When Appliances Go Wrong

Picture the scene - you've just treated yourself to a brand spanking new washing machine - or maybe a dishwasher, or perhaps a lovely flat screen TV. You might have saved up for ages to buy the appliance, or at least deliberated over what to buy, making sure that it was the best possible make and did everything that you expected.

What you don't expect is for it to stop working when you've not had it for very long. So you'll be pleased to know that the law doesn't either. Consumer law used to give you rights to a refund, replacement appliance or free repair, depending on the amount of time you'd owned the item, what it was, and what had gone wrong. The trouble was that the law (the Sale and Supply of Goods Act) was quite non-committal when it came to how long you could claim these rights for and on top of that, the responsibility for proving that the appliance (or any other type of goods) was faulty. If the retailer said that there was nothing wrong with your washing machine and refused to help, you would have had to somehow prove otherwise.

The law has now been tightened up, and broadly speaking if a major appliance decides to give up the ghost within six months of you buying it, you are entitled to some form of compensation because it's assumed that the fault was there when you bought it.

You would expect something like a television or other household appliance to last more than a few months. But at the same time, if you have had it for that length of time and it goes wrong, you have still had six months use from it so you wouldn't just be able to demand a full refund. You could try to insist on a replacement and would almost certainly be within your rights to get a free repair. And if it can't be repaired, money towards a new one or a replacement would be in order. These situations aren't set in stone so often it's all down to what you can negotiate with the retailer.

Extended Warranties on Domestic Appliances

So, with that in mind, should you jump at the chance of a warranty? The answer is that it depends on the type of appliance, the length of the free warranty, and the cost of any potential repairs if the appliance did go wrong after the free warranty has expired. Although you have enhanced rights for the first six months, you do have legal rights to goods of a satisfactory quality, and part of this is that anything you buy must be durable. So if something goes wrong after eight or ten months, you might not be able to march into the shop and insist that the appliance must have been faulty from the time you bought it. You will, however, be entitled to use the argument that it's clearly not durable and therefore you're still entitled to free repairs, or if it can't be repaired, possibly a replacement.

What you're entitled to will get less and less as time passes, but while you're covered by the warranty you can still pester the manufacturer in the first year (or for however long the free warranty lasts). A free warranty is helpful if you've had an appliance for some time and the shop is being unhelpful, although early on you should definitely go back to the shop before the manufacturer. The Sale and Supply of Goods Act is legally enforceable but a free manufacturer's warranty is not.

Once the free warranty has run out, you're on your own, which is why extended warranties are popular. Are they worth it? It's hard to say. On an item that's cost a lot of money and has a lot of moving components, like a washing machine, it might be worth it. Washing machines will always go wrong eventually so a longer warranty can save you hefty repair bills. But on an appliance like a fridge, or a cooker, the general advice is that they aren't really necessary. But it's up to you. Always ask questions and find out exactly what's covered before you buy. Because you pay for an extended warranty, it is a legally binding contract - but so is the small print.

If I Need My Appliance Repaired...

So, if you've had your appliance for a while, and you know that it's probably wear and tear that's leading to the funny noise from the washing machine, you'll need to find someone to repair it. Word of mouth will always be the best way to find a tradesman, but if that's not an option, try a website that rates tradespeople and find someone through Internet 'word of mouth' instead.

Failing that there are trade associations for electricians, and they usually have lists of members in your area. They can't guarantee that the work will be perfect, but membership of a trade association does give a degree of reassurance. The ones to look out for are:

• The Electrical Contractor's Association
• The National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting

Members have to sign up to a code of conduct, and in some cases the trade associations also help if there's a dispute.

Hopefully your new television will be just fine - but it's always good to know what to do if it's not!