Hi Darkwood , you mention the 1979 act . How would it help on equipment under 5 years old ? I am not saying it will not , just was keen to know as we are having a worryingly increasing problem with 6ft twin anti corrosive fittings that have been fitted from 12 - 24 months ago that are failing at an alarming rate !:sick:
Under the 1979 consumers rights act anything you buy has to last a reasonable amount of time that can be expected for that part/item/device ......most things electrical/electronic that doesn't have a natural short life (like a flourescent tube) can usually be expected to last at lest 4-5yrs, if you have a laptop say that failed after 3yrs and the reason was failure of the original parts then all you need to do is get a reputable repair company to put that in writing then take it back to the place of purchase with the report and stress your using you consumer rights then detail which one..... if the place of purchase lead you down the garden path then go direct to the manufacturers.
It can be a rocky road but eventually if you can hold your ground you usually get what you 'deserve' and a free repair or replacement.... now you may ask why get extended cover/waranty out then and i will reply because they are scamming you for money on something you are already covered for.
Senerio - i have an Hotpoint washer and during year 3 which by it normal warranty i was covered for parts only the dryer impeller failed now as i used to hold the Tag as an Hotpoint service Engineer at my previous firm i wrote a detailed bill to myself regarding the problem and charged the invoice as £0.00 so it was official... i got nowhere with Curry's the point of sale as the staff weren't clued up on my rights and just kept bleating if i took out extended warranty i would have been covered so i went direct to hotpoint complaints ....now the first question i ask was to the telephonist is are you able to help me and over-rule you standard policy to which she said no so i asked to be put through to someone who has that authority ...to cut a long story short here i got eventually got through to the right person i thus emailed them my service invoice explained my consumers rights act - stressed the warranty served with the washer dosn't legally hold any grounds and expressed il be taking legal action if they refuse or try to charge my for the callout parts and/or labour.......
Rather than the 15mins repair they took the whole washer and replaced it free of charge.... KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
Never get extended warranties
Don't expect the point of sale or company help line to know your rights as they are not trained that far
Don't go silly if you have a failed product due to incorrect use lor accident like dropping your laptop etc you are probably wasting your time and theirs, you need to have proof from a recognised repair company before taking this approach.
Don't get nasty over the phone always remain calm and stand your ground and be fully clued up on your rights, if your aggressive or nasty they can use it against you and refuse to help on those grounds.
Be reasonable about the claim ... a part thats failed after 6yrs can be argued its done its service life and anything over 4yrs needs a good case for you to win.
Disclaimer .... i mentioned Hotpoint and Curries but this isn't a slate against the company or products im totally happy with the replacement.... ive done this now several time if not for myself then family and friends ....i estimate i save myself and others in excess of 5k just knowing my rights the last one was my mothers laptop which was sent back to Comet and they give her a report card that the 30month old laptap had a hard-drive failure so they charged her over £200 to repair it as her warranty had run out .... after my intervention we got fully reimbursed .... they argued though that we didn't provide an independent report on its failure which was our sticking point but speaking to the manager i i pointed out we was relying on the in house report they had provided and if they were to dispute the use of this then they are effectively saying their own repair service reports are not reliable which is a hole they dont want to get themselves in .... Kerching thankyou very much!
PS - detail what yo mean by failing i have had similar issues but installation instructions must be adhered to with these fittings as the case will not carry the weight of the fitting if you drill and screw through it - you must use the brackets provided.
