Simmering over a faulty gas hob complaint
QI PURCHASED a £90 Bush gas hob from Argos, paying an engineer to install it, but it had a faulty burner.
I followed the complaints procedure and an engineer came, who ordered a part.
The part never arrived. It seems that the model and its spare parts have been discontinued. The engineer did not appear again, despite several promises to visit my home.
Then, Bush said it would be late August for a replacement as there was no stock.
I still have to pay for removal of the faulty hob and installation of the replacement. Argos said it would pay but could not guarantee anything.
What are my rights? Paul D
AYOU have two interconnected problems. While the Consumer Rights Act gives you 30 days to reject goods as faulty, it was some two months between your purchase and its fitting into your new kitchen, as various other work had to be completed around it. This gave you fewer options.
You cannot take it back, because it is fixed to your worktop and gas – you would need one engineer to remove it and a second to replace it.
This puts you in a different position to someone who had, for instance, bought a faulty radio from a store – they’d use it within 30 days and be able to return it.
The good news is the other three burners worked so you could still cook – provided you did not need the broken simmer.
In addition, you ran into the difficulty of dealing with both Argos and Bush – often confusingly as there was no interaction between the two.
It’s best to stick to the retailer with whom you have a legal contract.
Argos agreed this was not satisfactory. If nothing else, this mix-up cost more than the value of a replacement and the expense of engineer visits.
It has now supplied a new hob – a more expensive model that has better features, and has agreed to pay reasonable (£75) costs for the swap-over, due in the next few days. Argos wanted clarity on that cost before agreeing to it.
This is a resolution which leaves you happy.
Argos says: “We’ve apologised to our customer for the delay, arranged to upgrade his hob and sent him a gesture of goodwill.”
The £30 Argos voucher should arrive with the cheque for the changeover costs.