Encouraged by your column’s coverage of a faulty Ikea kitchen, I write as a peeved and frustrated owner of an induction hob that has failed completely and had repairs that fall way short in efficiency.
We have a Rangemaster cooker with five induction plates – all of which suddenly stopped working in mid-January, two months after the manufacturer’s warranty ran out. However, we had taken an extended warranty with HomeServe, which sent repairers from a partner company.
But, even after all the circuit boards have been replaced, the induction hobs are still not working. The partner seems reluctant to advise on the technical problems encountered by the engineers, leaving us waiting with a non-functioning cooker.
I am at a loss what to do next.
JB, Witham, Essex
We receive numerous complaints from readers who find it difficult to make claims against manufacturers’ routine “free” guarantees – and the kind of extended warranties via a third party which you took out are typically expensive and of limited value.
Warranties vary – they offer different protection, from the most basic cover to comprehensive – and usually have exclusions that set limits on what you receive.
Your problem centred not around arranging the necessary follow-up repairs for your cooker, but Rangemaster’s failure to provide technical support to the company that would be carrying them out.
When we contacted Rangemaster, we were surprised that it chose to distance itself, saying in a statement: “Rangemaster always supports its customers as proactively as possible, however, as the cooker in question is out of warranty and as the extended warranty was taken out with a third party, Rangemaster is not under a legal obligation to provide direct support to the customer.
Nevertheless, it does expect any third parties to provide a satisfactory level of support under an extended warranty and therefore, in this instance, Rangemaster is liaising with the third party to rectify the issue.”
To help you quickly, Rangemaster got in touch with Repaircare (the company contracted to complete the repairs by HomeServe) and arranged a further visit the next day.
The job has been completed to your satisfaction (presumably because the repairers this time had the necessary technical information) and your cooker is working.
However, we think it is important to point out to other readers that, even when a manufacturer’s guarantee has expired, consumers still have rights under the Sale of Goods Act, for up to six years – but only against the retailer, not the manufacturer.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
