Shop refusing to refund or replace microwave

TK Lemon

My OH and I bought a microwave for €259 in August 2019 (among €2,800 of other electronics for our new house).

The microwave door stuck today and wouldn’t open, and opened after 4 or 5 minutes pushing the button.

When we looked inside, the plate was lopsided and the plastic component that spins the turntable was scorched and melted.

Mr. Lemon rang the company (a well known one originating in the Southern Hemisphere) and they said that although the microwave is covered by warranty, they won’t honour it because it is a component failure rather than a manufacturer failure.

They said our options are to buy a new one or order a new plastic component. Mr. Lemon said he can’t order a new plastic thing because the current one is melted into the bottom of the microwave thus making it impossible to remove.

What are our rights here?

Tiger Roll

TK Lemon wrote:

What are our rights here?

Repair ,replace or refund under consumer rights . If they won't refund or replace then insist on a repair

TK Lemon

Tiger Roll wrote: »

Repair ,replace or refund under consumer rights . If they won't refund or replace then insist on a repair

They are refusing all three of those and saying that we should order our own turntable component online and install it ourselves.

But the warning at the back of the microwave says that all repairs or alterations must be done by a qualified technician.

Besides, even if we did get a spare component, it’d be next to impossible to replace it without some sort of dismantling because it’s scorched and melted in.

jimmycrackcorm

Tell them if they don't sort it then you will take it to small claims court.

colm_mcm

So basically the microwave broke because it was used incorrectly?

endacl

colm_mcm wrote: »

So basically the microwave broke because it was used incorrectly?

How?

listermint

Was it empty ? What was inside that caused the melting.

Seems weird

TK Lemon

colm_mcm wrote: »

So basically the microwave broke because it was used incorrectly?

How was it used incorrectly?

I was heating leftover Chinese on a plate for lunch.

colm_mcm

TK Lemon wrote: »

How was it used incorrectly?

I was heating leftover Chinese for lunch.

Are HN suggesting it’s a user error, or why else would they say they will not cover it?

Was the plate catching in the microwave causing the turntable to not turn for example?

They must have given you some indication?

TK Lemon

colm_mcm wrote: »

Are HN suggesting it’s a user error, or why else would they say they will not cover it?

Was the plate catching in the microwave causing the turntable to not turn for example?

They must have given you some indication?

They didn’t explicitly explain. They said that they only cover equipment malfunction and not component malfunction/damage.

L1011

Retailer from the southern hemisphere or manufacturer from the southern hemisphere?

Actually although €259 is a higher price microwave I don't think Fisher Paykel make ones that cheap so that's probably a bad question!


259 is at the level where I'd go Small Claims. Registered letter to the retailers HO first threatening same sometimes works, though.

However, as its a dearer microwave I'd also suggest looking at what the manufacturers support options are

punisher5112

TK Lemon wrote: »

They didn’t explicitly explain. They said that they only cover equipment malfunction and not component malfunction/damage.

Utter bull.

Contact on Twitter or Facebook etc.

You bought such and such under the sales of goods act they must look after the item and the contract is with them not the manufacturer.

Mrs OBumble

Call back and speak to the organ-grinder instead of the monkey.

NeuralNetwork

Unless you've done something bizarre to cause the damage, you're entitled to a working microwave. There's no difference between "component" and "equipment." They're all part of the microwave and are covered by statutory warranty.

It would be different if it were a consumable item e.g. a coffee pod, a light bulb or a printer cartridge - i.e. something that's meant to be regularly replaced. However, a turntable sprocket is part of the microwave and is expected to work as part of the machine for a long period of time. Just because something's available as a spare part does not make it a consumable item.

kopfan77

colm_mcm wrote: »

So basically the microwave broke because it was used incorrectly?

Where in the name of god did you deduce that from??

zerosugarbuzz

I had a similar experience with a UK retailer about an oven No interest until I contacted them on twitter with photos of the exploded front glass of the oven. Then they replaced and fitted a new one within a few days once it started to get a bit of traction on their social media site.

colm_mcm

kopfan77 wrote: »

Where in the name of god did you deduce that from??

See the question mark at the end?
It was a question rather than a statement.

28064212

tphase wrote: »

Remember you are also entitled to chase up the manufacturer to remedy a fault

That's incorrect. The only circumstances where the customer has a contract with the manufacturer is if there is an explicit manufacturer's warranty, and you only covered under the exact terms of that warranty. The retailer always has legal obligations.

OP, it's not clear from your posts, are you talking to the company that sold you the microwave or the manufacturer? The manufacturer route is only good if it's quicker or more convenient.

wonski

colm_mcm wrote: »

See the question mark at the end?
It was a question rather than a statement.

"So basically the microwave broke because it was used incorrectly?" Why would you say it?

Just because you add a question mark makes it different?

Interesting?

Are you asking if it was used incorrectly?

Or are you suggesting the seller claims the customer used it incorrectly?

TK Lemon

28064212 wrote: »

That's incorrect. The only circumstances where the customer has a contract with the manufacturer is if there is an explicit manufacturer's warranty, and you only covered under the exact terms of that warranty. The retailer always has legal obligations.

OP, it's not clear from your posts, are you talking to the company that sold you the microwave or the manufacturer? The manufacturer route is only good if it's quicker or more convenient.

I am talking to the company that sold me the microwave.

28064212

TK Lemon wrote: »

I am talking to the company that sold me the microwave.

Do they have a presence in the EU or did you purchase it from a Southern Hemisphere site? Their obligations are more or less the same regardless, but enforcement on a non-EU retailer is much more difficult if they just say no

L1011

28064212 wrote: »

Do they have a presence in the EU or did you purchase it from a Southern Hemisphere site? Their obligations are more or less the same regardless, but enforcement on a non-EU retailer is much more difficult if they just say no

I'm fairly sure they were just referring to, without naming, a notable retailer with a significant physical presence here.

kingstevii

L1011 wrote: »

I'm fairly sure they were just referring to, without naming, a notable retailer with a significant physical presence here.

Someone like Harvey Norman? Or someone else?

28064212

L1011 wrote: »

I'm fairly sure they were just referring to, without naming, a notable retailer with a significant physical presence here.

If that's the case OP, you should contact the retailer again and explain that you are exercising your consumer rights under the Sale of Goods Act, as the device was not "of merchantable quality" and/or "not fit for purpose".

It's quite possible the fault is not covered under the warranty offered, but a warranty is only an addition to your legal rights. You can completely ignore it for something like this. You can read more about your rights here: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/consumer_laws/your_rights_as_consumer_in_ireland.html. If they continue to push back, you can escalate to the Small Claims Court, which only costs €25 (although often the threat of the SCC will be enough to get a retailer to live up to their obligations)

mickuhaha

Is that what melted? The below just pushes on and pulls off. That also come on different shapes.

https://www.espares.ie/product/es188921?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=google+shopping&gclid=CjwKCAiAu8SABhAxEiwAsodSZC9nDoZJq3Ot3qI8a3B3mqYjzz7BKpUPVEyvF_PscQDLlfHyrs9ghBoCxscQAvD_BwE

Jim_Hodge

TK Lemon wrote: »

My OH and I bought a microwave for €259 in August 2019 (among €2,800 of other electronics for our new house).

The microwave door stuck today and wouldn’t open, and opened after 4 or 5 minutes pushing the button.

When we looked inside, the plate was lopsided and the plastic component that spins the turntable was scorched and melted.

Mr. Lemon rang the company (a well known one originating in the Southern Hemisphere) and they said that although the microwave is covered by warranty, they won’t honour it because it is a component failure rather than a manufacturer failure.

They said our options are to buy a new one or order a new plastic component. Mr. Lemon said he can’t order a new plastic thing because the current one is melted into the bottom of the microwave thus making it impossible to remove.

What are our rights here?

That component is cheap as chips and will come away from the base even if melted, with a little bit of effort.

TK Lemon

kingstevii wrote: »

Someone like Harvey Norman? Or someone else?

Someone like them, yes.

cruizer101

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

That component is cheap as chips and will come away from the base even if melted, with a little bit of effort.

I'm not sure how happy I'd be with just replacing the part that melted.
It shouldn't melt, the fact that it did to me implies there is some other fault with the unit as a whole that caused it to melt.

Jim_Hodge

cruizer101 wrote: »

I'm not sure how happy I'd be with just replacing the part that melted.
It shouldn't melt, the fact that it did to me implies there is some other fault with the unit as a whole that caused it to melt.

I have a suspicion the rotation was blocked and this caused the melting. I won't go as far as to say misuse but...

mickuhaha

The part that melted is normally made out of PPS or SPS which have melting points of between 150c to 300c. They don't absorb the energy given out by the microwave. For these parts to get hot enough to melt something else in the microwave would have been absorbing the energy in the form of heat and transfering it to the part that melted. So the question is, was it submerged in a liquid or in contact with something solid that got very hot. If you upload a picture we could guess.

cml387

Diagnosis of how it happened (with an implication that the op is to blame) are beside the point. The Antipodean retailer is refusing to do anything on the specious grounds of "component failure". Which is "round objects".