Broken chair—AIBU to take them to court

[biddybird]

In 2007 I bought a very expensive recliner chair that came with a 15 year manufacturer's warranty (expiring in 2022). This year, two the springs supporting the underside snapped. I contacted the company who told me they don't make those kind of springs any more and I should look on eBay to try to find some second-hand ones and get a local repairman to fix it. (!)

AIBU to expect that the manufacturer is responsible for doing this and not me?

The warranty states that "all frame parts and springs have a limited warranty against defects in material and workmanship for 15 years from date of delivery" and that "reasonable repair or replacement of defective limited warranty parts will be made within 90 days at no cost to you".

I'm sure what my consumer rights are here. Is it worth taking them to small claims court? (I'm in England.)

Bluntness nope… it's been in my sitting room for the entire 13 years!
I keep the room at a moderate temperature and the building also has an automatic ventillation system to avoid condensation etc.

I’m not buying that in 13 years you have been by the side of every single person near that chair to know categorically whether any drinks have been spilt on it or not.

Quite frankly, given your attitude here, I don’t think anyone would admit it if they had.

I do buy that Emily. I know someone with a 10k chair and it’s treated like a sacred throne. No kids. No animals. No drinks. It sits in the home office as a status price I recon.

Also if a manufacturer gives a 15 year warranty surely the sensible thing is for them to keep parts For 15 years so that they can actually mend and fulfil the warranty

how about raising a claim on resolver? very quick, then get them replaced but put the cost on a resolver claim
www.resolver.co.uk/

@Porridgeoat

Also if a manufacturer gives a 15 year warranty surely the sensible thing is for them to keep parts For 15 years so that they can actually mend and fulfil the warranty

Well. No, because that costs lots of time and money in terms of stock management, much cheaper for them to just pay any random claims that may arise.

Op, it doesn’t mAke sense to be honest. Rust is a simple reaction. It needs moisture to occur. There is no way round that fact. I think planning to have it fixed yourself is the best idea, because you’re going to struggle to prove in a court that the rust occured with no moisture.

Sounds like normal wear and tear though

If companies offer long warranties IMO then they should stock spare parts ie springs, for those products for at least the length of the warranties. We bought a v expensive Dualit food processor six years ago with a ten year warranty. Loved it and worked perfectly. Plastic bowl cracked and no spare parts stocked as Dualit don't make food processors anymore. So had to bin the whole thing and Dualit couldn't care less! So wasteful and worthless warranty.

@biddybird

It would cost around £1300 to replace the chair with a new similar one from the same company, or £60 to file a claim with money claims online.

The springs are rusty so would that qualify as a "defect"?

The chair has only had normal use—no kids, jumping, etc.

The "Customer Service" Department are just ignoring my emails now.

I tried Social Media shaming but my post mysteriously didn't appear on their Facebook page.

I have obtained the CEO's name and address from Companies House so am wondering if I should write to him and if so, what to say.

Ask yourself OP - is it really worth the hassle? £1300 for 13 years is pretty good. It works out at a hundred pounds a year.

If they are rusty surely that is natural wear and tear, doesn't everything metal eventually rust?

@biddybird

In 2007 I bought a very expensive recliner chair that came with a 15 year manufacturer's warranty (expiring in 2022). This year, two the springs supporting the underside snapped. I contacted the company who told me they don't make those kind of springs any more and I should look on eBay to try to find some second-hand ones and get a local repairman to fix it. (!)

AIBU to expect that the manufacturer is responsible for doing this and not me?

The warranty states that "all frame parts and springs have a limited warranty against defects in material and workmanship for 15 years from date of delivery" and that "reasonable repair or replacement of defective limited warranty parts will be made within 90 days at no cost to you".

I'm sure what my consumer rights are here. Is it worth taking them to small claims court? (I'm in England.)

Check where the springs have sheared get a nice close up pic if you can.

If the fracture is "cupped" or theres a void inside (unlikely but possible) then you can argue the springs were defective.

If it is pinched or more sheared you're going to be a bit screwed as they'll argue miss use.

"The springs are rusty so would that qualify as a "defect"?"

Ah no sorry that's going to be your fault, you didnt maintain/clean it so it corroded.

@Bluntness100

But op metal only rusts if exposed to moisture. A normal home environment does not have enough moisture to do this. We all have a shit ton of metal stuff in our homes.

Unless,lIs your home where it sits very very cold? Or was the chair stored in an outbuilding that was unheated ? That’s the only other way it could happen, if the moisture in the air temp climbed in the morning and condensation was forming and the moisture rusted it. It would have to be hell of a cold though. Have you been storing it in a garage or something?

The shit ton if metal stuff you have isnt uncoated spring steel (chrome and nickel plating and stainless steel are used more). Which will rust in the lovley warmth of a home that speeds up corrosion. It needs oiling/coating and cleaning.

But on the other hand spring steel is cheap and can be made to most specs so if you really want to save the chair find some machinist groups on Facebook and somone will likley be able to wind you a coil spring or shape you a flat spring.

Good god... Who even considers going to court over normal wear and tear for a 13 year old chair?!

The shit ton if metal stuff you have isnt uncoated spring steel (chrome and nickel plating and stainless steel are used more). Which will rust in the lovley warmth of a home that speeds up corrosion. It needs oiling/coating and cleaning

This isn’t correct, you need a level of humidity in thr air to create enough moisture to make it rust, a normal heated home wouldn’t have this, it would only be if it was unheated and the temp dropped and then escalated creating condensation. You need between fifty and eighty percent (metal dependent) humidity to create enough moisture to trigger rust. So an unheated garage or a cold basement would do it. Not a normal heated home.

Think about it logically we’d all have rust if what you were saying was the case, workshops and factories would be constantly having their tools and machinery rust away. You need between fifty and eighty percent humidity to create rust and that’s an unheated premises.