Their reply to my email and letter:
From: [email protected]
To: Triathlete
Subject: RE: Thank you for your order 8718195 - refund or replacement
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:29:40 +0000
Dear Mr Triathlete
Our reference: 110203-000381
Further to your correspondence with us I would like to apologise for the elongation of your complaint thus far.
I do understand that customers have the right to expect their product to last for six years. When customers contact us within that period, even when products are outside of guarantee, they can reasonably expect John Lewis to assist them by recommending a repair agent.
The warranties we have in place mean that within the stipulated time frame we will endeavour to arrange and pay for repairs up to the point that it is no longer economically viable to do so. At said point we would endeavour to replace or exchange the product for our customer, or where circumstances dictate, an alternative settlement.
Unfortunately as your purchase has fallen outside of this time frame we cannot enact said policy. However if you can provide an independent engineers report stipulating an inherent fault with the appliance at time of purchase we would do everything in our power to rectify the situation.
The onus of this report if outside the initial 6 months is on the consumer, as outlined in the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
Effectively if you can give us a report from an independent engineer saying this product was not fit for purchase, we will of course give a refund of your initial purchase or replace/exchange your product.
If you have any further questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us on 0330 123 0106 or email [email protected] quoting the above reference number. Our opening hours are 8am-9pm Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm Saturday and 10am-6pm Sunday.
Best regards
XXXXX
Customer Care Manager
John Lewis Technical Support
Such rubbish!
My reply to them:
Dear XXXX
Thanks for your reply.
I am afraid that you are conflating two separate issues. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 specifies that if an item develops a fault within 6 months of purchase, it is assumed to have been faulty at the time of purchase, which constitutes a breach of contract.
This is not what I am saying. I am saying that I have a statutory right, as outlined in the Sale of Goods Act 1979, Part II, section 14 para 2B, that the washing machine should have been fit for the purpose supplied, and sufficiently durable. I expect that an expensive piece of white goods should have lasted longer than 2 years and 10 months with moderate use. This is separate from the length of the warranty, or the 6 month clause above. When warranties say "This does not affect your statutory rights", it is this statutory right that is being referred to.
Now that we've clarified that I am claiming statutory rights, not the enactment of a warranty, can I ask again what action you'll be taking to redress the financial damage?
On a side note, I must say John Lewis are handling this extremely badly. If you'd said "Terribly sorry, here's a credit note for £100 for John Lewis Online" I'd have been delighted and sung John Lewis's praises to everyone. Instead, I'm telling everyone how poor John Lewis is. Seems a pity, really.
Sincerely
Triathlete
Let's see what happens next.