John Lewis large appliance guarantee (dishwasher)

[GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat]

Am I right in being told that the John Lewis 2 year appliance guarantee doesn't cover engineer fees if they can't detect any discernable fault?

My dishwasher purchased just over a year ago has gradually decreased in performance over the last 6 months. I've gone through all the troubleshooting steps and checked the filter and spray arms. I stack it correctly and use decent tablets - I've tried lots of different ones including premium and basic plus gel and powder. The salt and rinse aid levels are correct and I scrape and rinse fastidiously
I've tried all the different programmes and even the most intensive no longer gets barely-used items reliably clean. The residue isn't baked on - I can remove it with a light touch

To be honest it doesn't get much use as I live alone. I look after my appliances and fortunately until now have little experience of pursuing appliance guarantees.

I feel as though I'm caught in a catch 22. The dishwasher is no longer fit for purpose however I can't prove this without having an appointed engineer visit. If they can't diagnose anything I'm liable for the cost despite the guarantee.
I don't feel confident about the engineer being able to diagnose anything as the machine looks brand new. I'm not getting any error messages and it sometimes behaves and cleans okay-ish (but not brilliantly).

Apologies I'm under the weather at the moment and not thinking clearly!

If it was showing error lights I'd feel more confident in JL taking responsibility but I have a feeling the engineer is going to say they can't detect anything and I'll have to pay.

You shouldn't rinse, scraping is sufficient

I refuse to buy any appliances from JL. When I bought my old house & was buying new appliances for my new kitchen, I bought a dishwasher, Fridge freezer, built in oven & hob & a microwave all from JL. It took 8 weeks for these to be delivered. On unpacking the appliances, every one was damaged, the dishwasher had huge dents in the door & side, the Fridge freezer had broken shelves, salad drawer, broken racks & dents on the outside, the inner glass in the door of the oven was cracked, the hob was scratched, the turntable of the microwave was smashed, JL replaced all items after waiting a further 6 weeks, the next fridge freezer was damaged again, on fitting the oven it was discovered that the thermostat didn't work, the ignition on the hob didn't work. On complaining, I was told it was going to be a further 4 weeks before replacements would be delivered, this would have meant I would have been waiting 18 weeks to complete my kitchen, I argued & was sent a cheque for £450 in compensation. I got a refund for everything I had ordered, walked in to Curry's the next day, selected the same items & got them delivered & installed within 3 days, all undamaged.

It's rubbish isn't it! The original JL dishwasher I ordered was damaged on the delivery truck (crushed by a heavier item stupidly stacked on top) but the guys only realised as it was unloaded. They were most apologetic but it took time wrangling with customer services and waiting in for a replacement to arrive the following week.

I thought the Consumer Rights Act 2015 covered me for the item being fit for purpose and to last a reasonable amount of time - especially as it's still under "guarantee". My contract is also with the retailer (JL) yet they've made me do all the legwork contacting the retailer whose customer service is equally haphazard. The engineer is scheduled for later this week but I don't really want to proceed if they're going to require me to pay. I've copied both parties into my emails as far as possible so that nobody is out of the loop.

My last contact with JL has been a less than forthcoming email to meet me halfway in the costs for the manufacturer appointed engineer. The tone is that I'm being a nuisance and this is supposed to be the senior/exec team.

Thanks pixie! I included rinsing in my troubleshooting but as far as I was aware scraping should be sufficient.

sorry that should say all the legwork contacting the manufacturer