Tumble Drier Guarantee

[jadyn]

We purchased a condensing tumble drier for our daughter a good few months ago. The product was purchased from Argos and had a 12 month guarantee. The machine remains in guarantee. Recently, the machine starts up and stops after around 10 seconds. We've discovered it will restart after this period but will stop again after a further 10 seconds.

The daughter is a student living in a rented property near Stafford. She contacted Indesit on 08444810481 and was advised to ring another number 03448224224. A chap on the phone told her that yes, they would come out to examine the machine and fix it but if the engineer discovered that the fault was due to a foreign body such as a hairclip etc, she would be expected to pay up to £110 on the spot to the engineer.

I find this attitude truly appalling as does she. We live a considerable distance away from her and can't be there to dispute this with the engineer. Personally, I'd be inclined to tell the engineer to get stuffed but what really annoys me is that it is her word against his should a dispute arise over the cause of the fault.

I simply don't know who to turn to next over this. She's training in the nursing profession, working at a hospital and attending uni and hasn't the time to deal with stuff like this. Can anyone provide some advice please?

Thank you.

[ummmm]

I had the same with an indesit washing machine. I ended up taking some sort of insurance cover through them, had the engineer out, then cancelled it before any payments were made.

[mastercraft]

All seems fair to me.

You can't expect them to foot the bill if the fault is your daughter's .

[woofgang]

That is a fairly standard clause in a guarantee. If the machine has failed through no fault of the purchaser, then the guarantee covers it, if the purchaser has caused the failure, then the purchaser pays for the repair.

[ummmm]

I think Jaydn's concern is that engineer could say it was the daughters fault even if it wasn't.

I think that is unlikely though.

[johnny37]

Normal practice Im afraid. You cannot expect them to send a technician out free of charge if the fault is user inflicted.

[bhg481]

Could it be something as simple as the filter needing cleaning or the water tank emptying? This is the sort of simple maintainance that the user is supposed to carry out and which an engineer could charge for. The handbook/instructions may have a troubleshooting section; it's worth your daughter checking this before an engineer comes.

[SeaJayPea]

It does sound as if they are covering their backsides with that statement, but there are things that could be done:

Can you post the make and model number here, please? It could be that somebody might be able to see if this is a common fault with a particular machine.

[jadyn]

Thank you all. I do see the point you're making. It's an Indesit idc75 model. We've got an identical model at home that our daughter is familiar with using. She's well aware of how to clean it and does so weekly.

[hc4361]

Miele have this policy, too, I think it is standard practice

[jadyn]

The problem I have with this is that she could be charged this £110 fee on the spot. Our daughter feels that there's potential here to be exploited and quite rightly asks how a company can expect someone to pay up immediately in these circumstances. What if the engineer spent all of 30 seconds fixing the problem and demanded the £110? Would this be really fair given the cost of a new machine?

[bhg481]

Look at it from Indesit's point of view; there are people around who don't do basic maintainance on their machines (the same people who dial 999 because they've lost their door key etc). The engineer takes time and petrol to get to their machine to find they've forgotten to switch-on the plug (a 30 second repair). If your daughter is familiar with the machine and does her weekly checks I don't think she has anything to fear. The company have to warn you that trivial calls will cost you.

[woofgang]

It would be fair if the problem was of the purchaser's making.

[hc4361]

I doubt very much your daughter will be charged. It is to discourage people from calling them out needlessly and if they did charge willy nilly it would do their reputation no good at all.

If she were charged she'd be presented with a bill to pay within so many days, not on the spot.

[SeaJayPea]

From a website called Justanswer.com:

"Hiya,

You'll have done some of this already but it's worthwhile doing it all again.



Unplug the appliance.

Take the condenser out.

Clean out the condenser thoroughly.

Clean out the ducting too.

Reach right in as far as you can and take out the build up of wet fluff.

At the bottom rear of the appliance is a bulged container.

Pry this open, it hinges outward.

Take the hoses off and blow up them to ensure they are clean and clear.

Take the pump out of the container and clean out any debris in it.

Clean out the pump reservoir.

Ensure the hole to drain the water into the reservoir is clean and clear.

Reassemble the appliance and try again.

When you start it up, you should be able to hear the pump running"

Of course, she may be doing all this already, but worth a go if not.

[MTbowels]

hc4361, I understand a lot of these people now carry portable versions of card payment machines on their vehicles to extract the money out of the client on the spot. The majority of people now have a debit or credit card to hand.

In my neck of the woods, even the guy who runs the pizza parlour sends his drivers out with the damn machines. The joys of modern technology!

[Peter Pedant]

jesus I use a washing line
I can see why now

I thoroughly see your d's pt
but I think in this modern world she is scrowed

[SpikeyBush]

My Beko washing machine started leaking a few weeks after it was installed by Currys. The engineer came out and identified the pipe at fault and ordered a new one. A different engineer came out to fit it and when he removed the perforated pipe he said it looked like a mouse had nibbled it rather than it being a faulty pipe. He recorded in the paperwork that it was a faulty pipe and I had the repair done for free. A couple of weeks later my cat was banging around in the kitchen for a couple of hours and finally presented me with a mouse.