AO - Aftercare Protection Plan

kleapatra

I never usually agree to these policies however the bloke at AO gave me a discount on my 3 appliances I was buying if I bought the policies. So I agreed to them and planned to cancel the polIcies after delivery. Well one hour after the kitchen fitter had finished fitting my shiny new kitchen, I knocked over a bottle and smashed my unused new induction hob into quite a few pieces. The 'unwanted' policy pays out for any reason including stupidity and my hob is being fixed next week, for free (haven't even paid the first premium yet). I've cancelled the DD's for the oven and extractor but I think I may keep the hob one for now........

desthemoaner

An oldish thread, I know, but it struck a chord.

I bought a fridge freezer from AO a few days ago. Right enough, minutes after purchase the call came and I was offered the monthly plan. I have had these before and in one particular case, that of a cooker with which we had numerous problems, the plan did prove useful, to some extent. It might have worked just as well if we'd liaised directly with the manufacturer, but who knows. Anyhow I declined on this occasion because one of the features of the fridge which influenced my choice was the 2 year manufacturers' warranty. To be tacitly informed after purchase that this factory warranty simply wasn't adequate and that I needed to take out an extra plan was a surprise, to put it mildly. Anyhow, I stuck to my guns and refused.

For anyone who is determined to buy these policies, it might be worth calling Domestic and General, who supply AO aftercare plans, for a quote direct, because in theory at least, you'll get their price rather than the one loaded with AO's cut. You might also be able to take out a "group" policy to cover all your kitchen white goods, which could be cheaper than taking out policies for individual items.

Viking_Man

CLW4590 wrote: »

They were pretty underhand with me. They gave the pitch "just checking your address and what you ordered..can you confirm xyz...blah...." total bs....then said "right, do you have a pen, I'm going to give you this emergency call out number for Domestic and General. It means that you can call them out should there be any issue, and they'll repair or replace absolutely free"...I said "No it won't be free, I'll be expected to pay a fee" to which he said "There may be a nominal charge, but only coppers". I told him to categorically do one at this stage (he'd already been on 10 mins and I was at work). I said I do not want an extended warranty, it's what you are selling, please go away. He'd annoyed me more with the way he was trying to get me to agree - not transparent at all and if I wasn't as switched on, I could see people being sucked in.
It sort of spoilt an otherwise good service - good price - quick delivery.

Same as my experience recently buying an oven. I bought it over the phone and the sales guy spent at least 10 minutes trying to convince me to buy the aftercare policy. He used all kinds of whacky maths to try to convince me that it was a sound "investment". I just had to keep saying "no"; the more persistent he was, the more I dug in. Why don't salespeople get this? Then he was asking me "what is stopping you from purchasing this?". I wanted to say "Your attitude" but I thought it was too rude, so I just kept saying I wanted to think about and research it. Which is why I'm reading this thread

mhannington

My reason to refuse was BAD day. Daugther ill. TV died over weekend - hence purchase. Boiler broke down today too. No heating etc... don't push me, because I'm not in the mood. Same old trite sales logic "reasoned objection handling" or whatever it is. Just be bold as brass and tell them NO, means NO, means NO... for whatever reason. Broken record technique if you want to use a phrase for that. Eventually they give in if they want the sale, and believe me they do! I was doing this on price comparison for TV. Got £44 off their list price compared to listing online from a competitor (less trustworthy competitor, but still have to put up with this nonsense, but worth it for nearly 10% off a price which Currys were offering as their "sale" price).

Don't take any rubbish. D&G policies are not necessary as many others have said - manufacturer warranty applies.....

ic

I've bought a few appliances from them, and they've never tried hard to sell the policy as everything I have bought has come with a five year warranty.

Grezley1

Do not bother with these follow up calls. I like AO but I had one call immediately after buying offering cover for £10 a month for a computer that has not given me any problems in the year I've had it. Then a year later, I got another one. When I said 'You're on commission aren't you' he backed down. But it was a pushy Mancunian lad who doesn't want to put the phone down until he has your direct debit details. Be firm and say no

tallac

I'm a new customer to AO and recently purchased a few appliances, each appliance under a different order. I got a call some days after from someone, she seemed extremely friendly and nice, asking about my experience with AO and just chit chatting about the benefits with the kind of appliances I ordered. I used the opportunity to ask several questions about changing the delivery date etc and she was very patient. She then went into a whole speech about AO Care. She was so kind before, I didn't have the heart to interrupt her to say I wasn't interested. After her speech, I then asked if she could send me details via email so I could read through it in my own time. She made a couple of pressure comments about why I wasn't interested right there and then, but I repeated to her that I prefer to read things in my own time before committing. As soon as I did that, her whole attitude changed. She was no longer friendly or patient, she was wanting to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

The very next day, I got a call from someone else at AO and it was pretty much the same thing. Very friendly and patient. I stopped this person quite early to say that it sounded very much like the call the previous day and I questioned whether it was about AO Care. They confirmed it was and said that they had called because they were calling about one of the other orders. The previous person did not make a note that all orders were already covered by their call. Anyway, again the same thing, as soon as they realised I wasn't interested in the AO Care package, they were very short and couldn't get off the phone fast enough.

I totally understand they're on commission and that for them it's all about how quickly they can call the next person when they feel the current person isn't going to get them any a commission but it does highlight that all the friendly and helpful patience they show at the beginning is very fake. Don't get sucked in.

ashe

I made a claim against AO.com last year. we originally bought an LG fridge freezer with them which we had problems with off the bat due to condensation down the central column between the two doors, and later ice forming in the bottom of the freezer tray and then leaking under the unit. We were cleaning mould off the seals weekly. 

LG came out 3 times to fix under warranty, but then claimed we were outside the warranty and because 90 days had elapsed since last repair, it was deemed to be something new that had developed. Engineer visit £140+ any parts needed. Joke. 
AO.com offered me £25 redress after an hour on the phone and waiting hours for a call back absolved themselves of it so I said I wanted to make a claim under consumer rights act and sent a which.com template letter. they rang and offered me £100 towards LG's costs and at that point I knew I had a claim. 
They insisted on an engineers report, so paid a local guy £45 to do one - total cowboy but it did the trick and they refunded the price we paid less wear and tear - essentially we got £850 back on a £1200 fridge/freezer, plus the cost of the engineers report. 

We used a discount code with Very.com to get 30% off a new one, and Samsung were running a £250 cashback scheme, so we wound up with a superior unit for about £100 more than the refund amount, but with peace of mind that this one came with a 5 year warranty on parts and labour. 

Consumer rights act isn't as good as a warranty, but it does give you some cover in certain situations. Did make me wonder 

Caddyman

I've just made my third purchase from AO in the last 5 months. Each time within a couple of hours of purchase, I've received a phone call (a Southampton number). The first issue for me has been, if I don't answer within 3 rings, the call has been cut leaving me wondering who it was that just called. Ordinarily, I would never bother answering a number I don't recognise, but as I'd just ordered a new appliance and I'd just missed a call, I decided to call the number back.....and wish I hadn't. I ended up listening to a young man with a clearly scripted brief, try and flog me AO Aftercare insurance, something I neither want or need. Upshot is, I've now blocked the number they keep phoning me on.

From my own experience, the ordering and delivery service from AO is second to none. Great prices too. Sadly, the whole package is spoilt by the follow up calls to flog the insurance.

[Deleted User]

Grezley1 said:

Do not bother with these follow up calls. I like AO but I had one call immediately after buying offering cover for £10 a month for a computer that has not given me any problems in the year I've had it. Then a year later, I got another one. When I said 'You're on commission aren't you' he backed down. But it was a pushy Mancunian lad who doesn't want to put the phone down until he has your direct debit details. Be firm and say no

Or just keep saying OK to everything they say. Drives them mad and they won’t stay on the phone for long.

The policies that Currys do for a one off payment are ok but I don’t like these ones where you pay a monthly DD. You read stories about people that scrapped the appliance 10 years ago but never cancelled the DD so they have paid hundreds in insurance for a cooker they no longer have.