Household claim worthwhile for an exploding cooker door?

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livEwirE

Registered User
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Hi all,

My wife and I have a free standing Zanussi induction cooker with a double oven, bought in 2019 so out of warranty - already confirmed with manufacturer. Cost was approximately €800. The other day about 20 mins after using the cooker the glass on the top oven door exploded all over my kitchen. We had been using the bottom over only. I must stress it did not fall off but actually exploded. I was in the room at the time so saw the whole thing. I took videos and photos I know I can get this glass replaced but my wife and I are not happy to use the cooker again at all!

Anyway, I've raised a claim on the house insurance. I contacted them and they said my excess is €250. My insurance premium is around €400. They advised it would affect my no claims bonus and my premium could increase. Expecting to be contacted by an assessor over the next few days

I'm wondering now is it worthwhile to continue with the claim or should we just accept it and buy a new cooker.

Would appreciate any advice thanks.
 
@ DannyBoyD, I reported it to the manufacturer but to be honest they didn't seem to care that much at all since it was out of warranty. They were not exactly shocked that it exploded. They advised they could replace the glass - call out €85 plus parts €85 approximately but we do not want to use the cooker again as we feel it is not safe!
 
I can't imagine it would be a good plan to lose a no claims bonus and take an increased premium for something like this plus affect your ability to change insurer/shop around on renewal as you will then have a claim record.

That said I would be happy to use oven again after replacing glass. I don't think it is that uncommon as their 'not exactly shocked' response would imply too! Probably not limited to that brand either, I presume it shattered into tiny pieces as in not actually shards of glass that you could cut yourself on?
 
livEwirE said:
They advised they could replace the glass - call out €85 plus parts €85 approximately but we do not want to use the cooker again as we feel it is not safe!
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Surely their replacement of the glass would be to a high standard? For €170, I'd be taking the chance. Unless it's a known fault, I'd have no problem with replacement glass.

I certainly wouldn't be going through insurance. Not worth it. Replace glass or buy a new one (different make of course).
 
PaddyBloggit said:
Surely their replacement of the glass would be to a high standard? For €170, I'd be taking the chance. Unless it's a known fault, I'd have no problem with replacement glass.

I certainly wouldn't be going through insurance. Not worth it. Replace glass or buy a new one (different make of course).
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+1
You would expect the replacement glass will be of a higher quality, I would go down this road first too.
 
Cheers for all the feedback guys, its very much appreciated! I'm beginning to think the house insurance route is a waste of time and loosing our NCB and increasing our premium is not something that appeals.
 
livEwirE said:
Cheers for all the feedback guys, its very much appreciated! I'm beginning to think the house insurance route is a waste of time
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It's not. It would be very important if there was significant damage to or total destruction of the property - e.g. a house fire. Not to mention that it's generally required by the lender if the property is mortgaged. Claiming for small relatively low value incidents usually doesn't make sense as you'll generally be penalised by higher premiums going forward.
 
Who sold you the cooker, the retailer's name, not the manufacturer's? Your contract is with the retailer and under EU law guarantees and warranties are for 6 years, not just the manufacturer's 3.

Contact the retailer immediately to pursue your claim. If that claim fails, then small claims court, with a claim against the retailer as respondent.

I'm annoyed that in AAM long-standing contributors are still held in thrall by this "manufacturer's warranty." As consumers, EU consumer law is the gold standard consumer items are judged by/held to
 
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mathepac said:
Who sold you the cooker, the retailer's name, not the manufacturer's? Your contract is with the retailer and under EU law guarantees and warranties are for 6 years, not just the manufacturer's 3.
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Source?

That's totally at odds with our recent experience with a faulty dishwasher.
 
This?

Warranties - European Consumer Centre Ireland

Find out what guarantees and warranties are, and how they affect your consumer rights when purchasing goods within the EU.
www.eccireland.ie
Under Irish law, consumers have up to six years to seek redress for faulty or defective items (both new and second-hand).
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But then this seems to contradict that.
europa.eu

Consumer guarantees, warranties, claims and returns - Your Europe

Learn more about your after sales responsibilities, returns, legal guarantees, commercial warranties, and customer claims.
europa.eu europa.eu
You can also offer the consumer an additional commercial guarantee (warranty). This can either be included in the price of the product or at an extra cost. This warranty does not replace the legal guarantee, which is always a minimum of 2 years, and you must inform the consumer that this will not affect their right to the legal guarantee.
Click to expand...
 
mathepac said:
What was your experience?
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Our 5 year old Miele dishwasher failed and the cost of repair exceeded the cost of replacing it. So we bought a new one.

I'm interested in your source for your claim that:
mathepac said:
under EU law guarantees and warranties are for 6 years, not just the manufacturer's 3.
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This puzzles me as I've never heard it applying to cars for example.

Moreover, electrical stores will actually sell you extended warranties to cover a few years after the standard manufacturer's warranty expires.
 
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ClubMan said:
This?

Warranties - European Consumer Centre Ireland

Find out what guarantees and warranties are, and how they affect your consumer rights when purchasing goods within the EU.
www.eccireland.ie
Click to expand...

Statutory rights are provided for by legislation (Irish law and EU law as transposed in Ireland). These act as a kind of “legal guarantee”, entitling consumers to seek redress where an item is faulty. Consumers may rely on their statutory rights regardless of whether an item has a warranty or not.

  • Under Irish law, consumers have up to six years to seek redress for faulty or defective items (both new and second-hand).
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I suspect that "up to" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
 
Coming from someone who is terrified of broken glass because of splinters/cuts etc I would be inclined to give JOE ;) a shout just to see how many more doors have shattered. The company's lack of shock would make me wonder if its a regular occurrence. The mind boggles at the thought that there might have been a few people in the room at the time of the glass flying around :(
 
Sue Ellen said:
Coming from someone who is terrified of broken glass because of splinters/cuts etc I would be inclined to give JOE ;) a shout just to see how many more doors have shattered. The company's lack of shock would make me wonder if its a regular occurrence. The mind boggles at the thought that there might have been a few people in the room at the time of the glass flying around :(
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Joe my nelly. The glass was most likely screwed on too tightly.
 
T McGibney said:
Our 5 year old Miele dishwasher failed and the cost of repair exceeded the cost of replacing it. So we bought a new one.

I'm interested in your source for your claim that:

This puzzles me as I've never heard this applying to cars for example.

Moreover, electrical stores will actually sell you extended warranties to cover a few years after the standard manufacturer's warranty expires.
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Unfortunate for you with the law on your side.

You have the source and have quoted it

The fact that the SIMI and its membership try to minimize consumer rights doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

More stuff for SIMI members to pay the sales team commission on and fatten their own profits at a cost to their customer, and obfuscating SIMI responsibilities.
 
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