A BASINGSTOKE man is steaming after his bid to replace a faulty kettle fell foul of the fact that the store he bought it from had gone into administration.

Lincoln Bachelor, 45, bought the Russell Hobbs kettle for £19.99 from Comet, in Winchester Road, Basingstoke, in late October but soon found that it wasn’t working properly.

Mr Bachelor, of Novello Close, Brighton Hill, took the kettle back to the store on November 7, complete with a receipt. After explaining to staff that he was happy to either take a replacement, have a refund or pay a little extra for a different model, he was stunned when a member of staff informed him that the kettle was “his problem”.

Mr Bachelor, a chauffeur, said: “I was told that Comet no longer existed because it had gone into administration and that I wouldn’t be able to get a refund or have another kettle.

“I was being told this while standing in the Comet shop which was serving customers. So how can they tell me they no longer exist?

“It’s not a lot of money but it’s the principle of it. They’ve sold me something which doesn’t work so surely they have a duty to give me either a refund or a replacement?

“I was furious. I walked around the store telling customers who were shopping that they wouldn’t be able to do anything if what they bought was faulty, and a lot of them started putting their shopping back on the shelves.

“I was told that there was nothing they could do, and that the kettle was now my problem. I just think it’s absolutely disgraceful.”

Comet Group Ltd went into administration on November 2 and Deloitte LLP has been appointed administrators.

James Igoe, senior PR manager at Deloitte, said: “Unfortunately, we are not able to offer refunds at this stage. The item should be protected by a manufacturer’s warranty and if the customer purchased either an ExtraCare Service Plan or an extended warranty, he should contact The Warranty Group, which is unaffected by the administration.”