Is the Shop or Manufacturer Responsible for Faulty Goods?

“I bought a washing machine from a big high street electrical shop two months ago, and it’s still under the manufacturer’s warranty. I started having some problems with it last week, where it wasn’t taking the fabric conditioner in.

I checked the manual and did all the things it told me to, but it’s still not working. I even rang up the manufacturer to see if their helpline had any advice, but they said I’d tried everything and should go back to the shop.

I went into the shop to ask them if they would give me a replacement machine or my money back. They said that because the machine was still under warranty, I needed to ask the manufacturer to repair it, or replace it, and it was nothing to do with them. Both of them are blaming each other and in the meantime my machine won’t work. What can I do”

Advice

Your rights are with the retailer.

Legally, you have a contract according to the Sale and Supply of Goods Act, and that contract is with the retailer, the person who you paid your money to, and not the manufacturer. Any rights that you have against the manufacturer, such as a warranty, are in addition to your legal rights in consumer law, and so you don’t have to rely on that. Your first port of call should always be the shop.

What are my Consumer Rights with Faulty Goods?

Whenever you buy goods from a shop, they must be of satisfactory quality. This takes into account issues such as how long you would expect that type of item to last (durability); freedom from minor defects; safety and even appearance. In your case, the machine isn’t doing what you would expect it to. You’ve only had it for two months and already it’s stopped working properly. Most people would expect a brand new washing machine to last more than two months without developing this type of problem, and the law says that if a fault develops in the first six months, it’s deemed to have been there when you purchased it.

This puts the shop in breach of their contract with you, and entitles you to redress from them. What you’re entitled to is always what’s ‘reasonable’ under the circumstances, so you may be able to push for a refund, but you might have more luck if you ask for a replacement machine, or a free repair. Of course, if the machine is playing up after only two months, a repair might not be acceptable to you. Negotiate with the shop and make it clear that you know your rights.

What are my Rights with the Warranty?

A warranty from a manufacturer can be useful, and it’s in addition to your specific legal rights. If this type of fault developed after six months, it would be harder to prove that the fault was there when you bought the machine, and the responsibility to do so would be on you, rather than the shop. It could end up costing you more to prove who’s at fault than it would to buy a new washing machine!

In this scenario, call on the warranty and see if you can get the machine repaired free of charge. Read the terms and conditions first, you might have to pay a call out charge, or there might be a fee. Some warranties also provide for a replacement if the goods can’t be repaired. Remember though, that any free warranty is an extension to your consumer rights, and harder to enforce. If you actually pay for a warranty (which many retailers like to try and make you do) it does make things slightly different as you then have a separate contract with the company who operates the warranty.