AO - Aftercare Protection Plan

50Twuncle

Could someone please confirm that AO's Aftercare Protection Plan is a rip off ?
We ordered a new fridge freezer from AO yesterday and within 10 minutes, they had called us back to confirm a delivery date !!

Now the bad bit - they persuaded my wife to take out a £4.95 per month contract "Aftercare Protection Plan" which I feel is not right - what about the first 12 months warranty ?
Surely - if we have a problem with it, in the first 12 months - we are covered anyway ?
Should I contact AO and cancel it ?

pinkteapot

I never bother with these, or any form of extended warranty.

What it covers over and above the standard manufacturer's warranty is accidental damage. That's all. You may have this with your house insurance anyway (if you added accidental damage to your policy).

These sort of policies are not worth it while the appliance is under manufacturer warranty (in my view). I don't bother with them afterwards either. Often, you can take one out even if your appliance has broken down, so what's the point? (We've just done this with our ten year old oven which developed a fault - took out an extended warranty and the initial repair required was covered.

I've ordered several times from AO and always get that phone call. I just say no. It's just their equivalent of the guy in Currys trying to flog you an extended warranty at the till.

In good news, you've got a 14 day cooling off period so you can cancel now with no cost:
http://ao.com/help-and-advice/help-with-my-product/aftercare

phil24_7

You have 14 days to cancel the contract for the 'aftercare protection plan'...so please do it. Your household contents insurance would probably cover you anyway should you really need it.

phill99

These things only benefit one party: the insurance company

macman

Even if extended warranties are required, you can buy them direct for about half what the retailers charge-the mark up is generally extortionate and forms a large part of their profit margin, hence the hard sell.
As you say, you'll have a one or possibly 2 year manufacturer's warranty on it.

50Twuncle

macman wrote: »

Even if extended warranties are required, you can buy them direct for about half what the retailers charge-the mark up is generally extortionate and forms a large part of their profit margin, hence the hard sell.
As you say, you'll have a one or possibly 2 year manufacturer's warranty on it.

Thanks - I will.cancel.it !!

vansboy

And when you register the warranty with the maker, THEY wll also try to sell a warranty...which may be better value, if you did want one.

Plus, depending on your bank account or credit card you used, there may well be an additional years warranty from the card or bank

VB

chrisw

Fridge freezers are usually extremely reliable. It's usually the drawers and plastic finishings which break first.

System

I have just purchased a fridge-freezer from AO.com, and I would give them 5 stars for customer service and price.

The 'aftercare plan' surfaced after the deal was struck. I was given 'chapter and verse' about the benefits of paying £8.74 per month etc etc. I politely declined and, in fairness, I didn't get the hard sell. As others have said, this is an expensive scheme which over 10 years would have cost me a lot more than the price of the product.

A quick check of the manufacturer's standard warranty shows 2 years with an option to extend to 10 years for £350. So even if I was interested in a 10 year guarantee, I would end up paying AO.com £650 more. Both the product manufacturer and AO.com use the same company for their extended warranties - Domestic and General.

Caveat Emptor.

umertahir

"

What does "no fix, no fee" mean?
As the name suggests with no fix, no fee if we can't fix your current fault we won't charge you a penny. And, we'll also cancel the 12-month protection that comes with the repair.

"



How conveniently they give these catchy captions like "no fix, no fee"...but what about the previous instalments already paid for this protection plan.

smudger1964

AO are brilliant with price and delivery but they are very persistant with their trying to flog the warranty..Had 3 phone calls from them..Had to tell them to stop phoning in the end..