Can damp cause pcb to blow?

[manuk]

Hi I have bought a reconditioned machine but 3 weeks later it broke the company that sold the machine came out the next day and said that there was excessive damp behind the machine and condensation has gotten in to the components and shorted the main PCB. To be fair there is, and there's mold growing on the wall. This is an issue i am currently taking up with the landlord but can this break the washing machine? should the company that sold the machine repair it under warranty? Any help on this would be appreciated 

[Whitegoodshelp]

Unfortunately they have blamed damp and it is likely to be very difficult to prove otherwise. Presumably you had a washing machine there before for some time and it worked OK? Without an independant engineer to look at it you can't easily challenge it especially if they've taken the old part away. What were the symptoms? 

If the company installed the washing machine for you though, they should have warned you about the damp condiitons.

[manuk]

5 minutes ago, Whitegoodshelp (Andy) said:

Unfortunately they have blamed damp and it is likely to be very difficult to prove otherwise. Presumably you had a washing machine there before for some time and it worked OK? Without an independant engineer to look at it you can't easily challenge it especially if they've taken the old part away. What was the fault?. 

Hi the company has not repaid the machine or taken any parts away the machine worked fine for 3 weeks then the door light flashed and the machine would not engage they said that the main board had blown and this is due to the damp conditions behind the machine.

the previous 2 machines had also broke the 1st one the bearings had gone and the 2nd one was an electrical fault then this one the main board went.

the company seamed genuine and did come out very quick but I was left with a broken machine as they refused to repair under warranty and blamed the damp, can this brake a machine?

they did say if I wanted a repair I would have to pay £55 for "quality used parts and labour" but did not recommend that a repair was done until the damp conditions were rectified as the machine could brake again.

thanks for your reply its very much appreciated 

[Whitegoodshelp]

Damp isn't good for appliances though it usually takes its toll on them gradually over a much longer period. Damp could short something out if it was really bad. It's possible they could be jumping to conclusions having seen the damp (why didn't they warn you about it when they delivered the machine?) but their advice not to have it fixed until the damp is sorted appears genuine. 

[manuk]

6 minutes ago, Whitegoodshelp (Andy) said:

Damp isn't good for appliances though it usually takes its toll on them gradually over a much longer period. Damp could short something out if it was really bad. It's possible they could be jumping to conclusions having seen the damp (why didn't they warn you about it when they delivered the machine?) but their advice not to have it fixed until the damp is sorted appears genuine. 

The machine was delivered by them but we installed the machine ourselves I may need to get an independent engineer to give a report of the fault and contact T&S thanks for your help and your quick reply's 

[Whitegoodshelp]

It's a tricky one this. 

[Whitegoodshelp]

If it didn't cost too much it might not be worth pursuing as if the independent engineer agreed it was damp it would end up being a costly thing. If he said it wasn't related you would need the original company to admit a big mistake, or take them to the small claims court if they didn't.