Is my home suitable for a stove
How big does the stove need to be
Woodburning, Multi-fuel.
What's the difference
Which Fuel is best
Can I burn coal
I live in a smoke control
area
What is EN13240 & Does it affect
me
Where can I buy wood
Which type of wood is best
Cast Iron or Steel - Which
is best
Why should my chimney be
lined
What is "Airwash"
What is "Cleanburn"
What is HETAS and how does it affect
me
What size of flue do I need
I have not got a chimney
What clearances do I need around the
stove
Do I need a hearth
Who should fit it, can I
fit it myself
Do I need to inform the
Local Council
Is it safe to buy on the Internet |
Is it safe to buy a stove
on the Internet? NO! IT IS NOT!!
Okay, so we are
a Specialist, Hetas Registered, Stove Showroom offering
the full service and could be seen to be biased. However,
we get feedback from abandoned buyers and the
manufacturers who are being swamped with pleas for help
from internet buyers.
We find it
staggering that people will spend huge amounts of money
on something as technical and potentially lethal as a
woodburning stove, from someone without an address or
even a land-line telephone.
Listed below are
some of the issues we have experianced.
- Not one of the
manufactures listed on our Stoves
Homepage
sanctions discounted Internet selling.
- Any of
our stoves listed at discounted prices are being
offered by rogue non-authorized dealers.
- Our
manufacturers are taking legal action to remove
their products / images from rogue traders'
websites.
- The
guarantee is supported by the Authorized Dealer not
the manufacturer.
- Websites
may claim that warranty issues are handled by the
manufacturer. The manufacturers have no
responsibility to you, the end user, that
is down to the selling retailer.
- Websites
appear and disappear faster than double-glazing
companies and for the same reason - "If you
can't find us again, you can't give us your
problems".
- For
the same reason, Internet stoves may arrive with
serial numbers erased and data plates removed -
to hide the identity of true supplier.
- Some
websites have addresses which are merely
accomadation addresses many miles from the actual
supplier - See the theme developing here?.
- Lists
of "Qualified Fitters" often turn out
to be spurious. We get many calls from desperate
internet buyers looking for installers.
- Obsolete
stoves and foreign sourced stoves are traded on
the internet. These may look the same but not be
supported in the UK. This will only be exposed
the first time parts are needed, resulting in the
stove becoming worthless.
- There
are cases where totally unsuitable stoves have
been bought from websites due to the absence of
qualified advice.
- Cheap
deals on the internet often involve sub-standard
parts which look just like the real thing.
- There
is cheap foreign flue pipe supplied
"free" on the internet, looks the same,
but half the thickness of British
products - this is a major safety issue!
- Cheap
flue-liner commonly sold on the internet falls
apart during installation.
- Weren't
told you needed a liner? Should have gone to a
registered showroom!
- Stoves
damaged in transit, broken glass, chipped enamel,
missing parts, all can result in grief for the
buyer, whereas if bought from an approved dealer,
should be little more than a minor inconvenience.
- If you
do buy on the Internet, who are you
going to get to fit it, bearing in mind Hetas
regulations? We, like most showrooms, will not
touch Internet stoves under any circumstances.
Have a look at Our
Internet Policy.
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