Domestic and General

janjan78

I apologise in advance of this long winded saga!!! :rotfl:

It's about a hotpoint washing machine bought 7yrs ago from very.co.uk and I purchased a protection plan from domestic & general

I have a washing machine protection plan with DOMESTIC & GENERAL......first contacted re: repair was last Thursday (27/03/14)........after many days of faffing about they told me that I had to wait around 2wks (due to your postcode) for their engineer to come & assess the machine before a repair is authorised if that was not good enough then they could not supply a repair engineer because they don't have any more engineers in our area "you are rather remote".......so I was given authorisation to get my own engineer & they'll pay the call out & repair......repairman came as quickly as he could (2-3days excellent) machine was quite costly to repair & DOMESTIC & GENERAL have written it off as beyond economical repair......ok i'd rather have it fixed as it's a great machine but hey-ho.......replacement team phoned today (04/04/14) to organise delivery of a new one (I checked & it is the exact same model but newer version avrg price is £350-£450 depending on where it's purchased)........it will be nearly 3wks at the earliest due to your postcode (PH41 4QG).....asked how soon they could deliver it to my aunty's address (just gave a random London address) i could have it tomorrow if I was in London......I flipped at them that they were discriminating against me because of where I live........."certainly not madam"......so have you not just told me on a RECORDED phonecall that I couldn't have it for nearly 3wks due to my postcode but I could have it tomorrow if I lived in London.......the guy is stumped as I have tripped him up in a recorded phonecall..........they are now scrambling to retract what he said but at the end of the day I am being discriminated against for delivery of a new washing machine because of where I live.
Just for the record there are numerous places within a 100mile radius that could supply the same machine with 48hrs!!! :mad:

"Discrimination - is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people"

So because I am a Highland dweller & not a city dweller I am now without a machine for nearly 3wks & now have the expense of taking my laundry to a laundrette which is a 2hr 90mile round trip (plus time to wait for the laundry to be done!) this unnecessary travel incurrs fuel costs plus having to take time off work to do washing EVERYDAY for 2wks so I have therefore a loss of earnings aswell. :mad::mad::mad:

They also want me to buy out the remainder of my policy (£130 something) before they'll even issue my new machine......even though they have just told me they are cancelling the policy as the claim has been made......How can I be held to ransom over a policy I have paid for over 7yrs and that THEY are cancelling??? I asked if I crashed my car & they wrote it off I would not be expected to pay out the remainder before being given my pay out & I would also be given a refund on however many months I'd have paid into that year's policy......I was told that is not the case with us. :mad:

Further more phone calls & arguing over the ludicrous situation I was then offered a cash settlement......£160.......nowhere near enough to purchase ANY washing machine of a similar calibre let alone the exact same model......how can they justify that as a cash settlement??? :eek::mad::eek::mad:

I have refused the cash settlement naturally, as it doesn't even get me a 2nd hand one & I feel extremely robbed of my money having paid £16 per month for 7yrs for a protection plan that's useless.......which is £1344 worth of premiums they have taken.....I could have bought the blessed machine twice nearly 3 times over with that!!!!

Where do I stand with them over this does anyone know??

3wks is not a reasonable timescale especially with a working family who have uniforms everyday.....I work for the NHS & need to have my uniform washed on a hot wash so it's not exactly like I can just rinse things out in the sink......they were made aware that time is of an essence yet still they refuse to find another agent to supply me with a new machine.

I am horrified that they are holding me to ransom over a washing machine!!!!! :eek:

PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHERE I GO FROM HERE!!!!!

wealdroam

janjan78 wrote: »

I asked if I crashed my car & they wrote it off I would not be expected to pay out the remainder before being given my pay out & I would also be given a refund on however many months I'd have paid into that year's policy......I was told that is not the case with us. :mad:

Are you sure about that?

I believe that if you are paying your car insurance on monthly instalments and write off your car, they will deduct any remaining premiums from any payout.

So yes, you would be expected to pay out the remainder before being given your pay out, and no you would not get a refund of anything on your motor insurance.

shaun_from_Africa

wealdroam wrote: »

I believe that if you are paying your car insurance on monthly instalments and write off your car, they will deduct any remaining premiums from any payout

This is correct.
I've yet to hear about any insurer that will simply forget about the remainder of the instalments if you are making a total loss claim.

janjan78

Well if that's genuinely the case, then I'd happily pay it but it's still not getting me my washing machine any quicker!!!

What really bothers me is that they are only offering £160 as a cash settlement.......I have looked & I cannot find a washing machine of the same calibre for even twice that price so I don't understand where they have come to the conclusion that that's a fair cash settlement?? Especially when they were saying that I could have the exact same machine replaced by them (but I'd have to wait 3wks minimum due to my location - mainland uk!!).......I'd gladly shake their hand & say well done on a bargain if they can find my exact same machine for £160!!!! :rotfl:

What would you say is a reasonable timsescale? giving the fact that i've wasted a week already thanks to their faffing about and i'm now expected to wait another 3wks or more?? There is more than one hotpoint retailer in the UK so why are they sticking with one who can't get me it?? None of the "white goods couriers" come further north than Glasgow so it has to be passed onto another courier & onward transportation from there so their 3wk minimum timescale is not even a true timescale!!!!

I have a family and cannot feasibly use a friend's washing machine for the next month as who'd be liable to pick up the cost of her machine if it broke with my washing in it??
I don't even want a new machine I wanted my old one fixed.....Also as my initial post states my laundrette is a 2hr 90mile round trip so their suggestion of this isn't a reasonable solution either. I am paying the same premiums to them as joe bloggs in the city, so why am I receiving inferior service from them?? If they can't honour a protection plan for this area then they shouldn't offer it nor should they be taking my money :mad:

Any advice on how to go from here will be gratefully received!!! Along the likes of how would I stand if I went & bought the exact same model from our nearest appliance store.....what's the likelyhood of them honouring the payment?? All the models I have found online & locally are a minimum of £350-450 for the same model.....how are they saying £160 is going to buy that??
By the way the £160 offer was only after I paid the remainder of the policy so it hasn't already been deducted from that figure.....if it was then i'd only be getting £30!!!! How can they legally do that??

HELP!!!!!

Fosterdog

janjan78 wrote: »

So because I am a Highland dweller & not a city dweller I am now without a machine for nearly 3wks & now have the expense of taking my laundry to a laundrette which is a 2hr 90mile round trip (plus time to wait for the laundry to be done!) this unnecessary travel incurrs fuel costs plus having to take time off work to do washing EVERYDAY for 2wks so I have therefore a loss of earnings aswell. :mad::mad::mad:

Why do you have to make a 2hr round trip everyday? Why not wash by hand like everyone else would?

janjan78

My nearest laundrette is 45miles one way & 45 miles back!!!

I work for NHS so my uniform needs to be a 60* wash minimum for disinfection purposes.....can you put your hands in 60* water?? :eek:

Feel free to come wash my uniform if you can!!!! lol

mattyprice4004

Think about it logically, you're in the Highlands where they won't have as many drivers due to the location and amount of people there. Of course it's going to take longer to get to you (3 weeks is a lot though)

So is it discrimination when couriers charge more to deliver to the highlands too?

Bantex_2

The couriers we use have totally different terms for Highland deliveries.

janjan78

Different subject but there is actually a campaign going through government about that!!! :rotfl:

It's a hugely excessive amount of time :eek: there are plenty hotpoint suppliers within 100mile radius with the exact model in stock that could have it here by Monday......as I say I pay my premiums to them the same as the next person but I have to wait longer cause I don't live in a city, even though they are well aware there are suppliers of the machine locally to me!! :mad:

janjan78

Bantex wrote: »

The couriers we use have totally different terms for Highland deliveries.

Who is "we" and Why??

we are mainland uk and live on "A" class roads, we pay the same rates as everyone else but we get charged twice & even triple amounts.....though in my case it's an unreasonable length of time because of my postcode :mad:

unholyangel

janjan78 wrote: »

My nearest laundrette is 45miles one way & 45 miles back!!!

I work for NHS so my uniform needs to be a 60* wash minimum for disinfection purposes.....can you put your hands in 60* water?? :eek:

Feel free to come wash my uniform if you can!!!! lol

How about seeing if theres anyone in the area who offers a washing service? Many of them also offer to pick it up/drop it off so may be no travelling required on your part.