Margaret’s hob trouble was a shattering experience
WHEN you buy an item online, what rights do you have?
Are they the same as you could expect if you bought at your local shop? Or do other forces come into play?
Margaret Robertson, of Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham, had a voyage of discovery round all of these questions when she bought a gas hob with a tempered glass cooktop on eBay.
The sale went through on January 16 and the hob was fitted in mid-February.
On May 1, however, the glass surface of the hob, below the burners, shattered.
Margaret says the appliance had barely been used – she often cooks with a steamer or her slow cooker – and there was only one pan on the gas at the time.
Pieces of glass flew across the room and hit Margaret’s husband Bill on the back, although he wasn’t injured.
Margaret and Bill weren’t pleased. They wanted this fixed.
The manufacturer, Millar GB, told Margaret that its glass hobs were covered by a five-year warranty.
However, the actual glass is only covered for one month after installation.
Margaret was adamant she wouldn’t have bought any item, online or otherwise, if she’d known it had a guarantee of only one month.
She decided to get in touch with Raw Deal.
We contacted Millar GB to discuss the sharp problem of exploding hobs.
The company was extremely surprised to hear about this, as it had never before heard of such a thing happening.
However, they got cooking and came up with a recipe to fix things. A company spokesperson said: “As a manufacturer we like to offer the best possible products to our customers.
“When dealing with fragile products, sometimes these things cannot be helped.”
As a gesture of good will, Millar GB offered Margaret a choice. It would fit a new piece of glass free of charge or supply a whole new hob free, but which would have to be fitted (these jobs must be undertaken by a Gas Safe Registered Installer).
Margaret and Bill opted for the new hob and had it fitted themselves.
A very happy Margaret wrote to us to say: “What we tried to do for six weeks, you managed in less than six days.
“A great big thank you to Raw Deal and also to your fantastic newspaper, which my husband and I have read all of our lives – and we’re no spring chickens!”