update on your situation with this company ?

[Honest Consumer]

Unfortunately, nothing as of yet,

 

this has been ongoing since the 8th of Dec 2013.

 

The Fireplace Warehouse (Seller) are not taking any responsibility of the fire being faulty, just getting passed around the houses,

 

Sirocco are repeatedly just asking for bank details, prior to the visit.

 

They are wanting my debit card details, which fails all safety certificates, isn't verified or authorized by any official bank/financial organization,

it is just simply a link which you have to copy and paste into your URL, which then asks you to type in your Debit Card details...........

 

I have had no reply or update as of yet, still waiting for answers, before undertaking legal proceedings which is my next step.

(trying to be reasonable and avoid this, but I don't think there is any other option)

[dx100uk]

if you paid by debit card use chargeback

if you paid by credit card use section 75.

 

dx

[jenner1960]

Hi,

i have 1 Sirocco fire which was in the house when i brought it and wanted another fire in another room but i wanted to know if your issues were resolved or not?

[jenner1960]

Hi,

i have 1 Sirocco fire which was in the house when i brought it and wanted another fire in another room but i wanted to know if your issues were resolved or not?

[dx100uk]

Hi,

i have 1 Sirocco fire which was in the house when i brought it and wanted another fire in another room but i wanted to know if your issues were resolved or not?

 

thread is getting very old.

 

might be better if you start a new thread

 

of you own

 

dx