WarantyDirect refuse to payout, leaving me with the bill...

Elric

Hi everyone

I have a month-to-month policy with warrantyDirect which I am very unhappy with

In April 2011 our washing machine wouldn't drail out water and as a result the door wouldn't open so I rang warrantyDirect

they asked us a few questions and asked me for the model number and fault code, after which they agreed to send somebody to fix the problem

an appointment was arranged within a few days and the repair was done (so far so good)

then I received a letter last week from Indesit demanding £104 (4 months after repair was completed) and that the reason for the bill was that the work which was carried out was not covered by our warrantyDirect policy (first we heard of it!) - saying they refused to pay them, leaving us to foot the bill :mad:

I then contacted WarrantyDirect who at first evaded the issue by promising to ring us back and never did, but after a 3rd time of ringing them today it turns out that our policy doesn't cover blockages and this is classed as maintainance which we should take care of. The washer repairman had to take the washing machine apart to get to the blockage when doing the repair - which if I would have attempted would have invalidated the warranty, no doubt! -

I'm going to write a letter to their complaints dept. stating my case. When they asked me for a fault code surely they should check if i'm under warranty before they agree to send and engineer(?) - they told me to refer to a policy booklet which I am still looking for (I'm not certain they sent one) i can only assume this is what is stated in their conditions until they send me another one.

I wondered where I stand legally and what I should do with the bill of £104?

if there is something i need to put in the letter to WDirect which might help my case let me know your thoughts

do I have a leg to stand on?

Should I just pay the bill and cancel my policy?

your help is appreciated
thanks in advance

Elric

fluffnutter

How old was your washing machine at the time?

Hintza

One of the first things you do when a WM conks out is to check the drainplug. Did you do this? If not then I think you are at fault.

Elric

The washer is 4 years old

I didn't check the drail plug - I don't know where the drain plug is

BUT, when I spoke with WarrantyDirect on the phone regarding this problem she said they would like to go through a series of questions to see if the problem can be solved by giving me advice on the phone; after asking the questions she decided to send the enginneer

I did what they asked of me so I don't see how I am at fault

arcon5

I would argue you don't have a contract with Indesit as they was instructed to do the work by WarrantyDirect. So they would need to chase WarrantyDirect for the unpaid invoice.

bod1467

arcon5 wrote: »

I would argue you don't have a contract with Indesit as they was instructed to do the work by WarrantyDirect. So they would need to chase WarrantyDirect for the unpaid invoice.

I would be minded to agree. What paperwork (if any) did you sign when the engineer visited? (You should have been left a copy). Does it say anything about the consumer (you) being liable for any costs?

Elric

I don't recall signing anything but to make sure I will give indesit a ring tomorrow and do some fishing

let you know how it goes, thanks for your thoughts

Elric

I don't recall signing anything but to make sure I will give indesit a ring tomorrow and do some fishing

let you know how it goes, thanks for your thoughts

_____________

Oh - I just had a look at the letter Indesit sent me last week, it came with an invoice stating when they called, work carried out etc

but it's in my wife's name! - the policy with warrantyDirect is in my name only

does this affect anything?

there is nothing on either invoice or letter which has any terms & conditions on it, nor does it indicate anything has been signed, but she might have signed something when the engineer left (she's not certain)

surely, even if something was signed Indesit are at fault for not getting things signed in my name? Where would I stand?

I'll have more info for you tomorrow after I have rang them

Bye for now

MarkyMarkD

I'd be very surprised if Indesit weren't sensible enough to get the customer to sign an engineer's visit form, confirming that the customer would pick up the bill if the insurance didn't cover it.

That's what happens with (e.g.) car windscreen repairs under insurance.

Elric

Right,

I have found the paper work my wife has signed and there is nothing which states there is a contract between us and Indesit and no mention of us being liable for any costs.

there is a section which states as follows:

"Contract Details TPI Warranty Direct Limited
Contract/Policy : 1234####
authorisation numer (this is blank)
expiry date 28/7/11"

The rest of the form simply states what work was done, part numbers etc, but nothing further contractual

I rang Indesit this morning and they insist that because I accepted the visit I am liable for the bill when the warranty company refuse to pay. I said that I don't have a contact with Indesit but they seem to think this doesn't matter.

They offered to reduce the bill but I stated again that I don't have a contract with them and therefore shouldn't have to pay anything which was met with a long silence!

I was polite with them and said I would do everything I can to get the money from the warranty company but that I wouldn't be paying the bill - they stated i would be liable because I agreed the visit (and so on...)

I still believe WarrantyDirect are at fault for sending the engineer - they were given the fault code from the washing machine and I answered a series of questions - and I have also stated this to Indesit

Anyway let me know your thoughts, as I said we definitely do not have any paper work stating a contract with Indesit

Can we be liable for the bill by just agreeing to letting them call? To be clear about this when WarrantyDirect agreed to send the engineer we simply got a text message a couple of days later stating when the engineer would be calling. So in truth we didn't authorise Indesit to call, Warranty Direct sent them

Hope someone knows what the crack is here - help appreciated !!

Elric

The_Pedant

I think it may well come down to what is in your actual policy and what exactly the cause of the fault was & what was required to resolve it.
Secondly look in detail about what is advised in the manual for your appliance. Is there anything in there which may have solved the issue?
- Where abouts was this blockage?
- Was there any other issue?
- Was it a filter or a hose etc that was blocked?
- Was it a build up of some kind or had something unexpected caused the blockage (something left in a pocket etc)

Then, you need to look at the policy to see if there your particular issue is excluded from cover at all.
Doing a quick hunt, I came across a policy document for household cover. No idea if it's the policy you have or not but I thought I'd post it for reference:-
http://www.warrantydirect.co.uk/pdfs/6800-WD_Household_Policy_BK.pdf

As can be the case with insurance, the devil is in the detail.