AO Installed new Washing Machine / Left transit bolt in

PaperPauper

I ordered a new Beko WTG1041B2W_WH washing machine online from AO on 3rd June and paid £25 extra for installation (mainly as I didn't have the time to do it)

It was delivered on 8th June and installed by two guys from AO. We've used it a few times since. The first time, the spin at the end (800) was alarmingly loud. I put it down to poor balancing, checking that it was level after the first wash, and subsequent uses seemed better.

Today, however, the machine shook so violently that it knocked things off shelves and leaked from the bottom. When I pulled the machine out to check, I realised that one of the transit bolts had been left in by the AO installers. The bolt itself had sheared at the thread and the rubber seal around the end was ripped to shreds.

I intend to make a complaint to AO, but I'm not quite sure what I should be asking for. I could ask for the £25 back and a new set of transit bolts (which they took away incidentally, but I will need if I move the machine)

However, I'm really concerned about the potential damage to the machine. It seems to be working OK now, but it is early days and I feel that this could have drastically shortened the life of the machine if internal damage has been done and it would certainly have invalidated the guarantee.

Any ideas on how to take this forward?

[Deleted User]

PaperPauper wrote: »

I intend to make a complaint to AO, but I'm not quite sure what I should be asking for.

You should be asking for restitution of the missing transit bolts(if you want them) and (perhaps) a refund of the installation fee. The bolt is unlikely to have caused any lasting harm to the machine, but it will be covered by the guarantee anyhow.
What other losses have you incurred?

PaperPauper

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

What other losses have you incurred?

Thanks. Well, that's just it. It seems to be OK at the moment but I'm not best placed to say what internal damage might have been done that isn't yet obvious.

What I'm thinking about is, if six months down the line, the machine packs up for some reason related to this, I want to be in a position to get AO to pick up the repair tab.

I could ask them to warranty the product in respect of faults related to the damage they might have caused, though I wasn't sure whether there was an accepted / legally sound way of doing this.

[Deleted User]

PaperPauper wrote: »

What I'm thinking about is, if six months down the line, the machine packs up for some reason related to this, I want to be in a position to get AO to pick up the repair tab.

Your guarantee already covers you for this. There is unlikely to be any damage on a modern machine in any case.

PaperPauper

I've written to AO via MSEs online query/complaint procedure via Resolver. I'll update here when I get a reply.

Zandoni

I'd want a new machine, if there was enough force to break the transit bolt who knows what damage it might have caused, this could show up any time in the future.


I'd phone them before getting involved with letter writing.

bris

PaperPauper wrote: »

I've written to AO via MSEs online query/complaint procedure via Resolver. I'll update here when I get a reply.

Why jump straight into resolver? Why not just give them a call and see what they say first. A bit early for the big guns is it not?

shaun_from_Africa

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

but it will be covered by the guarantee anyhow.
What other losses have you incurred?

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Your guarantee already covers you for this. There is unlikely to be any damage on a modern machine in any case.

I'm almost certain that operating the machine with a transit bolt in place will have voided the guarantee and if a service visit is carried out during the guarantee period and the engineer discovers what happened, they may well refuse to carry out any free of charge repairs.

neilmcl

OP, you need to phone AO and explain the problem. At the very least you'll want them to provide an engineer to to come out and verify the machine has not been damaged. If it has the a new machine is in order.

OlliesDad

Definitely make sure you record the situation in writing to AO now - If it has caused damage you'd be hard pressed months later proving that the bolt was left in by them.

[Deleted User]

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

I'm almost certain that operating the machine with a transit bolt in place will have voided the guarantee

It will be covered by the guarantee because the action of using the machine with one of the transit bolts was the fault of the AO installer, not the customer.
I'd also be very surprised if this action will require the machine's complete replacement.

However, it goes without saying that the customer needs to get some acknowledgement of this in writing and AO certainly need to arrange an inspection by a qualified service engineer. The guarantee will definitely cover this.

bris wrote: »

Why jump straight into resolver? A bit early for the big guns is it not?

Since Resolver is just an E-Mail template, I'd hardly describe it as "Big Guns"
However, I agree a simple phone call to AO would likely achieve the same result far more quickly.