Where do I stand legally? This is Argos and they are not known for their good customer service

[itati]

My Russell Hobbs toaster is now unsafe to use. I bought it in November 2006. To me that isn't very long at all. Any ideas where I can find out my position before I take it back please?

I may be wrong, but i think that the store you buy it from only has a guarantee of 28 days. After that i think the manufacturer has a guarantee of a year so personally i would go back to the manufacturer if it has a serious fault.

Either that or just buy a new one?!

It is normally a year but I think it is bad it has only lasted 21 months.

No money to just go out and buy a new one.

I agree with RGP - you need to contact Russell Hobbs directly over this, it's not Argos responsibility any more.

I think it's just the luck of the draw tho really isn't it. Some stuff you buy and it lasts you years. Others lasts five minutes. 21 months isn't that bad for a toaster if you use it often. Was it an expensive one?

That is what people think. My contract is with the shop, not the manufacturer. There was a piece on it on BBC news earlier in the week how shops palm of customers by saying take it up with the shop.

I might email RH for advice first though.

It was expensive for us!

It should lie with the manufacturer now.

My kettle, from Russell Hobbs broke a couple of weeks ago, it was the second one I had had in a year, the 1st one that broke was within the 28 guarantee from Agos so I took it back and got an exact replacement, 1 year on and this one broke so I wrote a letter of complaint to Russell Hobbs (friendly, with a sense of humour, but stating that I wasn't happy and what I would like doing about it, I even quoted their line, something like 'A product synonimous with quality and style..' A fortnight later they sent me brand new upgraded version free of charge as a gesture of goodwill.

NO, I don't think you should buy a new one, it gets me angry when people just let these companires get away with ripping us off. You paid good money for your toaster as I did for my kettle and you expect a certain standard of performance in return. We don't complain enough in this country. I did stand up for my rights and it paid off, so phone up the manufacturor's customer service helpline and explain to them what has happened.

Good luck, sorry for the long post btw. Am off to make myself a nice cuppa

Have emailed RH direct so will see what they say.

Do you have a receipt?

I agree, it's very annoying that it is bust already. We had very similar situation with an own brand Tesco one (with the name printed on it) but didn't have the receipt. We called up customer services and read out the model to them and they claimed they had never stocked that toaster It ended up being taken to the dump. We were about to emigrate and didn't have time to follow up such a crazy issue, unfortunately.

Agree with other posters. Contact the manufacturer directly. They may already know that that particular model can have problems.

I have the receipt, that is how I knew when it was bought for sure.

Tesco are c*ap at customer service imo. No wonder they make billions.

We took a kettle back to Argos after it stopped working, had original box and possibly receipt . Exchanged no problem.

It's worth a try.

But I do think it's Russell & Hobbs responsibility rather than Argos.

Your contract is with Argos but guarantee with Russell Hobbs - try Argos first.

i think after a year you might be hard pushed to get a replacement after 2 years i wouldnt be holding my breath.

the product is guaranteed for a year.

After that you have not a leg to stand on.

I think you have absolutely no chance of getting anywhere with a replacement unless you bought some kind of extended warranty.

To be honest for the hassle it'd be easier just to buy a new cheapish toaster - some of those last ages.

Things don't last like they used too.

{I'm not that old really emoticon}