Consumer rights, fridge lasted 15 months!!!

[Madamecastafiore]

DH is fuming. He treated himself to a v expensive (IMO) wine fridge.

He has had it 15 months and it will not stay at the temperature that he sets it at so his wine is being warmed which apparently is bad.

The company who makes it has basically said 'tough' out of warranty, not our problem!!

Do we have any recourse? For the amount it cost am shocked that it has gone wrong so quickly and the manufacturer is not at all interested!!

Not a huge issue I know but honestly DH is a smile on the inside kinda guy and I may stab him if he grouches anymore!!

Legally the first call is the retailer, not the manufacturer.

It doesn't matter if it is out of guarantee, if there is a reasonable expectation that it should last longer than 15 months then they will have to fix it.

Thanks unexpected, think DH got it straight from manufacturer though!

I may go down the route of twitter moaning or emailing the chief exec if I can find out who he is.

Do you think that would make a difference?

I'm happy to drink cheap crap from the co op but DH is all fed up that his wine is being ruined!!! Maybe he could have a mumsnet party??? Am sure you guys could solve the issue by just drinking it all!!

Being out of warranty doesn't mean that your rights as a customer are no more.

Sounds as if they should be repairing or replacing it for him.

warranties give additional rights, they don't take away your general rights under the sale of goods act. Assuming he bought it as an individual not a business he may have rights to a repair but it gets more difficult to enforce such rights the longer you have had the item. Check your household insurances (all of them) to see if any include legal cover.

If they have a Facebook page (and most do) posting on there often sparks some action.

Google the sales of goods act, there are a few parts that would be covered here. Also Martin Lewis's web site is good for this sort of thing.

Make sure this is taken to the top of the company rather than the regular complaints bit.

If you got it from the manufacturer your Sale of Goods Act rights are against them. Simply saying it is out of warranty is not good enough. It is reasonable to expect the fridge to last longer than 15 months.

As Collaborate says, they should repair or replace the fridge. It is their choice which they do, not yours. If they refuse to repair it and don't offer a replacement you may be able to get it repaired elsewhere and reclaim the cost from them. If repair is not possible and they won't replace the fridge they must either give a reduced price or a full refund less an amount for the use you've had of the fridge.

If your DH did get it from the manufacturer he needs to write to them telling them that he will take action unless they sort it out. If they refuse, his claim would be heard in the small claims court. You won't need a lawyer and you won't be liable for the other side's costs if you lose. Alternatively if your DH paid for the fridge using a credit card he could contact the card company as they are also liable.

Thanks all.

It is a company called Caple.

The want £200 to come out and repair it

DH going to ring Caple tomorrow and tell them all that you guys have said.

I will look on Facebook too see if they have a page.

Facebook - didn't come up when I searched but there is a link from their website. www.facebook.com/CapleUK As their wine coolers seem to start at over 300 pounds I'd expect more than 15 months. Good suggestion about the credit card company.

Thank you alreadytaken.

DH is very close to losing it as they are just so obstructive. Literally may as well be repeating the same thing over and over again!!

He needs to either take it up with the credit card company (if he used a credit card to buy the fridge) or write to them/email them mentioning the Sale of Goods Act, giving them a deadline to resolve the matter and stating he will take legal action if they refuse.

Having said that I've taken a look at their website and Caple don't appear to sell direct. They sell through half a dozen shops, Magnet and a few online retailers. Your husband's rights are against whoever sold him the fridge. If he didn't buy the fridge direct from Caple they are not liable and he won't get anywhere chasing them. They are entirely within their rights to refuse to do anything when the fridge is out of warranty.

He is paying for the bloody engineer to come out and then said will chase up retailer and manufacturer which will give him no bargaining power as they have his bloody money already!!

I can see why he cross as a huge amount if wine in fridge which is worth a bloody fortune so realise needs to be sorted ASAP but think once he paid and is fixed they will basically have got their way!!!

Ggggrrrrrrr!!!!

He should have started with the retailer. His rights as a consumer are against the retailer, not the manufacturer.

Unfortunately if he hasn't tried the retailer it is unlikely you will be able to reclaim the cost of the engineer. The manufacturer is not liable and the retailer can argue that they would have fixed the problem or replaced the fridge without any need for this added expense if they had been given the chance.

If he has tried the retailer and they have refused to help you are in a stronger position to recover the cost of the engineer from them. Even then the retailer may be able to argue that you could have got the fridge repaired for less, in which case they may not be liable for the full cost.

If he hasn't tried the retailer I would recommend cancelling the engineer if possible and contacting the retailer.

Phone your local Trading Standards as they have a list of specific items and years each should last. Whoever sold you the item is responsible for repairing it free of charge within that expected time limit if it goes wrong.
A boiler is 6 years I was told, but don't know about fridges.