Appliance Insurance??

Optimisticpair

I have put money aside in a slush fund, it is there in case of need of any kind as my own insurance. My last lot of appliances bought 15 years ago never needed repair even though the fridge and freezer were the cheapest I could find. I've moved since and have done the same thing.

If I didn't have a large enough slush fund built up I would pay for a repair from whatever was saved and dine on whatever is in the cupboards and, assuming it wasn't the freezer that had failed, eat from the freezer for the rest of the month.
You have a year's guarantee so you have a year in which to build up a slush fund.

Owain_Moneysaver

Optimisticpair wrote: »

You have a year's guarantee so you have a year in which to build up a slush fund.

Some appliances come with a free 5 or even 10 year guarantee (a high street shop tried to sell me an extended warranty to 3 years on something that already had a manufacturer's 3 year guarantee) and if a consumer durable turns out to be insufficiently durable there's always the option of a claim under Sale of Goods Act.

And of course if you buy on a credit card that gives you another route of redress.

ormus

my auntie had a cooker insured with dom gen.
99 quid policy.
the oven broke and she claimed. there was an upgrade fee of 49 quid plus delivery charge of 39 quid.
and it took ages to get the new oven. (over xmas period).
i told her she could have gone out and bought a new oven for 200 quid, the same day.

i could have collected it for free too.

the whole thing was a farce.

Mrs_Imp

We keep being offered 'insurance' on our appliances. Although they say it's not really insurance. You pay them an ammount each month, then they fix it for free, and when it finally packs up, they replace it for free with a new one.

However, we did our maths and worked out that it would cost us more than just bunging the money in an account and using it to replace our things when they break.

Their latest tack is "Good afternoon Mrs Imp. In 2009 you bought a fridge-freezer from us. How did you find the level of customer service when purchasing the item? Were you informed about the expected lifespan of the item when you purchased it? Oh, well I'm sorry about that. You should have been informed that the average lifespan of this product is 3 years. The good news is that we can offer you a low cost way to cover any repairs or replacements blah blah blah."

I'm even less inclined to go for it now. If my fridge freezer does not last more than 5 years I will not be buying from that manufacturer ever again. Three years is just not acceptable. Why would I want to have the hassle of replacing it every 3 years?? Utter nonsense.

ormus

you can tell how profitable it is to them to use call centres and telesale calls after the sale of the item.
i get bombarded with regular calls/mailshots from my boiler maker and the WM maker. they are both 3 yrs old.

Emmamumof2

I have had a policy with Domestic & General for almost a year with 5 kitchen appliances on £25 a month - My LG Fridge Freezer has just been written off when its only 2 months out of the 24 months warranty, so Im understandably upset! Domestic & General will only pay 1/2 to the new appliance - so Ive been trying to get LG to take responsibility for the other 1/2 since its irrepairable and not many weeks out of warranty, I have been the go between with everyone, including repair agents and have ended up doing all the frustrating leg work myself. I was almost to the point of tears at the end of last week when I got LG to accept they'd replace if it was written off however, now its come to that point Domestic & General have quite rudely refused to be accomodating in finding a solution thats ultimately in my best interests along with LG. Domestic & General use their own suppliers to replace appliances, Ive been offered a replacment through Comet - so Dom Gen say I need to pay 1/2 to the new appliance which is listed on Comets website at just short of £1000 so I have to stump up £497 knowing full well they will be putting nowhere near £497 to it as they will have a special deal with Comet on discounts etc. So I asked Dom Gen if they would send me a cheque for that amount so I could try to negotiate with LG re a replacement using the money from Dom Gen - obviously a big fat resounding no from Dom Gen because it doesnt fit with their usual procedure - we wont go out of our way to help you customer, why should we? That and LG have now backtracked and said they wont replace or even put half to so Im not out of pocket even though it was promised on two recorded phone calls - such a nightmare - my advice, put the money you would have spent on a policy in a seperate account every month and hope things never go wrong, but know that if they do your fate is in your own hands not elsewhere where it is a case of taking a number and hope for the best.

Emmamumof2

Ionkontrol wrote: »

That's what insurance companies prey on.
Look at the LG thread, where someone was trying to get a replacement fridge after a couple years, insurance only wanted to payout half.

This is me - take my advice steer well clear!!!!

baileyraggieyogi

Thanks everyone! I will put the money into a 'repair' fund I think! :beer:

sheslookinhot

McKneff wrote: »

Dont be silly, local companies are desperate for your custom and wont charge £100 call out fee. Most locals will nto charge a call out fee at all.

£240 a year, you must have more money than sense.

If you read my post you would see that its £240 for 3 years. That is £80 a year for years 3, 4 and 5, for six appliances.

Works out at £15 per year for each appliance. Good cover imo.

ormus

15 quid for a 300 quid item? good value?
my car insurance costs 300 quid for a year. it covers the cost of a 15000 quid car and a potential 5million quid claim off a third party.

gives you some idea of how expensive an oven warranty is.