Range Cooker Buying Guides
Faulty Cooker Consumer Rights: 30 Days, 6 Months, 6 Years
By the Hill & May team
Updated 2026
Your faulty cooker consumer rights come from the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and they are against the retailer who sold you the range cooker, not the manufacturer. There are three deadlines that matter: 30 days to reject a faulty cooker for a full refund, six months in which any fault is presumed to have been there from delivery, and six years (five in Scotland) to bring a claim. The maker’s warranty sits on top of these rights and never replaces them.
A range cooker is an awkward thing to return. It weighs well over 100kg, it is usually fitted by an engineer, and you may have used it daily for weeks before the fault shows. The Act deals with all of that, but the details decide whether you get a refund, a repair or an argument.
We read each section below on legislation.gov.uk on 17 October 2026. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.
What counts as faulty
The Act says goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. For a range cooker, that covers an oven that will not hold temperature, a hob burner that will not stay lit, an ignition that fails, a door that will not close properly, enamel that chips or crazes in normal use, or a cooker that does not match the spec you were sold (the wrong oven sizes, a hob without the burner you ordered).
It does not cover damage you caused, normal wear, or a problem with something you supplied yourself. Section 19(2) excludes faults that have their origin in materials supplied by the consumer.
The 30-day right to reject
Within 30 days you can reject a faulty cooker and get a full refund. No repair attempt first, no deduction for the use you have had. You just have to make it clear to the retailer that you are rejecting it: saying so, or putting it in writing, is enough.
When the 30 days start matters for a range cooker. Section 22(3) starts the clock on the day after the last of these has happened:
- you own the cooker,
- it has been delivered, and
- if the retailer’s contract includes installing it, the retailer has told you installation is complete.
So if the shop installs the cooker a fortnight after delivery, your 30 days run from the installation, not from the day it arrived on a pallet.
Agreeing to a repair pauses the clock. If you ask for or agree to a repair or replacement inside the 30 days, the time stops for the “waiting period” until you get the cooker back. If the repaired or replacement cooker is still faulty, you have the rest of your original period, or seven days, whichever is later, to reject it.
Once you reject, the retailer must refund you within 14 days of agreeing you are entitled to it, using the same payment method, and cannot charge a fee for the refund. They also have to bear the reasonable cost of collecting it, which for a range cooker means they arrange the two-person collection.
Six months: one repair or replacement, at no cost
After 30 days you can still have the cooker repaired or replaced. The retailer must do it within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience to you, and pay all the costs, including labour and parts (section 23).
For the first six months from delivery, any fault is presumed to have been there on the day the cooker arrived (section 19(14)). You do not have to prove anything. It is for the retailer to show the cooker was fine when delivered, for example that the damage was caused by misuse.
The retailer can choose repair over replacement if replacing would be disproportionately expensive, and vice versa. In practice, most range cooker faults are fixed by a manufacturer’s engineer sent out by the retailer.
If the repair fails: refund or price reduction
You get a second chance at a refund if:
- one repair or one replacement has failed to fix the cooker,
- repair and replacement are both impossible, or
- the retailer has not repaired or replaced it within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience.
At that point you can choose the final right to reject (a refund) or keep the cooker with a price reduction. You can have one or the other, not both.
Deductions for use. If you use the final right to reject within six months of delivery, the retailer cannot take anything off your refund for the use you have had. After six months, they can make a deduction to reflect the use you have had from the cooker (section 24(8) to (10)).
One repair is enough. The Act counts a repair as attempted once the retailer has requested or agreed to it and given the cooker back, whether it was one fault or several.
After six months: the burden switches to you
From six months to six years after delivery you still have the right to a repair or replacement, then a refund or price reduction if that fails. The difference is proof. You now have to show the fault was there when the cooker was delivered, or that the cooker was not durable enough to last as long as a reasonable person would expect.
For a range cooker, durability is your best argument. A buyer can reasonably expect a cooker costing several thousand pounds to last many years, so a failed oven element or a cracked hob top in year three may well count. An independent engineer’s report saying the failure is a manufacturing defect, not wear or misuse, is what usually settles it.
The time limit to bring a claim is six years from delivery in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five years in Scotland. Citizens Advice’s faulty goods pages cover how to make the claim and set out template letters.
When the fault is the installation
This is the trap for range cookers. Section 15 says a cooker that the retailer installs, or arranges to install, and that is installed incorrectly, does not conform to the contract. But section 19(4) gives you a narrower set of remedies for that kind of fault: repair or replacement, then a price reduction or the final right to reject. There is no 30-day short-term right to reject for a fault caused by bad installation.
In practice, if the retailer’s fitter levelled the cooker badly, connected the gas wrong or left the flue faulty, you ask the retailer to put it right first. If the fitting was done by your own engineer or kitchen fitter, the claim for the installation is against them instead, under the Act’s rules for services, which require reasonable care and skill.
Gas range cookers must be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If anything about a fault involves a gas smell, turn the supply off at the meter and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 before you call the shop.
How this sits with the manufacturer’s warranty
The warranty is an extra promise from the maker. Your Consumer Rights Act rights are against the retailer and apply whether or not you register the cooker. So:
- In the first 30 days, use your right to reject or ask the retailer to repair. Do not let a shop pass you to the manufacturer’s helpline instead of dealing with it.
- During the warranty, booking the maker’s engineer is often the fastest fix, and doing so does not take away your statutory rights.
- After the warranty ends, your rights against the retailer continue for up to six years. A shop saying “it’s out of warranty” is not an answer to a fault that was there from delivery or that shows the cooker was not durable.
If you bought direct from the maker, for example from an Aga shop, the maker is also the retailer, so both sets of rights are against the same company. Registration deadlines and what each brand covers are on our range cooker warranty registration page, and the terms of Rangemaster’s promotion are covered in our Rangemaster 5-year warranty explainer.
If you paid by card
If you paid by credit card and the cooker cost more than £100 and not more than £30,000, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the card provider jointly liable with the retailer. That matters if the retailer refuses to help or goes out of business. If you paid by debit card, or on a credit card for part of a larger order, ask your bank about a chargeback; it is a card scheme rule rather than a legal right, and time limits apply.
How to make the claim
- Write it down. Note what is wrong, when it started and the delivery and installation dates. Photograph or film the fault.
- Contact the retailer, not just the maker. Say which right you are using: “I am rejecting the cooker under the Consumer Rights Act 2015” within 30 days, or “I require a repair under section 23” after that.
- Put it in writing if a phone call gets nowhere, and give a reasonable deadline, such as 14 days.
- Escalate. Use the retailer’s complaints process, then an approved alternative dispute resolution scheme if the retailer belongs to one, then the small claims court.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to reject a faulty range cooker? 30 days, starting the day after the cooker is yours, delivered and, if the retailer installs it, after they tell you installation is complete. In that time you can reject it for a full refund.
Can a shop refuse a refund and offer a repair instead? Not in the first 30 days, if the cooker itself is faulty. After 30 days, the retailer gets one chance to repair or replace before you can ask for a refund or price reduction.
Is the manufacturer or the retailer responsible for a faulty cooker? The retailer. Your Consumer Rights Act rights are against the business that sold you the cooker. The manufacturer’s warranty is extra cover on top.
What if my range cooker develops a fault after the warranty ends? You can still claim against the retailer for up to six years from delivery (five in Scotland), but after six months you need to show the fault was there from the start or that the cooker was not reasonably durable.
Does bad installation give me a right to reject? Not the 30-day right. If the retailer installed it badly, you can ask them to fix the installation or replace the cooker, then claim a price reduction or reject it if that fails.
Can the retailer deduct money from my refund for using the cooker? Not if you reject within the first 30 days, or use the final right to reject within six months of delivery. After six months, a deduction for use is allowed.
