"Bill Wright" wrote in message
news
The new freezer came with an envelope containing the instructions
and so forth. There was a large label on the bag: REGISTER NOW!"
This would 'activate the free one year guarantee'. This seems to do
no more than duplicate our statutory rights. In the bag was a glossy
brochure offering 'Peace of mind'. Peace of mind is worth a lot so I
read on. It turned out that the peace of mind was limited to not
worrying about the freezer breaking down. But it was so cheap! The
three year plan was only £77! But hang on a minute! The first year
is definitely covered by the normal warranty (and if the freezer
died during the subsequent months I'd be looking at my consumer
rights, since it is not a budget freezer.) And the £77 is not a
one-off payment; it is (as the tiny print implies but doesn't
explicitly state) an annual payment. So for £231 I would get
warranty for years two and three. And the price could increase: "We
reserve the right to alter the fee..." If payment is by direct debit
there's a £10 per annum reduction, presumably because you would
continue to pay during the second and third years without really
being aware of it.
The warranty includes 'damage caused accidentally' (I just can't
imagine a likely scenario that would lead to a claim, having read
through the exclusions) but not the cost of spoiled food if the
freezer breaks down or there's a power cut. If the freezer is a
write-off during the warranty period and a new one is supplied the
customer would have to pay delivery charges, install the machine
themselves, and dispose of the old machine at their own cost.
£231 would go a long way towards the cost of a replacement freezer.
That would be with a statutory warranty of at least twelve months.
My experience of white goods extended warranties is that if the item
breaks down you have to wait hours for the phone to answer, then
jump through hoops during a very long phone call, then the repair
man comes many days later. We once had to wait ten working days
without a washing machine. That hardly brings peace of mind. It's
better to use a trusted local repair man. My experience of that is
that the phone call lasts two minutes, he comes the next day, and he
charges SFA.



Maybe I'm wrong but I thought under EU law any appliance had to have
a minimum two year guarantee. Certainly anything like a FF bought from
John Lewis gets a minimum of two years.

Add to that that the 'life expectancy' of a major appliance is
considered to be of the order of six years and you would certainly
have a strong has under the CRA if it failed much before that and had
not been abused.

Mind you try telling that to an irk in Expensive World!


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com