I have a Neff oven. It was new four years ago but only installed last year (and stored in the meantime) when I had a new kitchen fitted. At the weekend while using the grill, the glass shattered. I have small children who were in shock with the commotion and noise of an explosion. I ended up with a piece of glass in my foot. The product was obviously unsafe. Neff said they will replace the door but will only pay for parts and I will have to pay for labour, because it’s out of warranty. In my view the warranty is irrelevant, the product is unsafe and Neff should want to replace this to prevent a potentially more serious injury next time. The response was the same from head office – it’s out of warranty and therefore I must pay a callout charge for them to replace the glass. Can you help, please?
SH, Mitcham, Surrey
Neff disputes that it was a manufacturing fault and says it has offered to provide a replacement door and parts free – though you would still have to pay for labour.
A Neff spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear the oven door glass in SH’s oven has failed. Although the product is now outside of our two-year warranty, we have offered to provide the replacement parts free of charge as a goodwill gesture.
“The glass fitted to all our ovens meets current safety standards. Whilst we cannot determine the cause of the break, our offer to supply the replacement parts free of charge to SH remains.”
Chris Haan, a solicitor in Leigh Day’s consumer law and product safety team, said the main issue is whether the breakage was caused by a manufacturing fault or something else, and that may be difficult to prove. “This was a rare and shocking experience and it’s perhaps surprising that the manufacturer has not simply offered to cover the full cost of repairing the oven as a goodwill gesture,” he said. We don’t think Neff will improve its offer, so your options are to pay the labour costs or buy a different brand of oven.
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