Full Refund?

R.O.R

Bought a Fridge Freezer in August 2017 (from Currys PC World - wish I'd have known better at the time...) which gave up the ghost totally in May.

Currys are offering a partial refund, which I'm not happy with and demanding a full refund. Am I entitled to a full refund? Appliance has been independently assessed and confirmed as beyond repair, but are Currys (and their appalling customer service) allowed to offer me a pro-rata refund due to the amount of happy time me and the Fridge Freezer spend together before it ceased to work?

No rectification was forthcoming in a reasonable timeframe, so a new unit was purchased (elsewhere) while I argue with them. They are also saying I'm responsible for disposing of the faulty appliance rather than them collecting it - if that is the case, it will be dumped in the doorway of their Swords store once I get my money back.

Any guidance will be appreciated - offering 56% of the purchase price after 20 months.

uck51js9zml2yt

What was the warranty period sold with the machine

R.O.R

Nasir Fast Nitpicker wrote: »

What was the warranty period sold with the machine

Quoted as 1 year, but EU Law states 2 year minimum on electrical appliances.

theteal

Nasir Fast Nitpicker wrote: »

What was the warranty period sold with the machine

R.O.R wrote: »

Quoted as 1 year, but EU Law states 2 year minimum on electrical appliances.

Both irrelevant. Irish consumer rights offer more protection.

In saying that, we have seen plenty of evidence that the SCC does take time an item has worked into consideration when applying compensation for a consumer issue, OP. With the SCC it all boils down to what is "reasonable". I don't know how long you should reasonably get from a fridge of a certain quality so can't really offer advice on that. Currys are known to low-ball such initial offers (as is my experience with TVs) so it's usually better to reject and push for better but there are no guarantees with such haggling.

jlm29

I had a similar issue with another big chain a couple of years ago, where they told me I was only entitled to a replacement of a fridge freezer that had broken after 2 years. They had nothing similar without me spending an additional several hundred Euro (I had bought at a sale price). I asked for a refund and initially they said no, but when pushed they acknowledged that a full refund was my right, since one should reasonably expect a fridge freezer to last longer than 2 yrs.
the cpcc are very helpful if you phone them

Xterminator

i dont think your are going o have to accept your not going top get new for old here.

20 months depreciated value of 44% so they are saying the useful life of the freezer was 45.5 months. IMO i would expect 5 years of life from the item and would say that the deprecated value should be 33% ie 20 months out of 60.

If you went to the small claims court it would cost 25 euro and at least 1 day of your time. Is the difference worth it to you? put a value on what you would reasonably expect to get back vs what they are offering.

IE if the freezer cost 250 , and they depreciate that by 44% (€110) and you go to court and ask for the difference IE assuming 33% = 82.50 depreciation and it wouldn't make sense to go to court for €27.50 difference between the two as you have to pay 25 to lodge the case.

I think the original price would have to be north of €500-600 before it would be viable taking it to court IMO.

dudara

Don’t dump it in their doorway, that is illegal dumping. A lot of the electrical shops have CCTV to monitor for exactly this.

Given that you’ve had two years of trouble free use, it’s not unrealistic to expect to take that portion of the cost yourself. A five year depreciation period isn’t unreasonable for an electrical item, so that would mean that they cover 60% of the value.

Samuel T. Cogley

I disagree on the depreciation aspect here.

There is a clear legislative intent on the part of the EU to create a minimum two year warranty period. There is nothing in the directive that allows companies to get out of this other than if it's economically unsound for them to repair/replace, in which case a refund should be given. The OP should be pushing for a 100% refund if they are not willing to repair/replace the item. I'd make the point using the small claims procedure if necessary, you can invoke this legislation notwithstanding the cack-handed way it was transposed by the Irish legislature by indirect effect of EU directives.

rock22

It is generally understood that most large appliances would last about 8 years. At the most you have had the benefit of 25% expected use.

You should look for about 75% refund but be prepared to haggle.

paddy19

"If you went to the small claims court it would cost 25 euro and at least 1 day of your time."

My experience with the small claims court is that large companies normally fold at the initial stage.
They don't need the extra costs and bad publicity of a court case.

I found the process excellent. Web site is a bit clunky but usable.

Xterminator

so still costs 25 euro, but a couple of hours of your time online- if they fold, and a day in court if they don't.

I wouldn't do it for unless i thought i would be recovering at least €100, unless the retailer really acting in bad faith etc. and i wanted a judgement on principle. then costs vs time invested be damned.

Del2005

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

I disagree on the depreciation aspect here.

There is a clear legislative intent on the part of the EU to create a minimum two year warranty period. There is nothing in the directive that allows companies to get out of this other than if it's economically unsound for them to repair/replace, in which case a refund should be given. The OP should be pushing for a 100% refund if they are not willing to repair/replace the item. I'd make the point using the small claims procedure if necessary, you can invoke this legislation notwithstanding the cack-handed way it was transposed by the Irish legislature by indirect effect of EU directives.

I though we never implemented the EU 2 year warranty as our consumer laws were superior.

ohnonotgmail

Del2005 wrote: »

I though we never implemented the EU 2 year warranty as our consumer laws were superior.

Correct, we never implemented them.

Samuel T. Cogley

Del2005 wrote: »

I though we never implemented the EU 2 year warranty as our consumer laws were superior.

Our consumer laws are not superior as this thread demonstrates. EU directives have force of law in member states through a legal concept called Indirect Effect, something I rather embarrassingly had to be reminded of in Legal Discussions when I made the same arguments about the 2 year warranty period not being in effect in Ireland.

jimmycrackcorm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Our consumer laws are not superior as this thread demonstrates. EU directives have force of law in member states through a legal concept called Indirect Effect, something I rather embarrassingly had to be reminded of in Legal Discussions when I made the same arguments about the 2 year warranty period not being in effect in Ireland.

How does this thread demonstrate this?
In fact the opposite, you just have to be prepared to follow up on them as suggested by the post on the SCC.

Suckit

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/index_en.htm

Free of charge, 2-year guarantee for all goods

You always have the right to a minimum 2-year guarantee at no cost, regardless of whether you bought your goods online, in a shop or by mail order.
This 2-year guarantee is your minimum right, however national rules in your country may give you extra protection.
If goods you bought anywhere in the EU turn out to be faulty or do not look or work as advertised, the seller must repair or replace them free of charge or give you a price reduction or a full refund.
You can usually only ask for a partial or full refund when it is not possible to repair or replace the goods

How to get goods repaired, replaced or refunded

The 2-year guarantee period starts as soon as you receive your goods. If your goods break within these 2 years, the trader always has to provide a solution for you. In some EU countries you also have the right to request a remedy from the manufacturer.

If your product breaks within the first 6 months, it is assumed that the problem existed when you received the goods, unless the trader can prove otherwise. Therefore, you have the right to a repair or replacement free of charge, or if this turns out to be too difficult or costly, you may be offered a price reduction or your money back.
If your product breaks after 6 months, you still have the right to have your goods repaired or replaced for free or, at least, to a price reduction or your money back. However, you may need to prove that the problem existed when you received the goods.

The European Consumer Centre in your country can help if you have a problem with goods you bought in or from another EU country.

For more detailed information about your rights under national law, check the specific rules on legal guarantees and commercial warranties for the country where you made your purchase:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/ireland/index_en.htm

Suckit

What is the make and model of the fridge freezer?
If others have similar issues, you may be covered for up to 6 years - if you can prove the item was had a manufacturers fault and was always going to stop working as intended.

As is mentioned in the lower link in the previous post
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/ireland/index_en.htm

Samuel T. Cogley

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

How does this thread demonstrate this?
In fact the opposite, you just have to be prepared to follow up on them as suggested by the post on the SCC.

The SCP generally give the retailer credit for time the goods have worked. See my original post for why this shouldn't be the case when utilising the better protections afforded by the directive.

The OP is free to avail of either and the SCP must take note of the directive so he can make a similar argument.

The Enbalmer

I have a fridge freezer 19 years and it's still working.
No way should an appliance give up the ghost after a year.

unkel

paddy19 wrote: »

My experience with the small claims court is that large companies normally fold at the initial stage.
They don't need the extra costs and bad publicity of a court case.

I found the process excellent. Web site is a bit clunky but usable.

Same. I started 2 cases in the SCC. Both time the companies yielded and gave me a full refund as soon as I showed them my case was accepted (it doesn't cost you a cent in fees if you don't continue with the case). To get to this stage takes time though, easily a month or two

@OP - what was the partial refund? How much did the fridge cost and how much are they offering?

spyderski

As a man who spends his professional life dealing with the appalling, sneaky, underhanded ways car manufacturers/distributors/dealer try to wrangle their way out of paying warranty claims on obvious manufacturing faults, you should be well able to handle a freezer issue😉

R.O.R

spyderski wrote: »

As a man who spends his professional life dealing with the appalling, sneaky, underhanded ways car manufacturers/distributors/dealer try to wrangle their way out of paying warranty claims on obvious manufacturing faults, you should be well able to handle a freezer issue��

Not all the time :pac:

unkel wrote: »

@OP - what was the partial refund? How much did the fridge cost and how much are they offering?

Appliance cost €499 and they have offered €270.82, and the €50 it cost me to get an independent assessment done to confirm it was broken (and beyond repair).

I have had a bit of fun with customer service - first offer they made was by way of a payment voucher, which you will be able to use in any Currys or PC World store in the UK. Fantastically useful offer I felt :rolleyes:

They then offered the refund via BACS, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which I also refused stating that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 has absolutely no bearing on the situation.

My claim through the SCC has been accepted. I can wait for that to come through, but my big issue is getting rid of the bloody thing that's taking up a huge amount of space in my hallway.

slave1

OP, had the exact same issue with a freezer from Lidl, just under two years old and they wanted to give me a partial refund, I never even entertained how much, asked the manager his name and told him I'll go to the SCC, by the time I got home I had a phonecall from the Regional Manager apologising for the branch manager's offer. Regional manager told me he was on the way to the store and could I come back with the defective freezer, met him about half hour later, they took the freezer back and gave me full refund.
As it turns out Lidl got the same freezer in store the following week so I went back and got it there again, and who served me at the counter...….