Having lived without a freezer for a year, I can’t imagine not having one now. I’d be lost if it broke down, but I’d expect I wouldn’t have to wait too long for a repair.
However, it would seem I shouldn’t be so confident judging by the nightmare repair experiences that have been shared with us.
Your washing machine, fridge, boiler, probably your freezer and likely your dishwasher too are appliances you’d struggle to live without. They’re essentials for everyday modern living. So it’s a major inconvenience – and pretty stressful – when they break, never mind waiting around for them to be fixed.
How long have you been left waiting for an essential appliance to be fixed? And how long is it reasonable to wait?
Repair despairs
One Which? member got in touch to tell us about their washing machine woes:
’I bought a £700 washing machine which broke after two weeks, and it’s taking them a week to come and look at it.’
Another member was stumped by the waiting time for repairing a two-month-old dishwasher:
‘I bought a dishwasher, it was delivered on 28 August and is already faulty in October (not heating the water and therefore not washing the dishes properly or drying). I now have to wait for the retailer to come out to try and fix it on Wednesday afternoon. I have not been offered a replacement due to the machine being faulty so quickly.’
Repairing older machines
So it would seem that repair times for new or nearly new products could leave you hanging around for days or even weeks. But what if you’ve had your appliance for a few years, should you expect a longer wait to get them fixed?
One owner of a six-year-old washing machine found that ‘the handle failed recently with wet clothes in it. The manufacturer couldn’t fix it for over seven days (leaving mouldy clothes) so a local repairman sorted the handle same day. But the whole door was not right – there was a problem on door-side of hinges. Three replacement doors have now been delivered – all broken on arrival!’
And another told us about a washing machine, purchased for around £1,000, five years ago which came with a 10 year warranty:
’The machine has recently broken down and she has called out a technician with this warranty but she is unhappy that she has to wait a week for them to come out. She feels that for the price she paid she should get a faster service especially since she could have purchased a good enough model for far less money.’
If it’s broken, how do you fix it?
We’d like to hear your experiences of getting your essential large appliances repaired, including washing machines, boilers, dishwashers, cookers, tumble dryers, fridges and freezers.
How long did it take, how old was the product, was it still under guarantee, was there a call-out charge, did they have the parts with them and how did you find the process?
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