Rejecting plant/machinery
Discussion
Does anyone have any experience of problems with plant machinery that will not work and has on going problems? Without too much detail I have a 1 year old machine purchased direct from the dealer, well known yellow brand from the UK not a Chinese heap. The machine has done very low hours and is one year old, for the past month the machine has not done 1 days work due to a reoccurring electrical fault, supposedly caused by water ingress. The fitters have been out 5+ times and the machine has been away to their workshops for over a week with no replacement provided. The fitters was last out on Christmas eve as the machines was again broken but also making a high pitched beep so very annoying to leave over Xmas. The machine is again now broken down in a field and immobile, so just looking for any advice before I call them tomorrow. To give an idea of hours used we are in double digits so anyone in the know will know on a site that's 2 weeks from new!
sfella said:
Does anyone have any experience of problems with plant machinery that will not work and has on going problems? Without too much detail I have a 1 year old machine purchased direct from the dealer, well known yellow brand from the UK not a Chinese heap. The machine has done very low hours and is one year old, for the past month the machine has not done 1 days work due to a reoccurring electrical fault, supposedly caused by water ingress. The fitters have been out 5+ times and the machine has been away to their workshops for over a week with no replacement provided. The fitters was last out on Christmas eve as the machines was again broken but also making a high pitched beep so very annoying to leave over Xmas. The machine is again now broken down in a field and immobile, so just looking for any advice before I call them tomorrow. To give an idea of hours used we are in double digits so anyone in the know will know on a site that's 2 weeks from new!
What warranty did it come with? sfella said:
3 years manufacturers warranty, fault reported within the 1st year, the machine has just gone into the 2nd year but by a matter of days
Have you spoken to the manufacturer? They might refer you straight back to the dealer but they might actually do something if they care about their reputation.Failing that, as you're a business, Consumer Rights Act doesn't apply but that doesn't stop you sending them a recorded delivery snotogram telling them to fix it properly or you'll be returning it for a refund of the whole cost less whatever small value you've had out of it, or you'll see them in court.
ElectricPics said:
Failing that, as you're a business, Consumer Rights Act doesn't apply
Almost certainly true but, assuming so, the Sale of Goods Act does, which implies very similar terms regarding product quality into B2B contracts for the sale of goods. However, OP, one of the differences between the two regimes is that there's much greater scope for the seller to exclude/modify the statutory terms in the B2B scenario by means of the terms of the contract. Said terms might just be the seller's standard terms of business. You need to check those carefully for relevant content, particularly anything they say about what you have to do if there is a problem (e.g. notifying them within a certain time) and do your best to follow their requirements. If you find something in there that throws a massive spanner in the works for you don't give up, though - contract terms can only exclude liability for quality issues to the extent that it's reasonable to do so (i.e. just because it says something in the contract, it doesn't necessarily mean that thing is something the seller can enforce).
Whether or not you are legally entitled to reject the goods will be a complex question which you would need to take proper legal advice on. Guessing that there are probably significant sums at stake, I'd suggest taking advice now could be money well spent.
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