[mark1080p]

Hi,

Went to grill some bacon and the grill suddenly stopped working. Called Homebase where I bought it from, and advised me its outside its 1year warranty.

I cant believe its been over a year already, but looking at receipts I bought it in August 07

Anyways, is that me screwed? I'm a bit annoyed that my oven only lasted 18 months. Can I write a letter of comlaint regarding the oven not being "fit for purpose", or will they claim its due to wear n tear?

Really annoyed as can't really afford a new oven Anyone else have simular experiences or ideas what I should do?!?

Thanks in advance
Mark

[plazmoid]

Surely you could get someone out to fix it rather than have to get a new one.

[Phil57]

Have a butchers at this: Your rights under the Sale of Goods Act in the UK

[Phil57]

Originally Posted by plazmoid

Surely you could get someone out to fix it rather than have to get a new one.

Why should the OP "get someone out to fix it?"

[Kebabhead]

Originally Posted by mark1080p

Can I write a letter of comlaint regarding the oven not being "fit for purpose", or will they claim its due to wear n tear?

problem with SoGA is it doesn't define a reasonable lenght of time for a product so your at the retailers mercy

As it's out of warranty I'd try the manufacturer and see what they say, failing that Trading Standards or Citizens advice

[Orson]

Send a 'Letter Before Action' to Homebase giving them a reasonable amount of time to respond (14 days) detailing your issues. Mention that although the cooker is past it's 1 year warranty, you don't believe that 18 months is a reasonable life expectancy for a cooker. Also warn that if a settlement can't be agreed, you'll take court action, in the form of a Small Claim.
Mention the Sale of Goods Act, and that it says goods should be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose, and clearly ask them what they expect the lifetime of the particular model cooker to be.

Then you've got them, as if they say less than 18 months, write back & tell them that you are planning a media article on how they sell goods they expect to break so quickly.
And if they say longer than 18 months, obviously they'll have to sort something out.

You may have to take a bit of a hit on the full price though, wear & tear etc.

[plazmoid]

I'd of thought the manufacture warranty would be longer than 1 year for an oven so would be worth giving them a call.

[johnny-17]

What make of appliance is it and how much did it cost ?

[mark1080p]

Cheers for the replies...

Its an Anthony Worral Thompson signiture model, and cost around £250 ish, including various discounts at the time.

I agree that an oven should last a lot longer than 18 months, hence why i'm a bit annoyed about it breaking down.

I will write a letter and see how I get on.

[marshall_nathan]

I agree with you Mark,but i spend 300 quid for a cooker and after not even 2year i start to replace part.I spoke with the guy who repair my oven and he onestly told me who if i want a good cooker i need to spend around 500 and going german.I m afraid to say who is right.For ex my cooker is really light,i can lift easily myself,means there is not much insulation and the electric part going very soon,i have to call him allready twice with a cost around 140 quid , no happy but to be honest there is not much point to talk to the place i bought the applience

[Ian J]

I'm not sure that you will get away with suing the retailer as your case will fall down on the simple fact that you don't know what's wrong with it. The warranty only covers manufacturing defects and your problem could well be user driven

[Monkey Alan]

We fixed our electric cooker twice, both times it was a element that had burnt out. First time the grill went, took the top off and checked the elements terminals with a multimeter, clearly no power getting through. A new element was about 20 quid. Second time was the oven element.

Very easy to fix, they are very simple contraptions really.

[Duncan G]

Originally Posted by Phil57

Why should the OP "get someone out to fix it?"

Because it's broken and no longer covered by the warrenty.

[Phil57]

Originally Posted by Duncan G

Because it's broken and no longer covered by the warrenty.

Duncan, you are probably what most retailers would call a perfect customer. Spend the money and don't bother with the rights that you have acquired along with the purchase.
A cooker/oven should last longer than 18-19 months, irrespective of the make or model.
I would suggest that at least five years would be more acceptable.
The retailer has a responsibility over and above the so called twelve month warranty.
I would suggest that most electrical (example) retail assistants-sales persons have a good laugh and dream about how much closer they are to paying for a new car from the commission earned from 'mugs' that pay for extended warranties.
Sorry to have gone on a bit.......... but as a customer you have rights, you should use them.

[Kebabhead]

Originally Posted by Phil57

I would suggest that at least five years would be more acceptable.
.

How have you arrived at this conclusion?

Are you an expert on gas cookers

[Phil57]

Originally Posted by Kebabhead

How have you arrived at this conclusion?

Are you an expert on gas cookers

Down tiger, down.

Read what I said................"I would suggest"......That is not a conclusion!!
Being a gas cooker expert?...........Whats the relevance? This is a matter of consumer rights.
Who said the cooker/oven in question is a gas appliance?

[Phil57]

Mark,

Any update?

[johnny-17]

We all think that our rights and the good old SOGA will always save us but
unfortunately £250 is just too cheap to 'guarantee' a good oven. At this price level you are just making a short term saving and taking a long term gamble, same as any other cost conscious purchase.

Cooking appliances that are expected to perform heavy duty tasks over many years cannot be made for such low prices. How do I know this ?
Simple, I've been involved with an ever increasing failure rate regarding ever cheaper domestic appliances, from poor cooking results to more complicated/ very simple poor design issues over the last 25 years.

Did any of you see in the news that Hoover, one of the last UK manufacturers is closing down here and moving production to Turkey and the Far East.

Do you think this is to improve quality ?

Apart from the superior and more expensive German products (Just like cars), most makes are from obscure factories with no proven history for quality.
Does the renowned AWT own and use one of his 'endorsed' appliances - no he does not. Does he cook on them _ again no. Ask yourself why not ?

I'm sorry for the OP's troubles, but a repair or replacement will not make such a model any more reliable and perhaps saving up for a better model is the answer (Yes I know dearer = painful to some)

Even a refund may not be the solution, because any replacement purchased with it at this price level will only start the cycle all over again.

[mark1080p]

Hi - no update yet.. been real bogged down at work so will phone again, with some of the points raised in this forum - and see what they say.. In the meantime i'm writing a letter to adviser that i expect an oven to last more than 18 months.

I know its a cheaper oven, but still no excuse to breakdown after 18 months.

will keep you posted.

Mark

[PoochJD]

Hi,

FWIW, I too would "expect" major household appliances (especially white goods) to last at least 5 years, unless they were being used/abused to the point of destruction every single day. Even if you only spend £250 on a cooker, it should still last at least a couple of years, realistically, I would hope, and if it didn't, then I'd have to question was it "fit for purpose" - which is the very part of the Sales Of Goods And Services Act states an item must be fit for!

I know that the terms "reasonable duration" also isn't legally defined, but "reasonable duration" is normally accepted as being...

" the length of time that a normal, every day citizen would expect to apply".

So, if you asked 10 people how long they'd expect a cooker to last, and 8 of them said more than 18 months, you could probably win the argument about how long a "reasonable duration" is.


Pooch

[Tomo]

Like the other poster i fixed our last oven, and the farther in laws both times it was just the element. cost less than £30 both times.

and less than an hour too.

[johnny-17]

I agree that any major appliance should last more than 18 months and I'm quite sure that we all think that a 'reasonable' period would be more like 5-10 years minimum.

Trouble is since retail prices were abolished not many companies can get the balance right between low price vs quality. Add in a 'little' recession and things go down hill, even further.

The average 'Joe public' is now used to seeing low prices everywhere and quite rightly expects the quality to still be there.

Not gonna happen sadly. So more and more letters will be generated using every law/right possible to help us out of problems that simply didn't exist in the main a few years back.

That's progress for you, eh ?