Warranties ?

A couple of years ago we bought a water softener from Monarch Water, model 'Watersilk', costing about £500 plus fitting. We expected it to last many years. It had a 1 year warranty.

It started leaking a while ago, and as it started the problem before the year warranty ran out, they fixed it at no cost. The problem water pissing out of the overflow.
It has now started leaking again, and I'd like some advice as how to approach them for repair.

I know there has been a lot of talk lately that items such as TVs should have implied warranties for longer than the manufacturers state, but does this rule apply to our problem ?

Items like this should last for many years, and it was very expensive.


I am gonna contact the manufacturers, but wanna be fully armed when I speak to them.

is the device leaking, or the fittings?

Originally Posted by Yorick

A couple of years ago we bought a water softener from Monarch Water, model 'Watersilk', costing about £500 plus fitting. We expected it to last many years. It had a 1 year warranty.

It started leaking a while ago, and as it started the problem before the year warranty ran out, they fixed it at no cost. The problem water pissing out of the overflow.
It has now started leaking again, and I'd like some advice as how to approach them for repair.

I know there has been a lot of talk lately that items such as TVs should have implied warranties for longer than the manufacturers state, but does this rule apply to our problem ?

Items like this should last for many years, and it was very expensive.


I am gonna contact the manufacturers, but wanna be fully armed when I speak to them.

Have a search on here for the fairly recent thread on this (I think it was a TV that went phutt); there's a link I added to a BBC web page listing a load of details on this.

IIRC, essentially it has to last for a 'reasonable' time - up to 6 years. The later/older, the more likely you'll have to contribute to repair costs. How many is 'a couple' of years, exactly?

Originally Posted by Horse

How many is 'a couple' of years, exactly?

Almost exactly 2 years.

Normally repairs do not extend the warranty period so if you had it fixed a year ago you don't get another year's warranty after the repair.

The warranty itself should however be an extension to your statutory rights not the sole expression of them and it can't remove any rights. You do have the right to expect a certain amount of durability of an item however the older it gets the more it will be deemed to have been subject to fair wear and tear, particularly if the retailer can show it hasn't been subject to his recommended maintenance.

CAB (if you can still find one open) should be able to advise details but most likely if you can't agree something informally with the supplier the question is would it be worth you taking them to small claims.