Faulty Dishwasher, how long before i can get replacement

scudzilla · 22-02-2021 9:30pm #1

Bought a Hoover/Candy Dishwasher last Feb, it packed in mid January, rang them for an engineer to call out and he came out on 5th Feb, said machine needed new part which he had to order.

Been 3 weeks now, i received a text last Monday saying part will be another week, received same text again today.

How long before i can ask for a refund or replacement machine?? Can i even do that or does it have to be a fix?

L1011 · 22-02-2021 9:46pm

Did you contact the retailer or the manufacturer? Or the manufacturer as directed to by the retailer?

If dealing with the retailer (or if they told you to go to the manufacturer), a repair needs to be performed within a reasonable time frame. Normally, five weeks would not be reasonable - but with Brexit and COVID that becomes open for argument.

If you went straight to the manufacturer, its not covered by the same legislation and is a lot more uncertain (not that the
normal situation is certain these days).

scudzilla · 22-02-2021 9:55pm

L1011 wrote: »

Did you contact the retailer or the manufacturer? Or the manufacturer as directed to by the retailer?

If dealing with the retailer (or if they told you to go to the manufacturer), a repair needs to be performed within a reasonable time frame. Normally, five weeks would not be reasonable - but with Brexit and COVID that becomes open for argument.

If you went straight to the manufacturer, its not covered by the same legislation and is a lot more uncertain (not that the
normal situation is certain these days).

I rang the local electrical store where i bought it and they said i had to ring the manufacturer, who i'm now dealing with.

This week it's 5wks, i'm thinking of calling them this week and giving them another 10 days which i think is more than fair.

Are they likely to refund or replace??

rock22 · 23-02-2021 9:23am

There might be difficulties in getting parts delivered, post Brexit.
Not directly related, but I had to wait 6 weeks for a part for my car because of Brexit. Large number of shipments were held up and couriers were unable to even say where the parts were.
Aske them why it is taking so long to get the part and if there is an alternative if it is coming from the UK

Xterminator · 23-02-2021 10:35am

had to wait over 8 weeks for replacement shelf for fridge freezer. shipping in the covid/ brexit landscape is very slow.

the legislation does not specify how long a reasonable time is. So there isn't a cut off where you can call them up and say, your past your deadline i need a replace/refund option.

So you do need to come to an agreement with the shop, or if no agreement is possible, open a case with SCC showing that you were reasonable about the repair, but that they were unable to effect the repair.

Perhaps another phone call to the shop and speak with the manager. See can you agree a date where they need to offer you a replace or refund option - if repair is not affected. Failing this you can open an official complaint over the length of time its taking. You do need to use the processes available to you at the retailer to show you engaged, and they failed to hold up their end.

You need as much documentation as possible, Dates times, who you spoke with, and emails or letters are better than phone calls - so if you can memorialise any phone agreements by email to them it supports you case.

C3PO · 23-02-2021 7:47pm

scudzilla wrote: »

Are they likely to refund or replace??

Probably neither in the short term!

rock22 · 24-02-2021 10:24am

You need to go back to the shop where you bought it if you want any remedy other than repair.
The manufacturer will only repair for you and then only when they have the parts.

I would return to the shop and tell them you want a refund or replacement as a repair seems impossible because of problems sourcing parts. You might be able to agree a timeframe for any repair .

Dav010 · 24-02-2021 10:35am

rock22 wrote: »

You need to go back to the shop where you bought it if you want any remedy other than repair.
The manufacturer will only repair for you and then only when they have the parts.

I would return to the shop and tell them you want a refund or replacement as a repair seems impossible because of problems sourcing parts. You might be able to agree a timeframe for any repair .

The problem appears to be a delay rather than a difficulty finding the parts. Given the well publicised problems with Brexit and air travel, this is hardly surprising and difficult to attribute to the Retailer.

db · 24-02-2021 10:46am

Any repair has to be in a reasonable timeframe. For a domestic appliance I would consider 2-3 weeks for a repair to be reasonable and if they cannot get whatever parts it needs then it is their problem not yours. If distributors are unable to get parts from the UK because of Brexit then they should have a stock of parts locally or else have a source of supply elsewhere in the EU. Go back to the shop and tell them you have given them an opportunity to repair but you now want either refund or replacement. They are likely to want more time for the repair to be completed so try to come to an agreement of a 1-2 weeks to complete or you get a replacement.

Dav010 · 24-02-2021 11:41am

db wrote: »

Any repair has to be in a reasonable timeframe. For a domestic appliance I would consider 2-3 weeks for a repair to be reasonable and if they cannot get whatever parts it needs then it is their problem not yours. If distributors are unable to get parts from the UK because of Brexit then they should have a stock of parts locally or else have a source of supply elsewhere in the EU. Go back to the shop and tell them you have given them an opportunity to repair but you now want either refund or replacement. They are likely to want more time for the repair to be completed so try to come to an agreement of a 1-2 weeks to complete or you get a replacement.

As there is no defined timeframe, “reasonable” today may not be considered the same as it was prior to December 31st if the parts have to come from abroad, unless of course you are living under a rock.

db · 24-02-2021 11:51am

"Reasonable" is how long you would expect it to take to repair the product and for someone to be without the use of it. 5 weeks is stretching it in my opinion but it is not defined and it would be up to a judge to decide if a time is reasonable or not. However, by the time you get in front of a judge, even in the SCC, it will be at least a couple of months so that is not much use except in extreme circumstances. That is why I say to go into the shop where it was bought and come to an agreement on a deadline for it to be fixed. There aren't that many parts in domestic appliances that stock can't be held locally if it is taking that long to get them in so I don't accept using Brexit as an excuse.

Dav010 · 24-02-2021 12:54pm

db wrote: »

"Reasonable" is how long you would expect it to take to repair the product and for someone to be without the use of it. 5 weeks is stretching it in my opinion but it is not defined and it would be up to a judge to decide if a time is reasonable or not. However, by the time you get in front of a judge, even in the SCC, it will be at least a couple of months so that is not much use except in extreme circumstances. That is why I say to go into the shop where it was bought and come to an agreement on a deadline for it to be fixed. There aren't that many parts in domestic appliances that stock can't be held locally if it is taking that long to get them in so I don't accept using Brexit as an excuse.

Surprising how many electrical parts have to come from the UK. For a lot of manufacturers they are the same market, as the UK is the bigger of the two, that is where the warehouses are located. In recent weeks I’ve have to wait for car/refrigerator/compressor parts to come from UK even though all were bought here. Of course Brexit and logistics are blamed for delays.

rock22 · 26-02-2021 5:10pm

Dav010 wrote: »

The problem appears to be a delay rather than a difficulty finding the parts. Given the well publicised problems with Brexit and air travel, this is hardly surprising and difficult to attribute to the Retailer.

I am not saying that the retailer is at fault for any delay. Just that the OP is entitled to one of three remedies from the retailer, repair, replace or refund. The OP said they are dealing with the manufacturer/distributor who have no obligation to offer a refund or a replacement. SO my advice to return to dealing with the retailer.

Samuel T. Cogley · 01-03-2021 11:46am

To quote SI 11/2003 "reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, taking account of the nature of the goods and the purpose for which the consumer required them."

So although a reasonable time isn't defined - it's a pretty solid argument to make that it's a short enough time frame given the inconvenience qualifier.

All that said I'd say all bets are off given COVID.

scudzilla · 02-03-2021 1:03pm

OP here, just an update

Rang Hoover/Candy again as still waiting on a part and have had no communication from them, apart from "It'll be 7 days", asked them if I could have a refund/exchange, they said I had to deal with store I bought it from.

Rang Ace in Trim and they were spot on, told me that candy were messing me about and they had to give an uplift reference number and they'd exchange no bother.

Rang Candy back, told them it's gone on too long and I wanted an uplift reference number for a product exchange, gave it me straight away

Having a new dishwasher, Bosch this time, delivered on Thursday

Xterminator · 02-03-2021 1:49pm

Great result!

The retailer was very decent in this case and probably deserve a shout out!

MissShihTzu · 02-03-2021 9:56pm

Delighted you got sorted out, OP, but very surprised at the service you got from Hoover. I had the direct opposite experience. The retailer (Currys) was the one playing the fool and Hoover were absolutely fantastic. They could not have been more helpful.

db · 06-03-2021 10:30am

Great result. Sounds like a good retailer and you will probably tell everyone how well they dealt with your problem so it should bring them extra business.

Faulty Dishwasher, how long before i can get replacement

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