“6 year” electrical products warranty
I’ve had an issue crop up regarding a uk law which apparently states that electrical products should be expected to last 6 years and that if a premature failure can be proved that it was caused by a design issue or manufacturers error the consumer is entitled to a partial refund.
As far as I’m concerned amazons policy is 2 years and the customer needs to go to the manufacturer after this however I’m being told that this is the retailers responsibility to deal with. A bit of research I’ve done is swinging towards the fact that if a customer can prove a product has gone faulty because of a manufacturing defect I am liable to repair/replace or refund the consumer.
In context a customer bought a bean to cup coffee machine for £400 (RRP of £700) 3 and half years later it fails in a way that is clearly not the customers fault but a failure of a seal from one of the pumps. Duty cycle of the machine is 15,000 and has done 3500 cycles, manufacturers warranty expired after 2 years.
Does this also extend to non electrical goods?
39 replies
Seller_72Sy9T6sEfmjl
If you plug the machine into the electricity for it to work then it’s an electrical good. If you don’t then it’s not an electrical good.
Most bean to cup machine (actually all) that I know of uses electricity so they are electrical goods and the 6 year liability applies.
Seller_8LCyd5Oq1tcmj
The law is a EU law, not just UK.
Part of it (to my knowledge) covers general common sense.
Such as if you paid £400 for a coffee maker, would it be reasonable to expect it to last more than 3 and a half years.
Its very difficult for a customer to prove and as a manufacturer/retailer you would reject the warranty claim as standard because it’s outside of the stated warranty of 2 years.
There are so many reasons electrical appliances can fail which can be put to owners/user mistreatment.
A good example of warranties is Apple iPhones. 2-year warranty unless you buy an extended warranty. The theory that every electrical appliance automatically has a 6 year warranty is flawed, as it defeats the object of extended warranties etc.
The above is only my opinion, I’m not a lawyer. I have tried to argue this before with a washing machine that broke after 3 years (Hotpoint) and got no where with it. They rejected my arguement & i am not a engineer to prove it was poorly manufactured.
Seller_z6B2L9xab6HlP
That doesn’t necessarily mean that it was faulty when it was delivered. Seals (and other flexible/rubber components) often have a time limit as well as a duty limit. As an example car tyres are expected to last 20k miles or 5 years, whichever comes first.
I’d contact the manufacturer and see whether they can offer a repair. As far as I’m aware the retailer has to act as the middle man between the customer and the manufacturer - but a lot of customers are happy to deal with the manufacturer directly themselves.
Seller_r7SzViEUCuDPM
It’s not just electrical goods it most things.
It has to be ‘fit for purpose’ and test cases have ranged from ball point pens to white goods to expensive wristwatches etc.
Bases upon test cases the norm for white goods is 6 years.
Seller_T1hNAspnBn0vV
Wow, thanks for all the responses! Amazon have been so unhelpful with this one, I’ve just been told that amazon policies override U.K. law, which is worrying. I’ll get in touch with the manufacturer and see where they want to go with this.
Once again, thank you for all the responses 
Seller_72Sy9T6sEfmjl
This is basically the situation.
Legally under EU law all goods must come with a 2 year warranty
The 6 year rule is not a legal right to refund etc it is the time limit at which the customer loses the right to take legal action.
At any time up to the 6 year limit a customer can take legal action to get a replacement or refund as long as they can demonstrate the item is not fit for purpose.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/little-known-eu-law-gives-8586685
So using the coffee machine example. If I ran a bargain basement shop and sold a coffee machine for £20 and the customer came back 5 years later because the machine had stopped working demanding a refund I would take my chance in court.
The customer would have to show a design or manufacturing fault that a reasonable person would deem make the item not fit for purpose. I would happily argue the case of a £20 coffee machine lasting 5 years and giving good service was fit for purpose.
If I ran a boutique houseware shop and sold a £700 coffee machine that was well within it’s service cycle and an integral part of the machine gave way during that cyale than I would not be as confident in fighting the claim in court. I would get the machine repaired and pass the cost onto the manufacturer if it was a genuine fault.
Seller_LXQOmmt8kqH2J
I think that this is not a warranty thing, but a contract issue…
It’s ages since I read up on this (Consumer Law is ***ing tedious!), but from memory one has a statutory 1-year warranty. As has been stated, a product must be of merchantable quality, fit for purpose, and whathaveyou. However, as has also been stated, one may reasonably expect that a product may work perfectly for longer the more that one pays for it, and so a £1,000 washing machine should work without problems for longer than a £250 washing machine.
That doesn’t mean that the warranty is six years (although some manufacturers do offer long warranties - Dyson offers 5 years on new products, for example); - it means that when one contracts for a £1,000 washing machine, the issue of merchantable quality features as a term of the contract. Why is that important? Well, the statutory limit of liability in contract is six years - in other words if somebody (the retailer, in this case), breaches the contract (by selling a product that is not of merchantable quality), then the consumer has six years from the date that one might reasonably have become aware of the breach (ie, when the product breaks down), to bring legal proceedings. On that basis, liability may well extend beyond six years.
Now, I ought to say that it’s several years since I read up on this, and the rather vague explanation that I’ve given above may have been firmed up a bit with some case law, but I’m damned if I’m going to research it again!
Seller_9XWqPGRXeAg4Q
And if the was probable cause was limescale. Then what ?
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
When talking about Amazon’s approach, in a practice, they will allow you to deny all returns requested past the 30 days mandatory returns period. In case of a potential A-Z claim, it will get denied with a good representation.
If the buyer then appeals the decision quoting the law, which is more generous than the Amazon’s policy, the claim will be normally funded by Amazon, as long as you have a good performance history and you aren’t getting claims like this too often.
Also, A-Z claims can’t be opened after more than 6 months past the order date, so no buyer would be able to force you into a refund through Amazon once this deadline expires.
Seller_wRGBSSwJnzaDE
I suspect the price difference affects not the longevity of an item so much as the finesse with which it carries out its intended task.
