To feel totally ripped off by Bosch because £1000 dryer has only lasted 3 years and their customer service/engineer is unhelpful?

[totallyrandom]

We have a Bosch Logixx 10 Dryer. It cost almost £1000 pounds 3 years ago. It still switches on and attempts to tumble, but doesn't heat up anymore so washing doesn't come out dry. I called Bosch customer services and they told me I should get their "fantastic" "repair care" plan as it would cover my dryer as long as it was repairable (for £14 a month for a year's cover). The advisor took my direct debit details and arranged an engineer to come out yesterday any time between 8am and 4pm. I told him that my dryer just doesn't heat up anymore. Low and behold I wait in with 2 frustrated toddlers for most of the day and no engineer shows up. When I call the 0871 number again (sure that will cost me a lot too) I am told a mistake has been made at their end and someone will show up today. This morning a Bosch engineer turns up. First he tells me my dryer has been incorrectly installed as the vent duct is too long. He goes off for a bit comes back and says it is fine after all as anything up to 5 metres is allowed (first excuse not to do anything out of the way). Next he runs some test briefly on the dryer electronically and tells me that the electronics on the dryer are gone and that that is too expensive to replace so my dryer is beyond economic repair! (or as far as the insurance plan is concerned). At no point, does he look into the mechanics of the dryer or the heating element of it (even when I request it). I am told my dryer is too big and he can't lift it off its stands by himself. At this point I have 3 roofers in the house and 1 decorator and access to lots of manpower to help him lift it off. However, he doesn't have a spare heating element on him despite me telling customer services twice that this is the issue so I gather it is pointless to lift the dryer down. Later I call Bosch customer services again and they tell me that my dryer is not covered under their plan and that I need to get a new one!!! (apparently my direct debit will be cancelled so I am not at a loss they say, hmmmm.) Now they tell me that their plan only covers repairs up to £300 pounds and apparently my repair might/will probably cost more than that. That is a 3 year old Bosch dryer which cost £1000 and has not been tested by their engineer properly. I am fuming. What should I do? Surely a dryer for this amount should last longer than 3 years (whether or not under warranty) and surely they shouldn't be selling their repair policies over the phone like this? i.e. promising me that it will be repaired if repairable but then only doing it if it is cheap for them to repair and they make some money out of me. If you were me would you just get a new dryer and forget the agro or fight it all the way with their customer services/brand managers/German head office? I always thought Bosch were supposed to be good/have good customer services so am seriously disappointed (I also have a Bosch dishwasher and washing machine). Has this kind of thing happened to anyone else with Bosch? Or am I just being unreasonable and should I just bite the bullet buy a new dryer and never touch Bosch with a bargepole again

I have a Bosch Classixx washing machine that started over heating all the water. (I thought we were all putting on weight - it was the clothes that were shrinking!)

It was out of warranty (5 yrs old), so I called out a local repair chap who fixes all appliances. The circuit board had gone, and he got me a reconditioned one for half the price and fitted it 36 hours later. Cost me about £100.

Your dryer should last you longer than 3 years. Ditch the Bosch customer services and look elsewhere.

Where do you live OP? If you're anywhere near Guildford, PM me and I'll give you the chaps name. He's been back to sort out my dishwasher, too. (Yes, its been one of those summers...)

My Bosch dishwasher fell apart in my hands (literally) a few weeks ago. It was 3.5 years old. The child lock had never been right on it and this caused the whole locking mechanism to fail and the control panel to crack on one side when I tried to open it one lunchtime. I called Bosch who couldn't have cared less and said it would be £100 for someone to look at it plus any parts and labour to fix it. Needless to say we ditched it for a new hotpoint the following day! I am less than impressed with them as a brand to say the least.

Find the email address of the CEO and write to him/her personally. I was having dreadful trouble with NEXT and wrote to the CEO. It was fixed by lunchtime the next day. I appealed on MN for anyone who knew the address and someone here did. There was another thread about John Lewis where the OP did the same and the problem was fixed that day.

Cor blimey that is a lot. It should last longer than that surely?

I didn't know a dryer could cost that much (have actually never had one because I keep my house at sub-Saharan temps so don't really need one) but I really am at that. You must be livid OP.

Sorry, not helpful at all but I agree that that is rubbish.

Could you invoke the sale of goods act?

I think electrical items and white goods are expected to last for at least 5 years.

You may be able to get a replacement of it is not fit for purpose.

I would phone your local Consumer Advice, cos I am sure this should last a lot longer than 3 years.I agree re Sale of Goods Act. I would also get through to Customer Complaints of Bosch or CEP and create a stink.

YANBU,

But (to be pedantic), the chap that fixed it isn't an engineer, he is a technician. An "engineer" would have designed the thing (rather than fixing it), so you can be annoyed at the engineer for designing an overly expensive and unreliable machine too if that helps.

i have had Bosch appliances for a long time and not really had any trouble with them. First dishwasher lasted about fifteen years, second is still going strong after about ten years (and it was shifted to my daughter's house when we had the kitchen done and an integrated one fitted). My washing machine lasted about ten years, too. However my sister had problems with her new dishwasher after a few weeks, and then again recently (after about three years), so I do wonder if they are cheapening things now?

Thanks for all the back-up everyone! Feeling a little less unreasonable now and ready to tackle a letter of complaint over a large glass of wine tonight (what an exciting Friday night...). It will include elusive allusions to Sale of Goods Act, misselling of insurance policies etc. general unfair treatment of customers who have stupidly bought into a brand and put all their eggs in one basket (just waiting for the other 2 appliances to go as well now after reading above posts).
Thanks Blue2 for the tip re local guy. I am near Petts Wood in Kent so will try and look up someone local too. I am sure it just needs a new circuit board or new heating element although former is listed as costing £216 on their website which seems like a rip off too.
Thanks stargirl for tip re CEO - that can be my next step failing any luck with customer service at Bosch. Trouble is it usually takes so long to get any response I am tempted to just get a new cheaper one like Bagpuss and ditch this brand for good. However, seeing that it is (in theory) still summer washing may be able to dry outside for a bit so I should at least try to get my money's worth. I was still working 3 years ago so more willing to splash out in those days on things I thought would last!
technodad - yes, technician indeed. I do have real engineer friends who also dislike the common misuse of the term. As it is a Friday, perhaps my technician just wanted to get to the pub quickly so wrote my dryer off as promptly as possible without investigating real cause and causing me lots of grief.
Glad I am not the only disgruntled Bosch customer. I thought Which kept giving them top scores. Do they actually speak to customers? Not trying to ditch Which, but will be more careful next time.

Just curious as to what does a £1000 dryer do that a cheaper one doesn't?
Well apart from nothing at the moment

Dryer is huge so you can pretty much wash once a week (family of 4 or 5) if you have matching huge washing machine. It is also supposedly energy efficient and fast.

Bosch were allright when my washer-dryer died. Same guy came to fix it twice, no charge, showed up as agreed, very professional. This was within the two year factory guarantee though, it might be different if your stuff dies outside that period.

Not Bosch but our AEG freezer went after 3 years. We had the option of paying £497 for the part or £690 for a new one. We just bought a new one last week and it ended up costing another £150 to get it fitted . From now on I'm taking Domestic & General extended warranty on everything. We have a Bosch fridge that's 3 yrs old and a Bosxh washer and dryer which we only got last year. They're just not built to last nowadays.

Good luck with your letter writing - you have had abysmal customer service from Bosch.

have you thought of attempting to fix it yourself? espares have how to videos for pretty much everything now

I think you might be covered by the Credit Card Consumer Act (or something like that) if you bought it by credit card, which means any goods can be covered up to six years I think! You'll have to google as my memory seems to fail me on the details of this.

"Fit" a freezer? Ours just stands on the kitchen floor.

Here's my thread of last week. Lot's of very useful advice.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1547071-To-think-a-tumble-dryer-should-last-TWO-YEARS

My new dryer is arriving on tuesday.

Here is the email for Bosch's CEO.

www.ceoemail.com/se.php?id=9173

Bosch used to be excellent, as did Neff and Siemens. So last year I fitted out my kitchen with those brands. Every single thing I bought from that group is crap and a disappointment. Such a shame.

Not had much joy with Bosch. Handle has come off my tumble dryer so superglued it back on. Countless bits dropped off inside dishwasher and topped off with button falling off the front. Dishwasher crap to load. Went on holiday and self catering had a Beko which I could fit far more in.

YABU to spend £1000 on a tumble drier, mine was £200 and has lasted a few years already..........

If you get nowhere with Bosch, see how cheaply and easily you can replace the thermostat (if you google it you should find some info for the correct model). My dryer broke a couple of weeks ago, mine's about 4 or 5 years old and had a similar problem - the drum turned but no heat. A new thermostat cost me £20 on ebay and took not even 10 minutes to change and it works fine now. Might save you having to shell out for a new one.

Our flat was new when we bought it, with integrated appliances, all Bosch.

The washer-dryer and fridge-freezer both broke within 4 years and we had the same issues with the care plan - not economically viable to replace. I wouldn't buy another Bosch product now and I'd always thought they were meant to be reliable.

Miele is the way?
Ok I live in Germany, but the "rules" here are:
Washing machines, dryers and dishwashers: Miele
Hobs and ovens: Siemens
Fridges and freezers: Liebherr

Don't be elusive with your mentions of the Sale of Goods Act, be precise it really works. I just got 2/3 of my money back for a fridge freezer that only lasted 2 years. The act applies to your contract with the retailer not the maunfacturer so you need to write to them.

Read up on it at MoneySavingExpert and more info on my experience here on the MSE Forum

Here is an update and all has worked out well for us.
As suggested above (thanks to everyone!), I sent a letter of complaint to the CEO directly on Sunday evening. He emailed back first thing Monday morning copying in a competent female manager who rang me the same day. Today a polite technician turned up and replaced the circuit board for free (quite an expensive spare apparently) and I only had to pay for the call out charge (89 pounds). Apparently if white goods fail within 4-5 years the better companies will give you the spares for free/half price when you complain. So if anyone else has any problems with appliances try the manufacturer too especially if they have a technician service as well. I think this is only fair especially if you have paid to have a brand that claims it stands for quality and you have paid over the odds originally for this.