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

arcon5

I'm inclined to disagree with Warranty Direct.

If I instruct a builder to do some work at somebody elses house then if the bill is unpaid I am liable for the payment -- not the householder. Unless you signed something with indesit I don't see how they can then bill you for work they was instructed to undertake by the warranty company.

Tell indesit to go away.

This doesn't though mean you aren't liable for the bill -- if it is not covered by the warranty then I imagine there will be something in the agreement with WarrantyDirect which covers them. So they would pay Indesit and then you would pay the warranty company.

However, I would be inclined to argue the fact you telephoned them to invite them to repair the item for free as part of your warranty cover and they accepted this -- and since at no point you was told otherwise any reasonable person would expect it to have been part of your cover.

Saying that, these companies tend to have watertight terms and conditions -- so ask them why your being charged and what term states you are liable for payment. I would be surprised if they haven't got it covered so you may end up payingthe bill.

MarkyMarkD

I can see both sides of the argument.

Most warranty type arrangements will specify that the customer is responsible for a callout fee if the fault turns out to be caused by the customer's negligence or something like that.

For comprehensive car insurance claims, the customer will always have to pay any excess directly to the repairer, and the insurer is invoiced for the remaining amount.

So, payment directly to the repairer is not unusual.

andyrpsmith

Looking at the warranty Direct policy it states two key things:

You are covered only for mechanical and electrical breakdown.

Not covered for routine cleaning, service, inspection and maintenance.

Blockage of the pipe work leading to failure of the machine to drain is not a mechanical or electrical failure of the machine, the warranty company class this as normal maintenance which is not covered.

Unfortunately this required an engineer visit to identify the exact cause of the failure to drain. As they will not pay for this it looks like you will have to pay either the warranty company or the supplier. I would take advantage of the reduced offer from the supplier to minimise your costs. You would then need to decide if it is worth keeping the policy to cover genuine mechanical/electrical breakdown of the machine.

Elric

Thank you everyone for your input !

I rang WarrantyDirect yesterday and asked them to quote the section which states I am not covered

(I found my policy booklet, by the way)

In it it states:

"6. What Is Not Covered

(iv): the cost of:

(a) routine cleaning, service, inspection and maintenance"

Looks like they have me by the short and curlies

I might wait and see what happens next - whether Indesit contact me again or WarrantyDirect asking for the money to be paid - I asked warrantyDirect to contact Indesit to ascertain the work which was carried out - the WarrantyDirect advisor seemed surprised when I said the engineer had to take the washing machine apart to fix the problem, so I asked them to ring Indesit to make sure no wires have been crossed; whether they will or not? - I doubt it !

As far as the guidelines outlined in the manual:

for maintenance it suggests removing and cleaning the dispenser drawer, syphons, grate and fabric conditioner exit channel and to regularly clean the pipe area hidden by the drawer (my wife does this every month or so) - also to carry out a "maintenance wash" which is done about every 2-3 months)

It also suggests possible troubleshhoting methods which could help if the machine is not letting out water, checking for kinks in exterior pipes and blockages - I wasn't aware of these tests and didn't do them at the time (wish I had now!)

One thing which is bugging me though - when I rang WarrantyDirect - albeit a little hastily - I was warned not to attempt to fix the problem myself as these problems can appear to be non-serious when in fact they are, and advised me to wait until the engineer arrives - ummm, great..

Ooh, I wish I read the manual now :mad:

I feel let down by WarrantyDirect though - I'm a bit of a numb-skull when it comes to mechanical realms which is why I got the cover - maybe they could give out more thoughtful and accurate advice to customers and save us a lot of trouble!

Anyway I haven't caved in yet - I'll write a letter of complaint to WarrantyDirect and see if I can find a way past this. Even though their terms state I'm not covered I am nevertheless miffed by the advice they gave me at the time - they record phone calls so it could be investigated...

Any more thoughts welcome!

Thank you for your time

vax2002

Put correspondence back in the post box marked, no contract, return to sender.
Cancel the warranty as well, they are not worth the paper they are written on.

The_Pedant

for maintenance it suggests removing and cleaning the dispenser drawer, syphons, grate and fabric conditioner exit channel and to regularly clean the pipe area hidden by the drawer (my wife does this every month or so) - also to carry out a "maintenance wash" which is done about every 2-3 months)

Ok, time for a BIG unanswered question.

Where was the blockage?

That 'maintenance' advice simply refers to the dispenser drawer & would not expect it to affect the machine draining.

A maintenance wash is not guaranteed to remove any residue from drain hoses etc.
So, is there any maintenance or service advice in the manual that would have led to you spotting or removing the cause of the blockage?

If there is (like 'remove hose every 12 months & clean') then yes, I would agree with them.
If there is not, then I would probably argue that you had actually followed the maintenance advised.

In addition to that, I would state that their staff advised in no uncertain terms that you should NOT attempt to fix it yourself.
Based on their (supposed) expert advice on the matter, you deferred to their instructions. You therefore simply admitted the service engineer they contracted with to perform the service that they advised you needed.
If they had said 'have you performed all the advised maintenance & troubleshooting advised by the manual' then you may of decided to double check the manual & only called back if you had not resolved. (I'd also check any policy document for any advice on what to do before you call ... but if you never received this it it kind of irrelevant).