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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

...to expect a bloody toaster to last longer than a year!!

23 replies

duchesse · 20/08/2009 10:36

Our fourth toaster in five years is now falling apart. Some of the feckers have expired within their guarantee period, some just after. The guarantee on this one expired on August 1st.

AIBU to not expect to spend £50 a year on bloody toasters?

OP posts:

Lilymaid · 20/08/2009 10:53

We've had the same toaster for nearly 20 years. The knobs have all fallen off and been replaced by a piece of cork and a section of wooden peg, but it just keeps going ...
I'd love to replace it but DH is an engineer and keeps mending it!

courtneylovescox · 20/08/2009 10:54

my ugly cheapy one won't die either

steamedtreaclesponge · 20/08/2009 11:01

You could still be entitled to a refund under the Sale of Goods act, even if the guarantee's expired - most electrical goods should be fit for purpose for at least 5 years so it might still be worth taking it up with the shop you bought it from.

I'm currently trying to get a refund from Tesco for a TV I bought that has broken after a year and am hopeful that I'll still get some money back even though it's over the guarantee period - however, you might not think it's worth pursuing if your toaster only cost £20 or something in the first place!

FWIW, my toaster is at least 6 years old and still going strong...

petunia · 20/08/2009 11:09

Things don't last like they used to! What is it that manufacturers do to make their products expire just a few days past the guarantee date anyway?!
Lilymaid- my Dad was an engineer (now retired) and Mum has the same problem with him mending things! Their dishwasher has been going for 15+ years thanks to him mending it!

UndomesticHousewife · 20/08/2009 11:28

I totally sympathise, my kettle has just broken, it's a replacement because the one before it (same one) broke after a few months too.
Problem is we don't have the receipt, so i emailed Tefal and was told sorry nothing we can do, take it up with the shop.

But how am I supposed to do that whenI don't have a receipt and I paid cash so it's not like I have any proof.

Cost me £55 so not the cheapest kettle in the world. I will buy Tesco value kettle from on then it won't bother me when it breaks.

ConstantlyCooking · 21/08/2009 08:00

I have this problem with kettles and toasters. Am on my third kettle this year! Luckily I now keep the receipts. My toaster has just died after 13 months and I am hunting for the credit card receipt so that I talk to John Lewis about a refund.

BubbaAndBump · 21/08/2009 08:04

Went shopping for toasters (my life's sad) yesterday - for a friend's housewarming - some cost £195 I kid you not!! Apparently though they also serve you your breakfast in bed and find cures for cancer and world peace so it's all alright.

secretgardin · 21/08/2009 08:20

love my toaster it was half price in a sale, went to the till and they halved the price again, so i ended up paying 7 quid always used to the cheapest toasters, so this one is luxury. will be heart broken if it breaks...

NotEvenTheTrees · 21/08/2009 08:26

Bought a new kettle last week. Middle of the road, not value, not expensive. Within 45 minutes the filter had fallen off and the spring on the lid had broken.

I'm going to boil water in a pan from now on. And toast bread over the fire. In fact I think I'd be better off just going to live in a cave.

SoupDragon · 21/08/2009 08:36

Apparently the 12 month guarantee is a load of tosh. You are covered for much longer. I have the article filed away somewhere and can dig it out later.

FWIW, my Dualit toaster (£110) is still going strong 12 years later. It's had 1 replacement element in that time (at a cost of about £12 I think)

gagamama · 21/08/2009 09:45

After having to replace my £60+ irons every year just outside guarantee period, I have just invested in a £3.50 steam iron from Asda... and I bloody love it!

I'm sure the kettle and the toaster will be dying on me soon too, so I might just kit myself out entirely with value appliances.

edam · 21/08/2009 09:50

Soupy and Steam are right, manufacturer's guarantees do not replace your statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act. Go back to the shop, tell them what the problem is, cite the Sale of Goods Act, and insist on a replacement. If they get arsey, speak to the manager and if still not helpful, threaten them with Trading Standards!

Original poster

duchesse · 21/08/2009 11:31

Thanks ladies! It isn't actually the element that's broken in this one, it's the thing keeps the toast down/ ejects it when it's done. I would have thought we'd have quite a case given that it's structural.

I was wondering whether Dualits were worth the extra ££. I understood that you could actually replace the element, which seems to be the most likely bit to break. Reassuring to hear that yours has lasted that long, Soupy.

OP posts:

FimbleHobbs · 21/08/2009 11:37

I sympathise. Our kettle has gone in the bin today - must be two years old maximum but was leaking so much it was dangerous. It wasn't from a local shop (bought it with gift vouchers for shop 30/40 miles away) so not really worth the trek to argue about the Sale of Goods Act. But interesting to know for future knowledge.

edam · 21/08/2009 11:38

Dunno if Dualit take the same approach, but when the lid on my Brabantia kitchen bin broke and I phoned up to see if I could get a new one, I was pleasantly surprised to hear they would send one for free. (Actually they sent two because the first one wasn't the right size.)

Had no idea Brabantia came with a lifetime guarantee. I never need to buy another kitchen bin again, hurrah!

(Brabantia bin was years old so way outside Sale of Goods territory.)

oldraver · 21/08/2009 11:41

The lid on my Kettle beame jammed again yesterday and I had to prise it off breaking it making it come away in the process. This is a replacement for the one that broke in the same way and it was a Christmas present

Petunia... My dishwasher is still going strong and is 17 years old next month. An assesor from my insurance providers told me to not replace it as the newer ones will not last as long as this one

stealthsquiggle · 21/08/2009 11:42

Duchesse you need a Dualit. Ours is ~12 with no repairs at all - so that is

stealthsquiggle · 21/08/2009 11:43

oooh yes I have had several new catches for our Brabantia bin - no problem at all.

noddyholder · 21/08/2009 11:45

Dualit well worth the extra I have had one for years and it looks and toasts as it did at the start!I would like a new one as mine is cream and i prefer steel but can't justify it as this one is so good.If you can afford the initial outlay its worth it

edam · 21/08/2009 11:57

My MIL's fridge is still going strong after something like 40 years. It's VERY stylish, an antique version of one of those Smeg fridges.

Our washing machine has survived at least seven years - was left by previous owners, to our surprise (we brought one from our old house but it's sat in the garage, awaiting ours ever breaking down). Have a British Gas Homecare thingy so on the two occasions it's broken they've fixed it for free.

Hoovers, mind you, are a whole other topic. NEVER get a ruddy Dyson.

Original poster

duchesse · 21/08/2009 12:34

They just don't make appliances like they used to. I'm sure they've become less reliable in the last 5 or 6 years. Built-in obsolescence?

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 21/08/2009 12:47

Apparently in England & Wales you have up to 6 years under the Sale of Goods Act. EU law gives 2 years

beaumont · 05/09/2009 15:59

Hi, This is my first message but hopefully someone may have had the same experience with their Dualit toaster. My 2 slice black/stainless steel model blew the entire electrics in the house, 3 times this morning! Every time i pressed the lever down with the toast in it engaged for about 2 seconds and then click everything electrical was knocked out. I have no idea what is wrong, I changed the fuse but its not that and to add to the misery I cannot find my receipt, especially frustrating when the toaster is only about 6 mths old!

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