Washing machine Repair advice please

[iamtheenchantedhood]

I purchased my WM when DS was a month old. It's worked really well but now nearly 5 years later needs a new drum. Pretty good really I guess.

I pay around £4.99 a month should anything happen and at the end of Aug it made a horrific noise and two of the 'pebbles' ripped out.

Contacted Hoover Candy to sort. This was Tues 26 Aug. specified that I had a still potty training DD and 4 YO plus 2 adults.

Engineer called in sick on the Thursday (28th) so appointment moved to Monday (01) 8-10am.

DH at home until 10am so not a prob except I received a text at 08:30 saying the Engineer will visit between 1-3 that day. Obviously with a 3 and 4 yo keen to get the machine fixed even though it was my first day back after two weeks I had to take a half day off work (3:42hrs).

Engineer turns up 14:40. Needs a new drum. Will phone me in 20 mins to LMK when part could be arranged and fitted.

Engineer calls 18:30 that day to say Hoover Candy will be in touch when he can fit part.

Today (4th and bear in mind engineer said would be fixed "by the end of the week") 17:00 a call from Hoover Candy to LMK that the part has been ordered and won't be here until mid week so cannot be fitted until Friday 19th poss earlier if the part arrives.

Now - I have just come back from camping, DD starts school on Tues (9th) 2 adults, 2 children and clothes everywhere. Also I am going to have to take another 'day' or 'half-day' going on the last visit so that the engineer can fix it. I have taken three bags to the laundrette this eve (£12.50) and will need to take three more and towels.

Is there some way of being compensated seeing as for the last 4.5 years I have paid each month loyally, for work hours lost (my own annual leave for Christmas) and laundry expenses?

TIA

Sorry Friday typo (12th)

Who is your warranty with?

I would write and complain, add receipts for alternative cleaning and even add up an hourly rate for your time (min wage x hours you've had to spend in laundrette) plus whatever your wage would have been for your days off work.

You probably won't get compensation as the t&cs will cover the delays you have experienced, but you might get a goodwill payment or some vouchers if you make a fuss.

Social media is also worth checking, if you're on twitter you can post a complaint publicly which might get a faster response.

Depending on what your cover is you might be able to go to the financial services ombudsman, mention this in your letter and you might get a better response. Insurance companies have to pay for your case to be reviewed by FOS (about £500) even if they are found to be in the right. So often they will pay you off rather than let you go to FOS and cost them more money and time dealing with you.

But not all warranties are insurance and therefore might not be covered by the FCA regs. Should be clear on your paperwork what regulations and complaints escalation process is.

HTH

Elvish is spot on.

There is most likely to be Terms and Conditions to cover this, but raising a complaint can usually get you a little something.

I work in a customer services, and previously, a high level complaints department: for the same company (but it's not appliances though, mine is communications). Companies are fined if it gets to ombudsman stage, even if they are found to be in the right. The fee varies by type of company, but can be anywhere from £300 to £650+.

So they will be keen to avoid this. But on a side note, the ombudsman will not get involved until you have at least tried to resolve with the company first, and usually until all options have been exhausted and you're still left unhappy.

Coincidentally, the Hoover/Candy Call Centre is just round the corner from where I live.

This is not helpful, but this is why I am wary of extended warranties, just looking it at it from the point that you have paid £4.99 for practically 60 months = £300, which is a good way/if not all the way to the cost of another washer.

I always say to myself, instead of spending the money on the warranty, I should put it in savings each month, then if anything goes wrong, I can buy another. Plus bonus is that it isn't limited to the one appliance as the money can be spent on any appliance I never do though as cannot save to save my life.

Thanks so much for the responses. I pay through Curry's but work is undertaken by Hoover Candy so I assume there are probably two lots of T&C's. I have worked out it has cost £100 so far... Being without a machine, taking a half day from work when he was here for ten mins and will have to take more time to get fixed as well as another couple of washes this week!

I agree that it is hardly worth having a policy in the time accrued I could have purchased a new one as soon as the drum died and had it installed and ready to go rather than try to pursue getting the losses back.

Going to try and track down T&C's as this is by no means a '30-60 min fix' as stated on the website....

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Transparent and fair pricing policy – With Hoover there are no hidden extras, so you know exactly what you're paying for and how much it will be.
Expert engineers – Nobody knows Hoover products better than our Hoover engineers. Hoover engineers only fix Hoover appliances and are experienced professionals, so you can have full peace of mind that they will correctly diagnose and repair the fault.
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Nationwide coverage – Regardless of where you live in the UK, we will send an engineer to your home to do the appliance repair on a day that suits you.
All repairs guaranteed – Every appliance repair by Hoover is guaranteed for up to 12 months. If the fault reoccurs during this time, we will come out and repair it again at no extra charge.
Prompt and reliable service – Hoover engineers aim to complete every appliance repair at your home within just 30-60 minutes, so you can get back to your usual routine as quickly as possible.