What is the life span of a home charger?

discostu1

There is a letter in todays Irish Times from an ecar owner basically giving out about the Nationwide charging network. But he says that his own home charger is now no longer working, when he rang I presume the company who make them they told him that 4 years (the time frame he says he had i)t is the projected life span) he claims to replace it will cost €1000 ....anyone know if the life expectancy is only 4 years. Its the kind of thing that would put people off I think

listermint

discostu1 wrote: »

There is a letter in todays Irish Times from an ecar owner basically giving out about the Nationwide charging network. But he says that his own home charger is now no longer working, when he rang I presume the company who make them they told him that 4 years (the time frame he says he had i)t is the projected life span) he claims to replace it will cost €1000 ....anyone know if the life expectancy is only 4 years. Its the kind of thing that would put people off I think

Well given under Irish law electronic goods have to be covered for 6 years operation I'm not sure what truth there is to this story.

Gumbo

discostu1 wrote: »

There is a letter in todays Irish Times from an ecar owner basically giving out about the Nationwide charging network. But he says that his own home charger is now no longer working, when he rang I presume the company who make them they told him that 4 years (the time frame he says he had i)t is the projected life span) he claims to replace it will cost €1000 ....anyone know if the life expectancy is only 4 years. Its the kind of thing that would put people off I think

Lifespan should be a long time with proper care and attention to it.
As for the €1000 to replace, that’s incorrect. If he has a charger already then all the wiring, RCBO and connections are in place. That’s the hard bit. He simply has to turn off at the fuse board, disconnect old charger and reconnect new charger. They can be picked up for as little €200 second hand.

unkel

He sounds like a typical whinger/letter to the editor writer

He should have directed his energy to getting his charger fixed or replaced or a refund issued by his original supplier. You can reasonably expect an EV charger to work for longer than 4 years, so it is covered under warranty as per the sales of goods act

n97 mini

listermint wrote: »

Well given under Irish law electronic goods have to be covered for 6 years operation I'm not sure what truth there is to this story.

I thought electrical goods only had to have a 1 year warranty?

Soarer

n97 mini wrote: »

I thought electrical goods only had to have a 1 year warranty?

That's manufacturer warranty.

AFAIK, EU law is a lot longer, and overrides the manufacturer's warranty.

runawaybishop

listermint wrote: »

Well given under Irish law electronic goods have to be covered for 6 years operation I'm not sure what truth there is to this story.

You have 6 years to claim, it does not mean every device has to last six years.

n97 mini

Soarer wrote: »

That's manufacturer warranty.

AFAIK, EU law is a lot longer, and overrides the manufacturer's warranty.

runawaybishop wrote: »

You have 6 years to claim, it does not mean every device has to last six years.

Anyone got any links to that? I thought the 1 year manufacturer's warranty was an EU directive/law, but beyond that you're on your own.

EDIT: scratch that. Googled. Reading now.

runawaybishop

n97 mini wrote: »

Anyone got any links to that? I thought the 1 year manufacturer's warranty was an EU directive/law, but beyond that you're on your own.

A warranty is in addition to your statutory rights. It's a bonus, that's all, when it ends you still have your rights which you can avail of. Sale of goods act is what you want to look at.

n97 mini

Hmm. Civic IMAs are known for being very hard on 12v batteries. As a result they never last more than about 3 years. Should I be claiming replacements under the guarantee or just buying a new ones like I have been doing?

cruizer101

runawaybishop wrote: »

You have 6 years to claim, it does not mean every device has to last six years.

True but it is meant to reflect the item, it usage and the price paid so 20 quid toaster from argos that is used plenty no chance. But personally I would feel that a charger that is for the most part electronics with the only mechanical aspect being the plugging in and out that it should easily last the 6 years and I would expect many more.

n97 mini wrote: »

Hmm. Civic IMAs are known for being very hard on 12v batteries. As a result they never last more than about 3 years. Should I be claiming replacements under the guarantee or just buying a new ones like I have been doing?

In this case i would think a battery is a consumable part so wouldn't be covered

unkel

Everybody should be aware of the implications of the sale of goods act. It will save you money!

Several times I've gone to a shop with a broken item that broke outside of warranty. Generally sales staff look at you like you have 2 heads when you want to get something replaced or refunded out of warranty. But when you ask for the store manager, they will know. And they will refund you

And if that process doesn't work, straight to the small claims court. People buying stuff from companies are very well protected in this country, but you have to know how to use it!

Edit - what cruizer101 said. It depends on what you can reasonably expect from a product. You can't expect a mobile phone or anything with a battery to be covered after 3 years. But a 4 year old TV should still work and so should an EV charger.

runawaybishop

cruizer101 wrote: »

True but it is meant to reflect the item, it usage and the price paid so 20 quid toaster from argos that is used plenty no chance. But personally I would feel that a charger that is for the most part electronics with the only mechanical aspect being the plugging in and out that it should easily last the 6 years and I would expect many more.



In this case i would think a battery is a consumable part so wouldn't be covered

Agreed, what is essentially a socket that costs 1000 euros should last far more than 4 or even 6 years.

NIMAN

Typical scaremongering story.

1000 for a charger. Is he getting a gold plated one?

It's like all those who claim it takes 1k to get a child ready for school too.

Nonsense. But hey, it got his story some publicity.

slave1

listermint wrote: »

Well given under Irish law electronic goods have to be covered for 6 years operation I'm not sure what truth there is to this story.

n97 mini wrote: »

I thought electrical goods only had to have a 1 year warranty?

Soarer wrote: »

That's manufacturer warranty.

AFAIK, EU law is a lot longer, and overrides the manufacturer's warranty.

runawaybishop wrote: »

You have 6 years to claim, it does not mean every device has to last six years.

Guys, this 1yr or 6yr cover is a myth, that EU directive was never enacted in Ireland because our Sales of Good Act was much stronger for the consumer...

https://thecai.ie/your-rights/your-rights/know-your-rights/

Orebro

I've had a 6 year old TV and a 4 year old laptop hard drive repaired, along with a drum and bearing replaced in a 4 year old washing machine all by standing up to the shops and threatening the small claims court. Their first strategy is to tell you it's out of warranty so you need to pay - well worth your while fighting as your rights are very strong in Ireland. This works very well with Apple products too - their Applecare is a massive waste of money in this country as our rights cover the laptop for you!

runawaybishop

slave1 wrote: »

Guys, this 1yr or 6yr cover is a myth, that EU directive was never enacted in Ireland because our Sales of Good Act was much stronger for the consumer...

https://thecai.ie/your-rights/your-rights/know-your-rights/

Our sale of goods act gives you six years to claim.

GarIT

runawaybishop wrote: »

Our sale of goods act gives you six years to claim.

Our sale of goods act gives you 6 years to take a case about an issue but doesn't guarantee you'll win, almost no cases win at 5 years. The law says everything has to last a reasonable amount of time. A judge will decide what's reasonable on the day. Most people who win a case at 5 years get 20% of the value.

GarIT

I think everyone here has gotten the sale of goods act completely wrong here.

The device must last "a reasonable amount of time". You have a legal right to take a case against any company up to 6 years after purchasing them, after 6 years you will not be permitted to take it to court. If you do take it to court a judge will decide on a case by case basis of what is reasonable. Assuming you are in the right and didn't break it yourself and win the case usually you will win the full value of the device in the first year, and they typically take off about 20% of the device per year old it is but that depends on the judge, you can get as much as the full value after 71 months, or you can get as little as 50% after 6 months, judge's choice.

The bit people are saying about the EU....
In every country there is a limited time where you can take a case to court. In Ireland that time is 6 years and has been since the 80s. Since then the EU has introduced a european wide law that says the time you can take a case after has to be at least 2 years, our laws already said 6 years so it didn't affect us.

Orebro

I don't think anyone would expect the full value of anything after 6 years, but a repair is always possible which is reasonable, which I have successfully achieved a few times.

GarIT

Orebro wrote: »

I don't think anyone would expect the full value of anything after 6 years, but a repair is always possible which is reasonable, which I have successfully achieved a few times.

It's not actually if you go to the Small claims court. The company can say that they no longer have the parts or the ability to fix the device that then they will just have to pay the estimated cash value.

The law does say you are entitled to a repair but there is no way of enforcing that as to enforce it you have to go to the SCC and the SCC won't enforce a repair.

mordeith

Whatever about the EU law our charger is over five years old and works fine. It's well exposed to the elements as well.

Sleeper12

GarIT wrote:

It's not actually if you go to the Small claims court. The company can say that they no longer have the parts or the ability to fix the device that then they will just have to pay the estimated cash value.

Manifacture has to stock parts for seven years after they stop making a product or model afaik.

unkel

GarIT wrote: »

I think everyone here has gotten the sale of goods act completely wrong here.

Everybody? I got nothing wrong dude! I know well how it works.

GarIT

unkel wrote: »

Everybody? I got nothing wrong dude! I know well how it works.

Didn't even notice your comment, I more meant the people talking about timeframes and eu laws etc. Everything you said seems correct.

You just kinda said what will happen, other people tried to quote laws and got it wrong, then the people that told them they were getting it wrong also got it wrong.

GarIT

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Manifacture has to stock parts for seven years after they stop making a product or model afaik.

As far as the Sale of goods and supply of services act is concerned there is no such thing as a manufacturer. There is only a seller, which is the retailer, the manufacturer is irrelevant, the seller isn't required to keep parts, if they can't repair it they would have to give a replacement or refund though.

That might apply to cars or something but I've never read it about retailers.

unkel

Might as well add the main missing bit. It is up to the seller if they want to either refund you, repair the item or replace it.

Sleeper12

GarIT wrote:

As far as the Sale of goods and supply of services act is concerned there is no such thing as a manufacturer. There is only a seller, which is the retailer, the manufacturer is irrelevant, the seller isn't required to keep parts, if they can't repair it they would have to give a replacement or refund though.

I think you are missing the point.

No supply of parts for up to seven years =replacement or full refund. Not sale of goods but I believe an EU wide law.

runawaybishop

GarIT wrote: »

Didn't even notice your comment, I more meant the people talking about timeframes and eu laws etc. Everything you said seems correct.

You just kinda said what will happen, other people tried to quote laws and got it wrong, then the people that told them they were getting it wrong also got it wrong.

Nothing I said about the timeframe is incorrect.

GarIT

runawaybishop wrote: »

Nothing I said about the timeframe is incorrect.

You're also correct, when I read through the thread I was thinking I can't believe how everyone has gotten it so wrong. Don't know how I missed those, sorry guys.

GarIT

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I think you are missing the point.

No supply of parts for up to seven years =replacement or full refund. Not sale of goods but I believe an EU wide law.

You're wrong about the full refund bit. The amount of the refund is the decision of the judge just like any claim that doesn't go to the really high courts. And a replacement can't happen if the seller doesn't stock it any more.

The manufacturer having parts is somewhat irrelevant, as I said there is no such thing as a manufacturer as far as Irish law is concerned and you can't make a claim against the manufacturer.

Sleeper12

GarIT wrote: »

You're wrong about the full refund bit. The amount of the refund is the decision of the judge just like any claim that doesn't go to the really high courts. And a replacement can't happen if the seller doesn't stock it any more.

The manufacturer having parts is somewhat irrelevant, as I said there is no such thing as a manufacturer as far as Irish law is concerned and you can't make a claim against the manufacturer.

I said EU law & not the sale of goods act.


manufacturer has to stock parts for I believe seven years. This stops a manufacturer repeatedly changing models & forcing you to replace instead of repairing

GarIT

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I said EU law & not the sale of goods act.


manufacturer has to stock parts for I believe seven years. This stops a manufacturer repeatedly changing models & forcing you to replace instead of repairing

It doesn't matter what the manufacturer stocks, you're legally not allowed to make a claim against the manufacturer. You can only take a case against the seller so what they have is the only thing that matters.

Sleeper12

GarIT wrote: »

It doesn't matter what the manufacturer stocks, you're legally not allowed to make a claim against the manufacturer. You can only take a case against the seller so what they have is the only thing that matters.

manufacturer has to stock parts for seven years after they stop making a model. This is the law. Yes your contract is with the retailer but this seven year law still falls in your favor. The retailer is now responsible for the Seven year parts


I bought a recliner from Harvey Normans four years ago for around 1500 euro. A bolt broke in the chair & the whole chair collapsed. I went to Harvey Normans with photos of the chair & broken blot. Bolt broke off inside a metal plate so I needed a bolt & plate. It was a very simple fix that I was happy to do myself. They said that they'd get in touch with the manufacturer. Long story short they altered the way they make the chairs & changed the parts. My parts were no longer available. Harvey Normans rang to give me the bad news saying there was nothing they could do. I explained that, that changed everything. Originally I was willing to pay for the parts & repair myself as parts would have been so cheap & it was simple to do. I told the lady on the phone that by law the manufacturer had to stock parts for seven years & if they couldn't provide parts that I was looking for a new chair. They quickly arranged for an engineer to come from the furniture factory to repair my chair. He stripped it down & converted it using all the modern parts.


Of course I had the option of bringing them to the SCC. Taken a day off work six months into the future & gotten a lot less than half the value. They could have argued that the blot snapped due to excess weight over time & that's not a manufactureing fault. I might have lost or won. Under the seven year law I can take a chainsaw to my chair & if I can't get parts for it I'm covered. The big thing with the seven year law is you don't have to prove fault. You can admit it's your fault. They still have to stock parts for seven years.