Washing machine faulty, Comet not interested

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xmfclick

New Member
Jul 26, 2009
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I bought a washing machine from Comet in February 2008 and now, predictably, it has developed a fault (the spin cycle ends without spinning, and shows an "Unbalanced" error, even when the drum is empty). I armed myself with a thorough reading of the Sale of Goods Act pages here, then phoned their "Customer Service" line. First they said they would send someone but I would have to pay for the repair, as it is more than six months since I bought the item. Then they said I would not have to pay for parts if it was a "major" part that was faulty. Then they said they would do the repair but I would have to pay for the engineer to come and inspect the machine to determine what the fault was. I offered to pay for the engineer's visit if it turned out that the fault was caused by me, but at that stage they refused to budge. What do I do now?

Thanks in anticipation.
 
Tony

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
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For items over six months old the burden of proof lies with you to prove that it is faulty. If it is faulty they have to pay for the report and the repairs.

Hth

Tony
 
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xmfclick

New Member
Jul 26, 2009
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Thanks, Tony, that's what I understood from other posts on these boards. However, Comet are in effect refusing to accept that, in that they won't agree to my suggestion that only I pay for their engineer's inspection visit IF it turns out that there is no fault or that the fault was caused by misuse, vandalism or whatever (i.e. if it was not an inherent or pre-existing fault). I guess their Customer Service people have a script that they stick to and if the customer won't roll over and either pay up or go away then this is where it ends up. The guy said I should write to them, so I guess a letter to the MD is the next step. If the MD says the same, what is my next step? Small Claims Court?
 
Tony

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
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38
Bolton
They don't have to arrange the engineer's visit nor pay for it. You could argue that they are doing you a favour by arranging it. Any complaint would be about poor service only.
 
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xmfclick

New Member
Jul 26, 2009
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Hmmm, now I'm confused. Comet are, in effect, saying they don't accept that there's a problem unless their engineer comes and looks at the machine and agrees there's a problem. But they want to charge me for that visit, and that charge could be pretty much anything they want it to be. How does that fit in with your earlier post?, i.e.
If it is faulty they have to pay for the report and the repairs
Click to expand...
Which report? The engineer's visit? That seems to contradict your second post, which also puzzles me now :confused: :-
Any complaint would be about poor service only.
Click to expand...
Does that mean I can't claim for the fault after all? What do you mean by "poor service"? Help!!

In fact, they completely control the situation, don't they? And if their management says to the engineer "This bloke's a stroppy bugger, make sure you don't find a problem", I'm stuffed, no? How can I take things further in that case? Small Claims Court? And if I do take the matter to the SCC, and win, will I get the cost of the engineer's visit awarded to me?

This whole thing is sickening -- they sell me faulty goods and then want to charge me for accepting that they are faulty. It seems to me the law is just a fig-leaf in this case -- big company ignores little bloke with impunity.
 
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