PROOF OF EVIDENCE

DELIA RECORD of ‘The Willows’, Trenchard , Drive, Macclesfield, will say—

On 5 August 2023 my husband Charles and I went into the Macclesfield branch of
Hartington Cookers Limited on Main Street. Hartington Cookers is a very old-
established firm. I wanted to buy a ceramic hob. We spoke to a salesman wearing
the name badge ‘Christopher’. I do not know his second name.

Christopher showed us the various models which were on display. We were there for
about half an hour. I did most of the talking. Eventually I decided on the Maxiflex PL
640 model. They did not have that particular model in stock, but Christopher said
they could deliver it in three weeks. I said that ideally, I wanted it by 23 August as I
was planning a birthday party for my husband, with friends and family, to take place
on 28 August. Christopher made a phone call and then said he could deliver on 26
August, but that was the earliest possible day.

We agreed to delivery on 26 August, and Charles wrote out a cheque for £150 on
our joint account. That was a deposit. The full price was £427.00. It was agreed that
the balance would become payable later, but I cannot remember whether I paid this
and am unable to check at present because I have misplaced the cheque book for
our joint account.

Much to my relief, the hob did arrive on the morning of 26 August and was put into
place in the kitchen, ready to be installed and connected to the electricity supply.

The following morning (27 August), the hob was installed. I got our friend Jeff
Robinson to do this. He is a qualified electrician with 25 years’ experience. It took
him about an hour. After he left I switched on one of the rings to boil some
vegetables. Immediately there was a loud sort of crackling sound and a very nasty
smell. I switched it off straight away and called out for my husband. He switched it on
again and found that although the two smaller rings were still working the two larger
rings appeared to have ‘blown’.
I was terribly upset. I needed the hob in full working order to prepare an extensive
range of food for the birthday party the following night. We had eight people coming
(making ten in all).

I rang Hartington’s straight away and spoke to Christopher. He said that he would
send an electrician out on Saturday (29 August). I told him that was ridiculous as he
knew I wanted the cooker so I could prepare food for the birthday party on 28th.
Reluctantly he agreed to come out within an hour. He turned up on my doorstep at
about 2pm with a very young electrician. They attempted to get the hob working for
about half an hour, but I could see they had not got a clue what was wrong. Instead
they attempted to put the blame on Jeff Robinson who had installed the cooker. I
was sure Jeff knew what he was doing, and they were just making excuses for
defective goods which should never have left the factory.

I insisted that the hob should be repaired straight away. The electrician said he could
repair it but that he would have to invoice me for labour and materials, with a
minimum call-out charge of £40, and that in any case he would not be able to do the
job for another three days. He said he needed some spare parts.

I could not wait three days for the repair, with the birthday party the next evening. I
told them they could either repair it straightaway, free of charge, or I would get
somebody else to do it and send them the bill. Christopher said that was up to me,
but Hartington’s could not accept responsibility. At that point I asked them to leave.

Unsurprisingly, I could not find anyone to fix the hob at such short notice, and I
couldn’t get hold of Jeff. I looked on the internet and found a firm called
‘www.eatoutathome.com’ who provide a private catering service for dinner parties.
They were able to accommodate my request despite the problems with my hob, as
they had some equipment of their own for such emergencies.

The catering service provided delicious food at a cost of £35 per person and
included a complimentary table service. Unfortunately, one of the staff spilled wine
on the dining room carpet. I had to spend £55 getting the carpet in that room cleaned
in the following week.
In total the caterers cost me £350, which I paid them in cash, on the night.

I got hold of Jeff the following morning (29 August) and he came back to repair the
hob on the day after that. There was a defect in one of the plates, which had
overloaded the power supply and caused a ‘short circuit’. Jeff charged me for his
labour, because he had to drive over to Manchester to get two new plates. His
repairs, labour and materials, cost me £224, which I paid Jeff, again in cash. I
thought it was very reasonable considering all the trouble he went to, and I don’t
think Jeff charged me for the full cost of his labour.

I am very disappointed with Hartington Cookers. I am certainly not going to pay them
any more money. I am not going to be out of pocket over this.

When Christopher and the electrician came they left behind part of the instructions,
which I have attached* to this statement I am not sure they help very much, as they
seem to be written in some Scandinavian language. I do not have any other
documents. We did not sign a written order form in the showroom, only the
documents to open the credit account.