Removing plug from an appliance.

[Jurassicspark]

Some of you might have read a thread where the OP was asking about cutting off a moulded plug tops from an oven.

I personally had been advised before by a few manufactures, in doing so would invalidate the warranty, another member had been told the exact opposite. There have been other threads about the subject, in recent times, where the predominant view was cutting off moulded plugs would not invalidate a manufactures warranty.

I have been told before that the warranty will not be invalidated as long as the plug is changed by a qualified electrician... (It might be because they might think if a "diyer or a handyman carried out the job they might have connect the terminals wrong and damage the oven.) Okay. Fair enough so how would the manufacturer know an electrician installed it? I would guess only by checking if the person had an EIC given by the electrician.

Depends on the manufacturer (if it was my choice) they might say that the designs of their products are made based on market preferences and have undergone series of tests and engineers. Thus, changing/altering parts of the unit will automatically void its warranty.

 

[Alec_t]

In the UK and Europe (at least), independent of any manufacturer's warranty you still have consumer rights regarding fitness for purpose of an appliance.

 

[ebee]

Nope.
Any warranty must be honoured, warranties are in addition to your ordinary rights. Providing the plug has been replaced properly it does not contribute to any failure by that fact alone.
In practice, you do sometimes find that a retailer/manufacturer will come up with absurd statements.
They are not permitted to wangle out of that one for such reason, either by warranty or normal rights.
They might try to suggest that but their argument would not be valid.
Ultimately you may even have to go to court to enforce your rights (county court is cheap and straightforward and is dealt with by a district judge or registrar). I have used that course a few times and never lost.
You just might mean you need to sometimes stand up for yourself.
Until a few years back, just a simple phone call to Trading Standards usually did it, nowadays it seems it`s citizens advice that does that bit.

One thing that might be reasonable, they might refuse to test/take it away for testing if it`s now attached by a FCU rather than a plug, that might be fair so you might need to disconnect then put a plug on it beforehand.

 

[Jurassicspark]

Any warranty must be honoured, warranties are in addition to your ordinary rights. Providing the plug has been replaced properly it does not contribute to any failure by that fact alone.

A warranty is in addition to (your) statutory rights and as such the manufacturer can impose certain criteria.

 

[Jurassicspark]

In practice, you do sometimes find that a retailer/manufacturer will come up with absurd statements.

If the manual says that removing the plug would void its warranty then why will someone look at the repair terms and conditions (when wishing to get it repaired) when its a warranty term that says the plug should not be cut off?

If the warranty says its void if you cut the plug off how exactly do you get them out to fix it under warranty when the warranty is something the manufacturer offers in addition to your actual rights? It's their choice at the end of the day and they did warn the customer beforehand. If they did not then that might have been a different dilemma.

 

[ebee]

A warranty is in addition to (your) statutory rights and as such the manufacturer can impose certain criteria.

yes but that would be an unfair contract therefore not allowed

 

[flameport]

If the manual says that removing the plug would void its warranty

Do you have any examples of instructions stating that?

 

[opps]

Do you have any examples of instructions stating that?

I have previously looked in to this. I have seen examples where someone, randomly, selected manufacturers and asked them the question. Most said that it would not invalidate the warranty, Samsung said it would.

As much as I respect @jurassic sparkk , I cannot find any evidence of a judge upholding those warranty disclaimers.

Manufacturer warranties are not a gift, they are contracts. Granted they may exceed a customer's "minimal" legal protections, but they are still legally binding.

 

[ebee]

exactly, and as such must not include unfair terms a conditions, like "the plug must not be changed"

One common example of an unfair term/condition I have seen in car parks (including council ones) is something like "We accept no liability for damage to customers property howsoever caused".

they have no legal ability to accept or not. if they are liable then they are liable, if they are not then they are not. simple really.
any clause that attempts to limit or exclude such claims then renders all other conditions invalid too and opens them up for litigation.
They are in fact liable for actions or omissions of themselves and their agents (example, their contractors), in fact if they charge you for say parking then must be able to show they took some reasonable action to look after your property over and above what might be expected if you are not charged for the service, each case has its own merits.

Any conditions, charges and penalties must be clearly displayed in order to apply too. This gives you the choice to accept them or not (get back into car and drive out).

Any condition that is ambiguous then invariably a court would decide to favour the weakest party to the contract (example, customer against insurance company, employee against employer etc etc), they will first endeavour to decide an exact actual meaning.

 

[RandomGrinch]

This was my take, when we went through this for the umpteenth time, not long ago!

Post in thread 'Hardwiring a one gang shortlength ( 1 ft approx) extending lead into a wall outlet' https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/...g-lead-into-a-wall-outlet.622342/post-5635989

There may be clauses within the warranty that could lead a manufacturer to void it, if the plug was removed.
However, our consumer rights would usually allow us to make a claim anyway, without even invoking the warranty.
In this case, it would be up to the manufacturer to prove that us changing the plug, caused detrimental harm to the product.

As I said in the earlier post - there are so many questions, just like this on Google, but no definitive answers.
However, I believe that there doesn't need to be a definitive answer; consumers will retain their rights whether they claim through the warranty, or not (although a bit more of a fight may be necessary, if not).

...and don't forget, warranties are a gamble with the odds stacked in favour of the manufacturer - if they offer you a five year warranty on a product, you know the MTTF isn't going to be four years!

IMHO, I believe its a non-issue, whether you decide to cut the plug off, or not.

 

[ebee]

yep but don`t forget, just because the manufacturer gives you a 12 months guarantee does not mean they limit any rights you have to 12 months, you might well have rights after that period, it depends upon types of goods. Example a TV set could easily have an expectancy of 3 years or 5 years life anyway so you might be due some recompense say for a half life after half a life etc etc . and white goods are 6 years (5 in Scotland) - they dont actually have to be white either, they could be grey or red example. Some retailer's/manufacturers might attempt to discourage you but the consumer groups can be pretty good, then county court. Actually, if you are insistent and show you mean business they usually they fold and at least meet you a good way to what you reasonably expect to chieve anyway. Be reasonable and polite but firm, become an annoying little twut at the same time, when they notice sales disappearing in front of their eyes it does sharpen their minds somewhat.