Washing machine faulty under guarantee but manufacturer gone bust

[loulou]

I have a Servis M6804W washing machine.

Within 12 months, it had a fault with the LCD, and the engineer said something about it being a common electrical fault. In fact, browsing the internet, it seems this is a recurring one with this model.

2 and a bit years later, it's dead again.

So, I phone the number on my machine, but unbeknown to me, they went into administration a while back; and Domestic And General deal with enquiries.

Or should that be, D&G give you no help at all and try to peddle one of their insurance policies via Direct Debit! The man even answered the phone, "Hello, Servis"!!

I said I had a recurring fault with my machine, I'm single and don't use it a lot (and it's an 8kg machine), could he help? Bottom line was, either buy the policy, or get a local repairman to look at it. He wasn't interested.

It seems I may have a claim with the retailer under the EU 2 year guarantee/UK Sale Of Goods Act, which takes into consideration reasonable wear and tear/price paid.

Does anyone have experience of this machine, or similar?

PS: When the original fault occurred, I got the machine pulled out, changed the fuse on the plug..it worked! Then I was left with another problem. Some time into the wash cycle, it conked out again!

[loulou]

I'm just off the phone to a very friendly engineer

Basically he's said there are two LCDs for this model, one is obsolete, the other would cost me £135! (I anticipated sky-high prices..). He's trying to determine which one is at fault.

The machine is always plugged into the mains. When you turn the programme dial, the programme display LED lights up and you can select buttons for crease removal/extra spin etc if you wish. When everything is selected you press the power button, which also has an LED. I have no idea which one is faulty, as the machine won't turn on at all.

So, I have to submit a report to the retailer, which will cost £55..unsure if it's worth my while.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Louise: Under the Sale of Goods Act the retailer is responsible. It seems very unfair to the retailer but that's how it is. You should be able to reclaim the cost of the report.

Most big retailers should know what to do. They should arrange for the appliance to be repaired. Domestic and General are indeed only interested in selling the policy and have no responsibility whatsoever under the sale of goods act.

When you say you were expecting sky high prices I would say that £135 plus fitting for a control board is definitely sky high prices. It could easily equate to more than 50% of what you paid for the machine in the first place.I would also be concerned that at least one spare part has been declared obsolete. How old is it?

[loulou]

Thanks for replying so quickly. It's great the internet has knowledgeable resources such as these

I bought the machine in October 2007. It doesn't get used as much as it would for a full family. Unsure if Bargain Crazy are actually going ahead with a repair, or have to make a decision from the report; their reply was very brief.

Undecided whether to junk the machine and buy new (considering the Siemens IQ-300 WM12P360GB which has 5 Years' Call Out, Parts And Labour, though that appears on certain websites), or getting a repair on the Servis.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks Louise: As with all these issues pragmatism taps most people on the shoulder and advises them it might not be worth the hassle. It's what the companies rely on and expect. We have certain rights and expectations which only work if the retailer is fully compliant but they rarely are - particularly after a few years have past since they sold the product. In my opinion the best place to buy from is John Lewis and I promote them throughout my site. I wouldn't be daft enough to expect they are perfect, but I genuinely believe you are more likely to get your consumer rights from John Lewis than anywhere else.

These problems are amplified when dealing with white goods appliances, which we can't manage without and even a few days out of action can cause big problems. If they can sort out a repair asap you might want to give it a go but otherwise Siemens should be a much better machine than the Servis.

[loulou]

Can I just say THANK YOU for your advice on here.

If I hadn't read this site (and particularly your post about Servis going bust) I would've been another frustrated Servis customer throwing my machine out after not a lot of use.

The retailer is going to pay for the Engineer Report (as you said), and as the parts are either obsolete or very expensive, they'll probably give me a partial refund.

I'm very surprised but very happy that I got a positive outcome.

Don't know if you can comment on specific machines but I'm leaning towards the Siemens WM12P360GB 1200RPM

which has 5 years' Parts, Labour and Call-Out, as my next purchase.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Well John Lewis stock it with the free 5 year guarantee ( Siemens WM12P360GB Washing Machine ) Which gave it a decent review, not a Best Buy but it apparently washes pretty quick and has a good rinse. They say it's "noisy" on spin but I doubt it's genuinely noisy as such, just that some are even quieter. Siemens should be a decent brand to buy.

Please let us know if you get any compensation or a repair sorted out.

Which? trial offer

I've written a Washerhelp article exploring a great offer from Which? where you can research all purchases and see Best Buys as well as Don't Buy recommendations - Which? Special Offer page