Protection on item collected after warranty expires

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shankly

Registered User
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I paid for a washing machine in January last year. However, due to delays in the construction of my house I am only now in a position to collect it from the shop, who had agreed to store the unit until the house was ready. I called in yesterday to arrange collection only to be told that the unit was out of stock and it would be a month before it was back in. Fair enough but my concern is that by that stage my 12 month warranty will have expired. On raising this issue with the shop I was told that there was nothing they could do as the warranty begins on the day of purchase which was January '07.

I fear that when I bring the washing machine home, plumb it all up and turn it on, if there's a problem with it I will be totally unprotected and will have to foot the bill for its repair or replacement, even though it will be brand new out of the box. I put this to the shop and their reply was that the manufacturer might cover any parts that may be required, but were adamant that I would be liable to pay for the shop's own technician's labour costs.

I realise that this scenario is highly unlikely, but it still worries me that the shop won't stand over its own product. I would appreciate your views regarding my consumer rights on this issue.
Many thanks.
 
Hi

I think you have a strong case here as the shop did not hold a washing machine for a year. It just held the price you paid for it for the year. The machine they will give you will probably have been manufactured a few weeks ago. The mfg will also know from the serial no when machine was made. The year warranty cannot start until the unit is manufactured as a min. Surely the warranty is from Mfg not the shop. (i know sale of good act means that the shop is liable but they would just return to mfg anyway)

Also if the shop is getting a new machine from Mfg, then why would their technician have to fix it.

just my tuppance worth
 
shankly said:
I paid for a washing machine in January last year.
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steelblue said:
I think you have a strong case here as the shop did not hold a washing machine for a year. It just held the price you paid for it for the year. The machine they will give you will probably have been manufactured a few weeks ago.
Click to expand...
True - I was working on the basis that the retailer may not have any liability here if the purchase was effected a year ago but I suppose the manufacturer's warranty may be valid still.
 
So if you paid for your item and they said they would it in stock then it should have been there for you to collect?

Have I got that right?
 
Manufacturer or store warranties are in addition to your statutory rights.

Goods must be of merchantable quality and the retailer is obliged to replace or refund if not. Even if the machine was sitting on their shelf for a year, it should still work, otherwise it wasn't merchantable to begin with. Elapsed time has to be reasonable, and a year limit isn't reasonable in this situation.

The fact that you couldn't even take possesion when you wanted to only strengthens your case. Given that they don't even have a machine in stock, you could theoretically insist on a refund, and then buy it from them (with a fresh warranty) when it comes into stock!
 
OK - I was focusing on this bit...
shankly said:
I paid for a washing machine in January last year. However, due to delays in the construction of my house I am only now in a position to collect it from the shop, who had agreed to store the unit until the house was ready.
Click to expand...
 
On ClubMan's advice I contacted the Consumer Agency, and received a very positive reply. Without quoting the whole correspondence, the following is an extract which supports MugsGame's thoughts that the goods must be of merchantable quality, irrespective of the expired warranty. Looks like the retailer got it wrong... all that worry for nothing! Thanks all.

"As warranties and guarantees are extra and in excess of your statutory rights the consumer may, if the reasonable lifetime of the product exceeds the time period of the warranty, pursue the seller through their statutory rights - The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980’. A consumer may decide to claim under a guarantee but cannot be obliged to do so.

Under the ‘The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980’, goods should be:
· Of merchantable quality
· As described
· Fit for its purpose
· Corresponding to sample

Where goods do not conform to the above criteria, under the Act, you are entitled to one of three forms of redress:
· Repair
· Replacement
· Refund

....As a consumer, if you purchase a faulty good you are entitled to seek one of the three forms of redress as outlined above. The legislation does not state who chooses the form of redress. However, if a repair is offered then it should be permanent. If not, and if the same fault occurs again, then the buyer is entitled to seek another form of redress."
 
We bought all our appliances at the start of last year at a well known electrical shop. When we bought them we told them we were not ready for delivery yet due to construction still going on.

They advised that the warranties start on the delivery date of the items. She told us just to hold on to our delivery docket with the date on it as proof of delivery on site.
 
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