Warranty question

Silent Running

My wife bought a Hoover stick vacuum in Lidl in the middle of July 2018. It has completely failed a few weeks ago.

She contacted Lidl customer service and they said it had a 1 year guarantee and this has obviously passed. Lidl now want nothing to do with the product.

I was under the impression that there was a European directive making a 2 year warranty compulsory. Have I got that wrong? If I have that's OK, but if I'm right, who should look after the repair/replacement, the shop or the manufacturer?

Thanks for any help.

Silent Running

Silent Running wrote: »

My wife bought a Hoover stick vacuum in Lidl in the middle of July 2018. It has completely failed a few weeks ago.

She contacted Lidl customer service and they said it had a 1 year guarantee and this has obviously passed. Lidl now want nothing to do with the product.

I was under the impression that there was a European directive making a 2 year warranty compulsory. Have I got that wrong? If I have that's OK, but if I'm right, who should look after the repair/replacement, the shop or the manufacturer?

Thanks for any help.

Yes you have it wrong. The European Directive was not adopted into Irish law as the SOGASA gives better consumer protection.

You can apply to the SCC if you are unhappy with Lidl’s response.

Samuel T. Cogley

The two year warranty period is part of Irish Law - there's been a couple of threads on it in Legal Discussions. However after the first six months it's up to the consumer to show that the lack of conformity existed at time of purchase. So if you use the Small Claims Procedure you may be asked for an independent report. Probably worth a punt for €25 as Lidl may just cave as soon as they get the paperwork or you may get lucky and not be asked for a report.

Stuff from Lidl and Aldi is generally crap in my experience and you can see for yourself what the aftercare is like. If its drastically cheaper then it's worth the punt but you're usually better off with a brand name which takes consumer rights a bit more seriously - of course not all of them do either in fairness.

Edit: Electrical stuff. Food etc and even some of their hardware items are pretty good.

Samuel T. Cogley

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

The two year warranty period is part of Irish Law - there's been a couple of threads on it in Legal Discussions. However after the first six months it's up to the consumer to show that the lack of conformity existed at time of purchase. So if you use the Small Claims Procedure you may be asked for an independent report. Probably worth a punt for €25 as Lidl may just cave as soon as they get the paperwork or you may get lucky and not be asked for a report.

Stuff from Lidl and Aldi is generally crap in my experience and you can see for yourself what the aftercare is like. If its drastically cheaper then it's worth the punt but you're usually better off with a brand name which takes consumer rights a bit more seriously - of course not all of them do either in fairness.

Edit: Electrical stuff. Food etc and even some of their hardware items are pretty good.

Is part of Irish law?

Rows Grower

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

The two year warranty period is part of Irish Law - there's been a couple of threads on it in Legal Discussions. However after the first six months it's up to the consumer to show that the lack of conformity existed at time of purchase. So if you use the Small Claims Procedure you may be asked for an independent report. Probably worth a punt for €25 as Lidl may just cave as soon as they get the paperwork or you may get lucky and not be asked for a report.

Stuff from Lidl and Aldi is generally crap in my experience and you can see for yourself what the aftercare is like. If its drastically cheaper then it's worth the punt but you're usually better off with a brand name which takes consumer rights a bit more seriously - of course not all of them do either in fairness.

Edit: Electrical stuff. Food etc and even some of their hardware items are pretty good.

You must have very limited experience of purchasing from both shops. Most of their stuff comes with a three year warranty.

Samuel T. Cogley

Dav010 wrote: »

Is part of Irish law?

Had this discussion with one of the lads in Legal Discussions who it literally never wrong. Still trying to find the thread. I used to contest it wasn't part of Irish Law but he reminded me of Indirect Effect of EU Directives. EU law has developed in such a way we can't ignore directives (as was the original intent).

Another interesting point he raises is they're trying to change that lack of conformity burden from six months to two years so any fault the retailer would have to prove it didn't exist at time of purchase.

Samuel T. Cogley

Rows Grower wrote: »

You must have very limited experience of purchasing from both shops. Most of their stuff comes with a three year warranty.

True I don't buy much electrical stuff from either having been bitten a couple of times in the past. If most of their electrical stuff comes with a three year warranty, at should be a massive read flag if a particular item only comes with a one year warranty.

Rows Grower

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

True I don't buy much electrical stuff from either having been bitten a couple of times in the past. If most of their electrical stuff comes with a three year warranty, at should be a massive read flag if a particular item only comes with a one year warranty.

How could you have been bitten a few times with a three year warranty?

Samuel T. Cogley

Rows Grower wrote: »

How could you have been bitten a few times with a three year warranty?

It was crap and it got returned within a week. A coffee machine we had a bit longer - only came with a one year warranty and the handle fell to bits after about 18 months. I never checked but I assume it wasn't the one they had to recall because it was giving people electric shocks.

L1011

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Had this discussion with one of the lads in Legal Discussions who it literally never wrong. Still trying to find the thread. I used to contest it wasn't part of Irish Law but he reminded me of Indirect Effect of EU Directives. EU law has developed in such a way we can't ignore directives (as was the original intent).

Another interesting point he raises is they're trying to change that lack of conformity burden from six months to two years so any fault the retailer would have to prove it didn't exist at time of purchase.

I suspect quite a lot of district court judges don't believe that it is, which is where you're going to end up when a retailer refuses.... since that thread I have diverted any back and forth arguments about it over to Legal Discussion!


Lidl's 3 year warranty handling is interesting in that there are very few items they ever try to repair - certain specific vendors to them have support setups; but otherwise once its more than a few weeks old its nearly always a direct refund. Which has infuriated people on here who wanted an item repaired due to there being no direct replacement at the price point

Rows Grower

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

It was crap and it got returned within a week. A coffee machine we had a bit longer - only came with a one year warranty and the handle fell to bits after about 18 months. I never checked but I assume it wasn't the one they had to recall because it was giving people electric shocks.

So you got a full refund for both and had a perfectly functioning coffee machine for free for 18 months.

You must have been traumatised.

ronivek

I believe the limitation period for the European Directive is 6 years; and it was enacted as part of a Statutory Instrument in 2003.

That doesn’t mean your manufacturer’s warranty is 6 years though; and if you can’t get Lidl to remedy you’d have to look at the Small Claims route.

Samuel T. Cogley

Rows Grower wrote: »

So you got a full refund for both and had a perfectly functioning coffee machine for free for 18 months.

You must have been traumatised.

Didn't get anything on the coffee machine as it was out of warranty.

Samuel T. Cogley

L1011 wrote: »

I suspect quite a lot of district court judges don't believe that it is, which is where you're going to end up when a retailer refuses.... since that thread I have diverted any back and forth arguments about it over to Legal Discussion!

As evidenced by threads here and in LD - they do, at least anecdotally, look for reports.

L1011 wrote: »

Lidl's 3 year warranty handling is interesting in that there are very few items they ever try to repair - certain specific vendors to them have support setups; but otherwise once its more than a few weeks old its nearly always a direct refund. Which has infuriated people on here who wanted an item repaired due to there being no direct replacement at the price point

They're within they're rights to do that, ironically enough, clarified under the same legislation.

Samuel T. Cogley

ronivek wrote: »

I believe the limitation period for the European Directive is 6 years; and it was enacted as part of a Statutory Instrument in 2003.

That doesn’t mean your manufacturer’s warranty is 6 years though; and if you can’t get Lidl to remedy you’d have to look at the Small Claims route.

Irish Law gives a limitation period of six years which is where the confusion creeps in that we have more protection. The two year period which actually isn't properly transposed is a warranty period, so long as the 'lack of conformity' can be shown to be present at time of purchase.

L1011

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

As evidenced by threads here and in LD - they do, at least anecdotally, look for reports.

We've had people being given discounted refunds on 18 month old kit by judges rather than full replacement. Its definitely not universally understood.

Samuel T. Cogley

L1011 wrote: »

We've had people being given discounted refunds on 18 month old kit by judges rather than full replacement. Its definitely not universally understood.

Yes I concede it's not being universally applied, thankfully, which is one of the reasons why I think it's worth a punt.

Rows Grower

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Had this discussion with one of the lads in Legal Discussions who it literally never wrong. Still trying to find the thread. I used to contest it wasn't part of Irish Law but he reminded me of Indirect Effect of EU Directives. EU law has developed in such a way we can't ignore directives (as was the original intent).

Another interesting point he raises is they're trying to change that lack of conformity burden from six months to two years so any fault the retailer would have to prove it didn't exist at time of purchase.

So how come someone as knowledgeable and prudent as yourself didn't seek a refund for the faulty coffee machine that (didn't have an electrical fault, but) came with a handle that suddenly fell apart which must have been quite a safety hazard and surely would have been a cause of major concern for you and the manufacturer?