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Saturday, March 21, 2020

KV - My new fridge-freezer and it's warranty

I bought a new Hoover fridge freezer which has a 1 year warranty and 10 year parts warranty. To register the product for the 10 year parts warranty I had to ring up a number. A huge card which came with the manual tells me to do this and there is also a big red sticker on the fridge door.

I rang the number, and a lady took my details who then told me about the Hoover labour charges at 129.99 per hour. WTF! No wonder they are happy to offer a 10-year free parts warranty. She said if I use another engineer the parts warranty is void. Fair enough, but I'm locked into a hoover 129.99 hourly labour charge if I want the free parts warranty. 

After frightening me with that, she told me all the things I'm not covered for - accidental damage, knobs and handles, leaving the fridge door open, which can over work the motor, etc. It took ages, and then she tried to sell me insurance for £3.79 per month. I have a free one-year warranty but she said she couldn't guarantee the low price later on in the year. I declined, and then after trying to get me to reconsider, she gave me a Hoover number to contact because I said the motor was noisy. 

So, I hadn't rung up hoover at all, just an insurance company, and the hoover 10-year parts warranty comes with a whopping £129.99 hourly charge, which means that after just two and a half hours labour it would have been cheaper to have bought a new fridge-freezer. 

And if my motor is noisy, chances are the service engineer will say its not noisy enough to come under the warranty. 

So, I wasted 20 minutes talking to an operative who did not work for hoover at all, or someone who deals with their warranty or registration. It was just an insurance company, which turns out to be Domestic and General, as they rung me up right afterwards to ask me to take part in a survey.

Yeah, and that's the other thing, the lady never once mentioned Domestic and General, so I was left believing I was talking to Hoover. 

Now I have to ring up Hoover and go all through it again. 

From this video it seems that my fridge-freezer may be okay, as I suspected, as the motor does not sound faulty, just very loud for a fridge-freezer. My old one is whisper quite, but it is not frost-free, so it doesn't have a fan. But fans are normally whisper quite too. My boiler is slightly noisier and I never notice that, so maybe it's about getting used to it.

Fridge noises by Hotpoint





12 comments:

  1. From CBC's Marketplace:

    Broken appliances: Why you need repairs more often

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwfIbm_JrPI

    … and why I buy my electronics from Costco -- because they offer THE BEST extended warranties on electronics.

    Evidence: Last year I bought my parents a beautiful Samsung 55-inch TV. Last week 1/3 of the screen went dark. Called them up and getting a new replacement, no questions asked.

    Also, as you'll see in the 20-minute documentary above, the electronic manufacturers (as well as other manufacturers) are in the business of selling often -- not in the business of selling you an item that will last a long time. Buying a car, whether new or used? You gotta be nuts to buy a car that is not either a Toyota or a Honda. Nuts! Nuts I tell you! Hell, you need to check yourself in to a looney asylum pronto if you're thinking of buying a GM car. Double-time, as in yesterday!, if it's a Chrysler.

    PS: K, be careful with all the online articles praising the benefits of coffee and caffeine. Need to check to see who is funding these studies. And don't be surprised if most, if not all, are funded by the Coffee sellers. Studies that are negative about the benefits of coffee or caffeine never get to be published because the companies that fund the studies have a veto on whether these negative studies are published.

    PPS: "The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What's Coming"
    https://www.wired.com/story/coronavirus-interview-larry-brilliant-smallpox-epidemiologist/

    In case anyone here has any doubts about the criminal negligence of Trump, Trudeau, and Boris in their apathetic handling of the NOVEL (that's new -- as in no #$*&% immunity!) Corona virus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, lastgreek, some good points raised there. I will check out the videos.

      Delete
  2. Just say no to extended warranties. The warranty you get with a purchase is regulated by the laws in your jurisdiction. Anything that is offered beyond the legal requirement is just another for-profit business trying to sell you something.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bob, the extended warranty at Costco is … free. That is, for two years you have no worries :)



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I try to buy from John Lewis who give a two year, but I rather liked this fridge freezer but they didn't sell it. I bought a microwave from them which was noisy and I had no trouble getting it exchanged. I wish I had bought a fridge freezer from them now.

      This thing is very noisy, but it's probably how they are. I can send it back within 30 days, but the epidemic is on. And it's a hell of a thing to return, especially as the packaging is all broken.

      Delete
  4. Just to add,

    I trashed GM and Chrysler, and rightly so, but don't for a moment think that luxury cars such as Mercedes and BMW are a better deal/buy for your money. Far from it. A Mercedes and BMW have about 5 years of worry-free driving, and afterwards they are junk ready to be unloaded to a sucker (and they are plenty for sure). The BMW X5 SUV is pure junk -- a money pit! My brother has one. Sure it's pretty and it shows that you got money stashed away in the Cayman, but damn you'll be in the repair shop every 2nd month -- he even had the brakes fail on him on the highway for fuck's sake! Want a luxury vehicle? Get a Lexus (yes, it's toyota owns them). And stay away from CVT transmissions... unless it's a Toyota CVT transmission... of course ;).

    PS: Never, never, ever!!! buy an Italian car. Unlike Italian women they are very fragile. Italy produces beautiful women and cloths, not cars. Sorry :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. So many typos, so little time to correct them:(

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Greek who is having problems with the CVT?

    I am considering never buying another car without one...

    ReplyDelete
  7. matt,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZ5-ifYQho

    ReplyDelete
  8. Forgot to mention, my brother has been a mechanic for over 25 years. Scotty Kilmer's youtube channel is spot-on according to him-- no bs and scathingly to the point. Sure, he bought the X as I mentioned above. But he bought it cheap and figured at that cheap price the risk for any trouble was acceptable.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm not going to join Costco. If you're going to plug them, be up front about their membership fee.

    ReplyDelete
  10. German cars are heavily overrated and overpriced.

    A classic French car is preferred, a Citroen DS or SM.

    ReplyDelete