Teka poor customer service

oldschool

My Teka integrated fridge/freezer is causing me stress at the moment.The freezer part has lostmemperature to the poing I cannot use it, it is making a strange groaning noise. It is just about 4 years old and I would have expected it to last at least a few more years (that has been my experience with other makes).Teka deal with repair-care for out of warranty repairs, they charge £185 to come out, parts incl. I contacted Teka to express my displeasure that my f.f. had, in my opinion, not given good service. Although very polite their customer care staff were said the only thing they could do was if I had an engineer out, at my own cost, they would 'maybe' be able to give me some money off a new Teka f.f. when I stated that I really had no faith in their product they said it was most unusual for their product to fail after only 4 years. I made the point that if it was not normal for their products to fail in 4years, surely they needed to think outside the box in the way they proposed dealing with my problem. After twice referring back to someone else the young lady said that was all they were prepared to offer i.e a maybe they might give some money off. I asked that if their products fail as rarely as they implied, surely it would be in their best interests to come and see what had gone wrong in my 'rare'case. They did not see the logic in that. So, I am left with only half a f.f and the overwhelming desire to tell everyone I can that Teka brand items are to be avoided! Does anyone know how I can find out who their M.D is and where I can contact him, so that I can explain how inappropriate their customer service is. Thanks.

fluffnutter

It sounds fine to me. After 4 years the onus is on you to demonstrate that the fault is inherent and not caused by misuse. Therefore you need to pay for an independent engineer to do just that. This is precisely what they're suggesting by the sounds of it. Most companies would have washed their hands of you after 4 years. If someone told me to 'think outside the box', particularly as I'd suggested something very sensible and accommodating in the first place, I think I'd hang up on them.

Apples2

You insulted them and dissed their products..

Can't understand why they aren't being more recptive to you.

They are doing things right, you just expect too much. There is an army of soapbox weilding "Rights Warriors" on here who may encourage you to fight them on the beaches.

How many times have you cleaned/dusted behind the fridge or cleared the drainways out in the last 4 years?

mcjordi

Apple its intergrated so im not too sure on how shes meant to hoover behind it..

but my fridge is circa 8/9 years old and not fluttered once (not even a fuse) regularly defrost the ice box and clean it out

same applies to the freezer although im sure the freezer is about 12 years old now..

oldschool

It's a self defrost fridge and the freezer section I defrost on a regular basis and as mcjordi says it is fully integrated so it is not possible to clean the back. the fridge drain is cleared on a regular basis. I am a young at heart pensioner so I have had many years experience of looking after my household appliances. Surely it's fair to expect more than 4 years use out of such an item. I know that I have not misused my freezer and feel it has not given me good service and I am quite entitled to tell the manufacturer that.

Browntoa

I know some of the frost free units have a small plasic pipe that runs behind a panel at the back , this sometimes freezes solid and cause the same symptoms

fluffnutter

oldschool wrote: »

It's a self defrost fridge and the freezer section I defrost on a regular basis and as mcjordi says it is fully integrated so it is not possible to clean the back. the fridge drain is cleared on a regular basis. I am a young at heart pensioner so I have had many years experience of looking after my household appliances. Surely it's fair to expect more than 4 years use out of such an item. I know that I have not misused my freezer and feel it has not given me good service and I am quite entitled to tell the manufacturer that.

You are, of course, entitled to tell the manufacturer that. And there will be many instances of fridge/freezers that last longer than ten years. However, the SOGA is fairly conclusive - if a fault develops after six months (and within six years), the onus is on the customer to demonstrate that the fault hasn't been caused by misuse. This might well necessitate an independent review - which must be paid for by the customer.

You might also want to be clear about what you're trying to achieve. After 4 years a replacement's not appropriate - why should the company bear the cost of four free years of product use? A repair might well be indicated - something you could pursue once you've paid for the independent review. Lastly, a refund is an option. In which case, the company is well within their rights to deduct money in respect of the time you've already had the goods - which is what they're offering by the sounds of it.

These are the options under the SOGA. Honestly, the fact that they're even prepared to discuss this with you after four years suggests that their customer service is, contrary to your perception, rather good.

disppointed_from_lincoln

I purchased a Teka Induction Hob with my new fitted kitchen, within 19 months (Jan 2013) 2 of the rings had stopped working. The kitchen people advised there was a 2 year warranty so I contacted Teka. They organised an engineer to come visit...he took one look at my 15ft worktop and refused to look at it in case he damaged the worktop. I then waited a couple of weeks and nothing happened so I contacted the repairman who told me he had referred it back to Teka. I called Teka to be told that I would need to get the induction hob removed from the worktop at my expense before they would come out to repair it...I DON'T THINK SO...if the induction hob worked I wouldnt need to get it removed. I went back to the kitchen people and they in turn got onto the Teka rep, eventually they agreed that they would pay for the fitters to come and get the hob out at the same time...after many further phone calls and chasing up by ME!!! Finally a different engineer and the kitchen fitters came out only to find he hadn't got the parts...he then left me with another ring not working, so I have 2 small rings which when a large pan is on the bigger ring I cannot get a pan on the smaller ring. I waited another month for parts which did not arrive and in the end they agreed to exchange it for a different hob. I am now still waiting for this to happen. I chase them up religiously twice a week and am still no nearer getting it replaced...it is now 4 months since my first contact...the customer service team are very nice on the phone but do not reply to emails and do not seem to care less that I have 2 children, one who is disabled, I have had family over Easter and had to manage on 1 ring...
Around 3 weeks later the replacement hob finally arrived and Laurel & Hardy arrived to install it, I asked before they came that they knew what they were doing with 3 phase electric..."Oh Yes" he replied....Firstly he cut the wire from the old hob so he could see where it was wired to on the switch, he then damaged the glass on the new hob but had to continue fitting it because he couldn't put the faulty hob back because he had cut the wire he then realised the new hob wire was not long enough so he put a joining box in and cross wired the 3 phase. After tripping my power numerous times taking one phase of my power totally out leaving me with no CCTV, no alarm, no electrics gate and insisting it wasn't anything he had done....he finally admitted he wasn't an electrician! I insisted he left it how it was and that I would get it sorted out. Teka quickly sent a replacement hob out which I then paid a "proper qualified" electrician to fit only to find that the replacement hob did not work at all.....so I ended up with the broken glass hob being re-fitted and eventually 2 weeks later Teka sent a different "engineer" out to swap the glass over. A total nightmare from start to finish and I will NEVER purchase another TEKA appliance again. Customer service is appalling, engineers are mostly not used to the products and some have very little electrical knowledge...let alone qualifications! Avoid like the plague

raw1234

WARNING PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY I have never posted anything on any forums before but after the service I have received from Teka I felt obliged to post something so that others don't make the same mistake of purchasing anything from this company. I had a new kitchen fitted in July of this year, through the kitchen company I purchased 5 Teka appliances one of them been a warming draw. The appliances were fitted by the kitchen company but the warming draw never shut properly from day one. Having complained to the kitchen company they sent the kitchen fitter back out and they informed me that it wasn't the fitting but the product was faulty. I contacted Teka who said they would send an engineer out who would confirm the time they were coming with a phone call the day before. I received a phone call from the engineer the morning they were due to come informing me they would be with me within the hour. I work full time and had to rush home. The engineer said the product could not be fixed as it had been manufactured wrong and he would order a new one. I heard nothing from Teka for two weeks so chased them up only to be told that they hadn't ordered a new one and they were sending an engineer out with the part to fix it. Another two weeks went by with no word from Teka so I called them again. I was told an engineer would be out that week and they would call me the day before they were due to visit. I did say to Teka at this point that the engineer had said that the product could not be fixed but Tamara (head of customer service at Teka) insisted it could be and was very rude and abrupt. The engineer turned up (again after a call an hour beforehand) and said once again it could not be fixed. I then spent two months chasing Teka for a new warming draw and after many phone calls, false promises and Teka never returning your call I eventually got a new one. I used the product once and it over heated and the component to switch it on had melted. An engineer came out and said he needed to order a new part. I called Teka to see how long this would take and they said approximately two weeks. That was two months ago!! I call regularly and all they ever tell me is that they are waiting for parts. A warming draw is not an essential appliance in the kitchen so it doesn't impact on every day life, however if this was my cooker or fridge that in total had taken 4 1/2 months to fix it would be a huge problem. Please take in to consideration when ordering a Teka appliance the poor quality of their products and appalling customer service. IF TEKA OR ANY COMPANY SELLING TEKA TELL YOU THAT THEY USE TO HAVE ISSUES WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT THESE HAVE BEEN RESOLVED AS OF JANUARY 2014 THEY HAVE NOT BEEN!

jacques_chirac

raw1234,

Welcome to MSE.

Please start a new thread.

Please edit your post into paragraphs - it is very difficult to read.

MissWhitehouse

oldschool wrote: »

My Teka integrated fridge/freezer is causing me stress at the moment.The freezer part has lostmemperature to the poing I cannot use it, it is making a strange groaning noise. It is just about 4 years old and I would have expected it to last at least a few more years (that has been my experience with other makes).Teka deal with repair-care for out of warranty repairs, they charge £185 to come out, parts incl. I contacted Teka to express my displeasure that my f.f. had, in my opinion, not given good service. Although very polite their customer care staff were said the only thing they could do was if I had an engineer out, at my own cost, they would 'maybe' be able to give me some money off a new Teka f.f. when I stated that I really had no faith in their product they said it was most unusual for their product to fail after only 4 years. I made the point that if it was not normal for their products to fail in 4years, surely they needed to think outside the box in the way they proposed dealing with my problem. After twice referring back to someone else the young lady said that was all they were prepared to offer i.e a maybe they might give some money off. I asked that if their products fail as rarely as they implied, surely it would be in their best interests to come and see what had gone wrong in my 'rare'case. They did not see the logic in that. So, I am left with only half a f.f and the overwhelming desire to tell everyone I can that Teka brand items are to be avoided! Does anyone know how I can find out who their M.D is and where I can contact him, so that I can explain how inappropriate their customer service is. Thanks.

Teka is distributed in the UK since September 2013 by the PJH Group. It's a first class yet affordable product and currently offers 5 year a parts and labour guarantee across their range, provided you buy three or more appliances. Otherwise it's 2 years. PJH run the whole UK operation and that now includes service and aftercare. I don't work for them and I have no affinity with them but I have had exceptional service from them. Historically TEKA as a brand brought their contract ranges into the UK. They were limited and budget, designed to achieve a price point. Nowadays their full range is available, they are organised and on the ball.

Sadly forums like this never seem to get posters who are praising service it's only the negatives that come out. It's impossible for any business to please 100% of their clients 100% of the time. It's all about expectation. Electrical appliances do go wrong it's a given, I personally have a Teka Fridge Freezer, Dishwasher, 2 ovens, a microwave, Steam oven, an Induction hob and extractor, I'm more than happy with them and saved myself over £2700 against Bosch equivalents.