Whirlpool Customer Service (General Comments / Advice)

Member Name: BabyPom

Product:	General Comments / Advice
Date:	30/01/03 (2609 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: "A" energy rated washing machine, Simple to use, 10 year parts guarantee

Disadvantages: The amount of hassle when something goes wrong, Lack of Customer Service

I rue the day I decided to buy a Whirpool washing machine. I was tempted by a £40 cashback offer, the "A" energy rating and the fact that the machine was supposed to be very simple to use. Which it is, when it is actually working!

There are four of us in our house, including two small children, so I do at least one wash everyday. I also use washable nappies, so I rely on the machine to be working so that I don't have to pay for disposable nappies. The problems started when the machine was five months old. When turning on the machine one evening, the digital display went blank. I called customer services the next day, an engineer came out two days later and I was told that it needed a new timer and the part would take about a week to arrive.

A week later, I had heard nothing, so I called customer services. The part still wasn't in stock. Another week passed - still no part. So began four months of complete frustration and annoyance. I would call once a week to either be told that the parts were still in Italy, or that they *had* got some in stock, but they had all gone to other customers. I wonder if they had waited four months as well?

Eventually, after twice-weekly launderette trips and a lot of handwashing in between, my ancient tumble drier broke down. We went to the shop where we had bought the washing machine, a small local shop who actually care about their customers. When we mentioned the fiasco with the washing machine, they were horrified. Within the week, I had a replacement washing machine in my house. Not through Whirpool, though. This was from their own stock. Ironically, a few days later, I received a letter from Whirlpool informing me that the part was now in stock and they would be visiting in a few days' time to install it.

I called customer services to tell them that I no longer needed a service visit and that I needed to transfer my guarantee over to a new machine. I ha
d paid around £30 for a one year, free service contract. The machine came with a free 10 year parts guarantee. I was told that they didn't transfer guarantees over from one machine to another and that I would have to pay for another guarantee. I pointed out that it ws scarcely my choice to have a secod machine withing the space of nine months! They finally agreed, and I was sent a new guarantee. More on this later!

In all that time I didn't receive a single apology from anyone at Whirpool about the delay and inconvenience caused. And at least that would have made it more beaerable, instead of being treated like a nuisance because - surprise, surprise - I wanted a washing machine that actually worked!

Nearly two years later, it broke down again. I called Whirlpool with my guarantee details (the free service had expired, but I still had the parts guarantee) and was told that it wasn't on their system. Several phone calls later to different departments, I discovered that the guarantee had been printed with the wrong contract number, hence it not being on their system. That was three weeks ago and I am still waiting for a new contract to be sent to me. I have reminded them twice already!

Fortunately, the parts only took two weeks to arrive and the engineers called round yesterday to repair the machine. I loaded it up when they had left and it didn't work - the drum wouldn't spin round. The parts they had replaced? The motor and the drum.

So, I called customer services, who spoke to the engineer. His reply? "Well, it was working fine when we left." Meaning, I suppose, that I had somehow damaged it by setting it to do a normal wash. The fact is, they did a quick rinse cycle and didn't even reinstall the machine properly because they claimed the dranage pipe outside my house was blocked and they couldn't get the washing machine pipe through. I dismantled it and found that it wasn&#
39;t blocked at all.

I now have to wait until tomorrow for him to return (anytime between 8am and 5pm, so stuck indoors with two children all day- great fun!) because he is to busy. When I asked why another enginner couldn't come out, I was told "How would you like it if we rang you and said we couldn't come to you because someone else wants their machine repaired?"!!

I am thoroughly fed up with Whirpool. If I won the Lottery tomorrw I would go out and buy another machine like a shot. As it stands, I cannot afford to do anything but put up with the shabby treatment and complete lack of courtesy they provide. All I can do is to advise anyone considering buying a Whirpool product - don't do it!

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