Rust on Garage Door - Unfair Term in Ts and Cs?

[K4sper]

Forester1965 said:

K4sper said:

Warranty is a red herring.

Door is defective and you should be pursuing the vendor for a replacement under e.g. s.14 of the Sale of Goods Act

Consumer Rights Act.

Both

[Gareth79]

Also given it was presumably installed by them at the location within 3 miles of the sea, they should have highlighted such a significant exclusion and/or warned that it needed to be cleaned often. OP may well have decided to purchase a product better protected.

[Forester1965]

OP- what do you want from the supplier and how determined are you to get it?

[vaud]

Gareth79 said:

Also given it was presumably installed by them at the location within 3 miles of the sea, they should have highlighted such a significant exclusion and/or warned that it needed to be cleaned often. OP may well have decided to purchase a product better protected.

^^^ this

They should have pointed out a key clause. They are the experts. IANAL.

[OutInTheShed]

Is a bit of superficial rust a 'failure to be a door'?
Maybe it's OK if it doesn't rust right through in 3 years?
How long did cars used to have as a rust perforation warranty?
Should Newcastle get its money back on the Angel of the North? just a bit of surface rust!

Seriously, don't buy steel stuff and leave outdoors if you live near the sea.
GRP
Wood
Aluminium
Stainless or galvanised ar a push.

[Pica-Pica]

Mont Blanc said:

hidetheelephants said:

They won't warrant their doors installed within 3 miles of Teddington because of the fiercely corrosive atmosphere? My, what confidence they have in their product.

I have personally seen a 3.5 year old Porsche Boxster absolutely rotten underneath, and with rot starting to creep under the paint around all 4 wheel arches. The guy who had owned it from new lived on the coast, less than 1 mile from the shore, and the car was parked outside on his drive, not garaged, as it was his daily driver.

Do not underestimate how quickly things corrode if you are within a couple of miles of the sea. It is horrendous.

I live 600 metres from the sea, I don’t expect (and it hasn’t) my car to corrode that quickly, and it is kept outside.

[Fast and Spurious]

Is it too late to reject it?

[Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary]

Hi all, thanks for all the responses!

So, I am about 1 mile north of the sea, as the crow flies. I have just read all correspondence I've had from order placement to now.

All ordering was done via email, and payment was taken over the phone on a debit card (I had no credit card then).

Initially, a brochure was sent out via email which listed the main warranty exclusions of which this was NOT one of them. I've now found, in genuine small print, a "our full warranty terms can be found here at XYZ.com"

They came out to do a site survey, take measurements etc and discuss removal of the old door. No comment on location.

Order confirmed by me, invoice received etc. Paid

The fitters attended with me present, did the work (inc removing the old door which was heavily battered including full of holes, but not rusty!). They said all the warranty info would be emailed to me and left. No mention of said clause.

Warranty information emailed later that day.

Really, I'd like a door that doesn't rust so soon. My neighbour had a new garage door fitted sometime before we moved in in mid 2022 and it has zero rust and looks to be the same or similar make as ours. The fact that rust has come through from the spot welds (under the paint) on mine is my main concern!

I do feel like such an exclusion should be highlighted, reasonable or not. They were supposed to update me today on their decision, but they haven't.

Sadly, we were on a budget at the time, however (IMO) at just over £800 this still wasn't cheap for us. We simply couldn't afford a fancier door!

Edited by Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary on Tuesday 14th May 23:06

Edited by Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary on Tuesday 14th May 23:08

[Marcellus]

IIRC T&Cs cannot overrule statute.

The statute is that an item must be of satisfactory quality.

What's satisfactory? - it's what a reasonable person considers satisfactory for the items.

So, would a reasonable person think that it reasonable to expect a door not to show signs of rust within a year even if it were installed within 3miles of the coast? Probably!

[Griffith4ever]

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

Really, I'd like a door that doesn't rust so soon. My neighbour had a new garage door fitted sometime before we moved in in mid 2022 and it has zero rust and looks to be the same or similar make as ours. The fact that rust has come through from the spot welds (under the paint) on mine is my main concern!

I do feel like such an exclusion should be highlighted, reasonable or not. They were supposed to update me today on their decision, but they haven't.

Sadly, we were on a budget at the time, however (IMO) at just over £800 this still wasn't cheap for us. We simply couldn't afford a fancier door!

When I read "Really, I'd like a door that doesn't rust so soon. My neighbour had a new garage door fitted sometime before we moved in in mid 2022 and it has zero rust "

... I thought - I wonder if it was the same quality.

Then I read, "Sadly, we were on a budget at the time"

There you have it.

You live 1 mile from the sea, and you bought a cheap garage door. You should have bought the best you could get.

And you are suprised.

[Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary]

Griffith4ever said:

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

Really, I'd like a door that doesn't rust so soon. My neighbour had a new garage door fitted sometime before we moved in in mid 2022 and it has zero rust and looks to be the same or similar make as ours. The fact that rust has come through from the spot welds (under the paint) on mine is my main concern!

I do feel like such an exclusion should be highlighted, reasonable or not. They were supposed to update me today on their decision, but they haven't.

Sadly, we were on a budget at the time, however (IMO) at just over £800 this still wasn't cheap for us. We simply couldn't afford a fancier door!

When I read "Really, I'd like a door that doesn't rust so soon. My neighbour had a new garage door fitted sometime before we moved in in mid 2022 and it has zero rust "

... I thought - I wonder if it was the same quality.

Then I read, "Sadly, we were on a budget at the time"

There you have it.

You live 1 mile from the sea, and you bought a cheap garage door. You should have bought the best you could get.

And you are suprised.

I can pretty much guarantee my neighbours door will be virtually the same as ours, without question, given we've actually spoken about it before. And actually, we didn't go with the cheapest company to do this, we went with a company that appeared to have good reviews regarding their workmanship and quality. If I'd have chosen the cheapest, we'd have saved around £200!

However, my question isn't regarding my choice of doors or the budget we had at the time. My question was whether such an important term should've been highlighted before purchase.

[vaud]

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

However, my question isn't regarding my choice of doors or the budget we had at the time. My question was whether such an important term should've been highlighted before purchase.

I would say yes... "hey mr/mrs Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary, you have ordered a product that has some specific limitations in the warranty given where you live - can we have a call to discuss options?"

Opportunity for the company to upsell...

[Forester1965]

I think your strongest suit is that the goods are of unsatisfactory quality in terms of finish and durability (see s.9 Consumer Rights Acts 2015).

Whether it's worth fighting too hard or not depends on the money at stake and how you value your time.

[MYOB]

I understand the clause but I would expect this to apply beyond the one year. It’s completely unreasonable imo for rust to appear within a year even living by the sea. No matter on the price paid.

[NortonES2]

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

Now, I do live within three miles of the sea, but this clause was never pointed out to me directly at any point (yes I should've read it!) and I was only sent these after installation.

You are not alone
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c84z2jqpvpko

[Griffith4ever]

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

I can pretty much guarantee my neighbours door will be virtually the same as ours, without question, given we've actually spoken about it before. And actually, we didn't go with the cheapest company to do this, we went with a company that appeared to have good reviews regarding their workmanship and quality. If I'd have chosen the cheapest, we'd have saved around £200!

However, my question isn't regarding my choice of doors or the budget we had at the time. My question was whether such an important term should've been highlighted before purchase.

Fair enough - btw - paying with a debit card makes no odds - you are still protected over purchases of £50 or more.

[Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary]

Thanks for that Griffiths, wasn't aware of that!

Response now received. They are rejecting a claim under the warranty as the warranty paperwork (sent to me after installation!) says it's not covered due to our location. They have offered to send out a pot of touch up paint, which won't stop the rust coming through from the spot welds.

Plus, I've had a look at my neighbours garage door and it is an identical make and design to ours. Hers has a tiny bit of rust right at the top, but nothing on the spot welds or anywhere else and that's far older than ours.

So I will try and pursue this under S9 of the CRA 2015 as advised above.

[Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary]

So as I'm looking at pursuing the CRA 2015 angle, how would I justify the monetary figure if I was to go down the small claims court route? Obviously I just want the door replaced, but can I put the full purchase price of the door and fitting on a claim form?

Thanks!