Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Product tests

Here's where users test and review products and give their feedback. If you'd like to run a product test please email [email protected].

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

did you get a free dyson? come talk to me

35 replies

swallowedAfly · 26/04/2013 10:27

hi just wondering if anyone else's dyson has already broken down or on it's way out?

first of all it wasn't really picking up anymore then it started switching itself off and now only comes on for a few seconds at a time before cutting out.

went on the website and did the trouble shooter route and clearly it's a known fault as you can select it and they say you need to call for support.

obviously i will call for support (when i can face one of those phonecalls) and the fact i didn't pay for it hopefully won't effect guarantee but i was just wondering if anyone else has had the same and been through customer support?

not feeling very dyson impressed at the minute and mighty relieved i hadn't gotten round to throwing out my old panasonic upright.

OP posts:
MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 26/04/2013 10:47

hey swallowedAfly - I'll drop Dyson a note for you.

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 26/04/2013 10:50

oh thank you ann! i wasn't looking forward to trying to get someone in a call centre to understand that it was given as part of a promotion on here - i'm pretty sure they wouldn't have a icon on their screen for that which would lead to hours on the phone being passed pillar to post Grin if you need my details or anything let me know.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 26/04/2013 11:46

ann if you were really feeling like the sorter outter you could also contact sky - i won a years free subscription which i had and now they have debt collectors sending me threatening letters saying i owe them money. lovely to get these freebies but bit of a pain when it leads to bailiff letters.

OP posts:
MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 26/04/2013 12:02

Oh yes I'll drop them a line too.
They don't call me ActionAnnie for nowt you know!
Bear with on Dyson...they are on the case

MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 26/04/2013 12:08

SAF: I know Sky contact is not around Fridays so bear with me on that one.

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 26/04/2013 12:22

thank you! you're a superstar. i keep putting off and putting off dealing with sky because it's complicated again by the generic computer screen that the person in front of doesn't know how to circumnavigate iyswim. i did have a number for a specific person there who promised she'd deal with any problems but unfortunately i lost it.

would be wonderful if you could sort out ny double billing issues with 02 also but sadly mn wasn't involved on that one.

OP posts:
MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 26/04/2013 13:03

Message from Dyson:
Hi there,
I?m sorry to hear you?ve had difficulty with your DC44. Our online Support pages are there to help you use and maintain your machine, and to resolve simple issues. For this particular issue, we find it?s more efficient for one of our experts to take you through some quick troubleshooting checks via our freephone Helpline.
I?m confident we can resolve this for you. Please email me directly at [email protected] , and include your full name, home address and post code, and contact telephone number. We?ll also need the serial number from your machine, which you will find on a white sticker behind where the filter sits.
Once we have these details we?ll be in touch as soon as possible to help."

HTH, Ann

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 26/04/2013 13:20

thanks - have emailed them.

OP posts:
MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 29/04/2013 18:09

Swallowed...just pm-ing you re Sky

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/04/2013 20:39

thanks, got it.

dyson rang and did a trouble shooting with me and have decided it's the battery. they're sending me a new one.

OP posts:
SuedeEffectPochette · 29/04/2013 21:13

Funnily enough my one had a battery problem in the first week. It kept cutting out as though I had taken my finger off the button (but I hadn't). Dyson sent me a new battery pronto and this one is fine. It is guaranteed for 2 years so you should have no problems!

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 30/04/2013 08:00

that is exactly what happened with mine suede. makes a bit of a joke of the person who emailed me saying 'oh we're really surprised you'd be having a problem like this'.

there is an issue with the weight of the attachments detaching the battery apparently. mine worked ok with the hose off but when the hose went on it would happen again. not sure how that is a battery fault and not a design fault but hopefully the new battery will permenantly resolve it rather than last just long enough for the guarantee to run out.

lady on the phone was lovely so can't fault their customer service.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 30/04/2013 08:02

i read the guarantee as 12months and with an exclusion on battery life diminishing (suspect that will be the issue with these machines - that the 20mins rapidlly becomes 10mins etc hence them not guaranteeing the battery life). pleased to hear the guarantee is 2yrs.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 17/05/2013 08:58

new battery came and it still has the same problem - doesn't work when you add an attachment. i've emailed them again. presume it is the bit the battery attaches to rather than the battery that is the issue and will need a new machine.

OP posts:
magso · 03/06/2013 09:07

Hm I wonder if the bend in the main brush is blocked and needs cleaning out. This happened to mine. It stopped picking up then kept switching on and off as you describe. There seems to be a design fault in that stuff can get caught in the bend behind the brush. It is not easy to clean out but solved the problem. I now clean it out regularly.
However if yours is not working with the attachment either it might not be this.

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 04/06/2013 17:27

no i had a replacement battery and that didn't work. so they sent a replacement battery housing bit and a replacement brush head and they haven't worked either. it's just fucked but i'm getting royally pissed about (now over a month of having to field phonecalls and wait for parts, then try them, then start again with the phonecalls) rather than them just send me a new machine. we've done all the tests and we've now tried all the parts. i was told this time they sent parts that if they didn't work they'd know it was the engine/turbo whatever thing itself that was buggered and no more messing but instead we're back to ooh could you call and go through some more machine tests and blah blah blah.

sorry to be rude and pissy but i'm really fed up of it now. i have surgery on friday and am rushing around sorting childcare etc at the same time as working and trying to sort the house etc and just don't have time or energy for messing about with them again.

can't do bending and sweeping or heavy lifting for some time after surgery so would have been great to have a working machine. moan moan self pity party etc but really not feeling very dyson customer care impressed at the minute.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 04/06/2013 17:31

they tried to call me today tbf but i was at work and have no reception on my phone there.

should i be thinking i don't have the right to complain as i didn't pay or are we reviewing their customer service too?

sorry again - think it's because i'm stressed about everything coming up and dyson is being the proverbial straw iyswim.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 05/06/2013 11:11

ok so it turns out it was a block though not the brush but inside the ball and head which turns out to be near bloody impossible to clear because of the design/shape. it had only been used once (new replacement head) and was blocked. took half an hour or so and a huge mess to unblock it.

i asked the woman on the phone if they really considered it fit for purpose if it blocks on a little bit of dog hair on a kitchen floor to which i was told 'it isn't designed to replace a proper vacuum cleaner, it's only a handheld and obviously if it has particularly heavy usage...' - asked her if she considered a kitchen floor whizz round particularly heavy useage and confirmed they are advertising it to pet owners.

i then got cut off and she hasn't called me back so have spent the time sat on the floor clearing the thing out with great difficulty. daredn't use the animal to clear up the mess as i now know everything it appears to pick up just gets stuck in that inaccessible ball.

i recall the guarantee says it doesn't cover blockages (can now see why as they must have known damn well it does this before marketing the thing).

so glad i didn't purchase this or i'd be gutted to have spent hundreds of pounds on something that for which five minutes hoovering equates to half an hour on your hands and knees servicing the machine.

OP posts:
Poledra · 05/06/2013 11:19

half an hour on your hands and knees servicing the machine.

I didn't realise that you had to do that sort of thing to do Dyson - does it like you to clean out its hose? Glad I've got a Miele!

Sorry, SAF, I am just a filthy teenager housed in a middle-aged body Grin

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 05/06/2013 11:26

go for it poledra! Grin

i'm now out in hives and about to take an extra dose of anithistamines as i have a dust allergy, which i mentioned when volunteering to try the machine, and half an hour of dealing in filthy bunged up dust and hair that has to be poked at till you're covered in it has set that off.

cheers dyson!

OP posts:
magso · 05/06/2013 19:24

Yes the blockage I got was in the ball bend behind the brush too. I think it is a design fault. It really is difficult to unblock. Dh had to use a special tool he uses at work - a sort of curtain wire like device with pincer on the end. Not part of your average tool box. I bought mine so was rather upset! I still like it - just not as much!

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 06/06/2013 15:01

yep - you'd realistically need a special tool for it. the woman on the phone was saying ok now get a screwdriver and do x, now get a flexible straw to poke into y...' at which point i did get a bit, 'are you having a laugh? is this considered normal, reasonable maintenance after each use?'.

gosh and you bought yours!? i'd have demanded a refund i think if i'd paid for it. have you had the same issue again? for me it was with a brand new attachment that had only been used once! yes i have a lab who sheds a bit but i don't live in a zoo or a filth pit - it was just the usual stray hairs around the floor.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 06/06/2013 15:03

sorry should have asked, 'has it happened again' and/or 'have you modified your usage to not stress it out at all'?

i'm now feeling like i can only use it for dust on surfaces or something - actually not sure what i can use it for. literally everything that must have been on the floor was bundled up compacted in that ball. clearly does not have the suck to get it through there, up the tube and into the bin. to be honest it only sucks well with no attachments and then it blows so hard from the other end that you scatter more dust and hair than you gather.

OP posts:
magso · 06/06/2013 19:10

I have modified my use in that I insist ds clears up all little bits before I vac, and I no longer vac under furniture! I have been quite unwell so love the lightness of it.

MNHQ
AnnMumsnet · 11/06/2013 14:37

Below is a note the chaps at Dyson have asked us to pass on

"Hi Mumsnet,
We're currently looking into swallowedAfly's situation, and we aim to have this resolved for her as soon as possible. We hope everyone who took part in the Dyson cordless trial is finding their machine handy for those quick, in-between cleans. Our experts are on hand to help if you have any questions ? just drop us an email at [email protected] and we'll be in touch. Best wishes, Jack, Dyson Customer Service"