Washing Machine Cover - Thoughts?

chib

When we moved house last March we bought a new Hotpoint washing machine from Currys - I think it was about £350-£400 and has been brilliant, never had a problem.

Today I received a letter from Mastercare (Part of DSG) offering us cover on it. The price is £131 for four years of cover or £13.10 x 10months (More appealing!).

What are the general thoughts on this? Worth going for? I generally don't bother - but with another child on the way and saving towards a mortgage I'm thinking this may not be a bad idea.

Anything to watch out for? The letter does state that if it can't be fixed over the phone they will arrange for the repair or replacement.

Interested in other peoples thoughts.

Regards, Chib.

Innys

Normally, I would advise you bin the letter on any offer of an appliance warranty. However, in this case:

1) Four years is quite a period of time for £130 odd. Are you sure that's right?

2) Washing machines are one of the few domestic appliances which tend to break down

3) Hotpoint don't have the greatest reputation when it comes to reliability.

4) How do they propose to fix a broken washing machine "over the phone"? Are they expecting you to get the spanners out and do the job for them?


On balance, I'd probably buy the cover, subject to item 1) above.

chib

Yip, here is a quick snap of that section of the letter. There is a A4 sheet of T&C's which I'll flick over before committing - I thought I'd check on here for horror stories beforehand. I assume the "over the phone" consists of simple things like manually turning the drum and listening for noises to signal a blockage - ensuring the water is turned on?

Barneysmom

Before you commit phone the people you get your household insurance of and explain to them and see how much they will cover it for?
No matter how good a deal you're offered, always shop around before buying.

laurel7172

I live near Hotpoint.

Many, many years ago, during a brief period of unemployment, I did a trial for an agency that was recruiting workers for the Hotpoint call centre.

It meant talking customers through a checklist, starting with "Is it plugged in?" (very common fault, apparently:rotfl:) before calling out the engineer.

So I guess that's what a phone fix is...

(I scored, the agent said, the highest mark she'd ever seen on the test, but Hotpoint said I was overqualified. They didn't say whether it was the high score on the test that had done it )

searchlight123

get a quote elsewhere.
we use british gas who cover 5 'white goods' of our choice (washing machine, integral fridge/freezer, dishwasher, tumble drier and garage sited fridge/freezer) for around £18 pm.
unfortunately we have had to use them quite often and their service has been brilliant. well worth it for peace of mind IMO.

macman

Such cover is unnecessary on modern white goods (even on a Hotpoint). Put the money in a savings account and use it if you need a call-out or repair.

Candles_by_Lisa

I don't bother with extended guarantees for washing machines. In my case the most usual faults I have found are a) brushes need replacing (if the drum wont turn) or b) a blocked filter (if the machine wont empty). I can manage to replace these easily myself I only need a big strong man to help me pull the washing machine out from under the unit.:blushing:

Chunks

Another vote for self insurance. Never bought extended cover in my life (saved a bundle). You might be unlucky and buy a dog but macman is right, most modern kit is reliable white goods included.

With the internet even if you don't have the diagnostic skills of Candles by Lisa, you can normally figure out what's what and if so inclined, source parts and fix it yourself.

I use hardboard with the shiny side buffed with furniture polish for sliding out appliances (tip appliance back, push hardboard under the front feet and slide out - saves the floor too - you can use the strong man for something else).

chib

Thanks for the feedback here guys, I don't normally bother with these and (touch wood) the machine has been working well since we bought it new.

I'll perhaps take the £130 and drop it into our savings account and look to that if we ever run into problems.

I was surprised to hear though the negative comments about the Hotpoint brand... growing up with my parents they always used Hotpoint white goods and never had a problem. When we moved into a rented house we got a new Beko washer that broke down all the time, when we moved into the current house it had a Beko also - I turned it on, noticed a leak and the landlord said he had another he'd replace it with (Also a Beko) so I told him not to bother and we got this one ourselves.

macman

The Hotpoint brand is now wholly owned by Indesit and the bulk of production is in Italy. A very different beast to what it was 20 or 30 years ago.