Well, after almost daily emails back and forth with the seller continuing to refuse to refund me without me sending them back to China (at my own cost), despite me buying them from a UK-based website, they have finally caved. Probably more because they were sick of hearing from me rather than my compelling arguments...
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused. In light of this, I will go ahead and process your refund right away. Please allow some time for the amount to reflect in your account, as this may vary depending on your bank or payment provider.
Winner winner tofu dinner. It's probably cost them more in man-hours dealing with you than the thing is worth. Good work.
Yep – I must admit I almost gave up myself at the weekend, but then I thought 'stuff it, let's continue to hound them' 🙂
Another consumer rights question;
My Hoover washing machine was repaired two weeks ago (at which point it was under 6 months old). The problem was a faulty water inlet valve which the "engineer" said was a common fault. So common in fact that from my description of the symptoms he had the part in hand when he rang the doorbell...
It is now experiencing the same symptoms which started after less than a week. I have a repair booked for today so I'm expecting to get another new valve. How many times do I have to accept this as a solution before I can request a refund? I bought it from John Lewis and the first repair was booked through them, the second I went straight to Hoover.
^^^ My experience of John Lewis – TV, but a similar issue with a common fault on that particular set – was three repairs (taking over a week each time) and my having to get very arsy with Customer Services before they gave me a full refund. It was a shame as John Lewis used to have such a good reputation for their returns policy and, in fact, it was the exact reason I had actually bought the TV from them.
My Hoover washing machine
I don't really need to read much further. After having major issues with both Hoover and Hoover CS I have made it my mission to never have another piece of their equipment and to advise anyone I speak to of the same.
To the point of the OP (v3) - yes, JLP CS has gone downhill but IME they still know what is what. Used to be no quibbles, now you probably need to advise them of your rights as per Johndoh before they will agree but my advice is to force it, and get rid of that Hoover POS ASAP and get ANYTHING* else.
Re rights; this paste is 4 years old but don't think legislation has changed - but after ONE repair attempt if the same issue arises you can reject. So, get on with it rather than endless faffing about when the actual solution, in case I didn't mention it, is to get rid of that POS.
* their repair efficiency was so crap I bought a genuine POS, rusty as hell, basic machine for £20 from FB marketplace while they were buggering about replacing the same part time and again. And that ran without a murmur far better than the Hoover and is still in my shed as a backup now. Last used by my neighbour when her machine died. It's the cockroach of machines, way better than any extended warranty.
Another consumer rights question;
My Hoover washing machine was repaired two weeks ago (at which point it was under 6 months old). The problem was a faulty water inlet valve which the "engineer" said was a common fault. So common in fact that from my description of the symptoms he had the part in hand when he rang the doorbell...
It is now experiencing the same symptoms which started after less than a week. I have a repair booked for today so I'm expecting to get another new valve. How many times do I have to accept this as a solution before I can request a refund? I bought it from John Lewis and the first repair was booked through them, the second I went straight to Hoover.
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but your contract of sale is with the retailer, not the manufacturer, so it might complicate things if you've now gone direct to manufacturer, as you're not technically thier customer.
So you'd have to rely on manufacturer warranty rather than consumer rights?
FWIW, now have a Samsung which touch wood has been excellent, apart from it sends me a text to say it's finished AND plays a ridiculously long tune to make the point, the needy little bastard. I'm sure I can turn it off, but because it's 'SMART' it means I have to access the app and account and god knows what else. Shed machine just finishes and then sits patiently like a faithful old dog waiting for you to decide when the appropriate time to unload it is. I love shed machine.
An different "engineer" has just been and done the sum total of eff all. He listened to the noise and claimed my water pressure was too high and there was nothing wrong with the machine, despite the noise clearly coming from inside the machine. I showed him the water pressure from the kitchen tap (fed from the mains right by the WM feed) and "high" is not a word you could use to describe the pressure there and he just shrugged his shoulders. He fiddled with the tap under the sink which reduced the noise, said there was nothing else he can do and left.
Before the first visit I tried closing the tap under the sink, which initially reduced the noise but over time it increased again. I also fitted an anti-water hammer device which made no difference.
Not sure if this has anything to do with it but when I bought a new washing machine last year it was making a hell of a noise when the water was running. I took the hose off and there was a plastic 'thing' inside the hose that I hadn't seen before. It looked like I could probably just pull it out with a pair of pliers but since the hose came with the machine and it was new I called the shop who sent a guy.
The guy then used a pair of pliers to pull the plastic 'thing' out.
I asked him what it was and he just shrugged and said, 'The hoses come with that now and sometimes it causes problems.'
I looked online but I could find nothing to explain what the thing was or why it sometimes needed to be removed.
Not sure if this has anything to do with it but when I bought a new washing machine last year it was making a hell of a noise when the water was running. I took the hose off and there was a plastic 'thing' inside the hose that I hadn't seen before. It looked like I could probably just pull it out with a pair of pliers but since the hose came with the machine and it was new I called the shop who sent a guy.
The guy then used a pair of pliers to pull the plastic 'thing' out.
I asked him what it was and he just shrugged and said, 'The hoses come with that now and sometimes it causes problems.'
I looked online but I could find nothing to explain what the thing was or why it sometimes needed to be removed.
No return valve maybe? or just some packaging for shipping to stop anything getting into the hose? dunno, just guessing.
Post a pic here: https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/
Someone will know, I guarantee it!
No return valve maybe? or just some packaging for shipping to stop anything getting into the hose? dunno, just guessing.
Yeah, that's what I thought. I read the instructions and there was no mention of removing it though, even though this is the hose that came with the machine.
I also asked the help desk when I called if I could just remove but they said to just wait for the technician to have a look.
If it's still where I left it I might just post a picture on reddit. I am notoriously crap at throwing things out 🙂
He listened to the noise and claimed my water pressure was too high and there was nothing wrong with the machine
Is there anything in the instructions or product specification that confirms the operating range of the machine? It is very easy to do a calculation of your mains water pressure.
Back on the OP, I didn't watch it but I did see that the consumer rights segment of Wednesday's "The One Show" covered the increasing number of people ordering cheap **** and trying to return it then being horrified when asked to ship it to China
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002cslf/the-one-show-28052025
The plastic "thing" sounds like a filter. Plastic disc with holes and a raised cross on the front?
As for the washing machine, within six months you have to give John Lewis one chance to fix it and if they can't you're entitled to a full refund. I wouldn't mention the Hoover engineer's visit at all, just go back to JL and tell them it's broken again and you want your money back.
It was just a flat plastic disc that restricted (but didn't stop) the water flow. And made a hell of a noise when water was flowing past it.
Pass, dunno then.
The plastic "thing" sounds like a filter. Plastic disc with holes and a raised cross on the front?
As for the washing machine, within six months you have to give John Lewis one chance to fix it and if they can't you're entitled to a full refund. I wouldn't mention the Hoover engineer's visit at all, just go back to JL and tell them it's broken again and you want your money back.
Yeah this sounds like the best course of action.
He listened to the noise and claimed my water pressure was too high and there was nothing wrong with the machine
Is there anything in the instructions or product specification that confirms the operating range of the machine? It is very easy to do a calculation of your mains water pressure.
Yes there is and I've got a gauge coming tomorrow to check it.
