We want you to pay £354 on an item covered with insurance

julesmum23

Sorry for rambling but I am very upset at the moment.

About 6 years ago I had insurance with my dyson this was brilliant if I needed a part etc they would either send the part or repair man, when I was chatting to the guy from the insurance and said how happy I am with this insurance he mentioned that I could insure all my household items under 8 years old great I thought, things do have the habit of breaking down when you can least afford it,

I got everything covered from my cooker down to my printer. I have had a couple of call outs in that time but only once on the washing machine in question and that was 3 years ago.

Today a repair man came to look at the machine he had the part and everything was going fine, till he rang for permission. This policy for the washing machine this year is £102.88 the part in question was £85 + vat they refused permission and will write of the machine, fine I thought they will replace it that was the cover I thought I had. Rang the company to find out what happens now as I need to replace it quickly as I have 3 kids.

Imagine my disbelieve when they replied "we will be looking at you to pay £354 for the replacement". The machine never cost that new cant remember exact price was was not over £250.

I cannot afford that and I am very confused with the other option. When I can afford to replace my machine at 70% of the cost to let them know and they will order it for me.

I don't want to do that I need a machine now so will have to get a second hand one but they will not let me do that.

Is that right? do I not have any other option?

I even offered to pay the difference in what they will pay for a repair and the cost of the repair, they would not even let me do that.

I spent 40 mins on the phone and got myself into a right state.

Can anyone help please? I need to call back later with a decision.

Quentin

Afraid they are probably correct - check the policy about what happens if repairs aren't economical, but usually this is what happens. (A contribution towards a new one).

mattymoo

Do you recall the name of the insurance policy so we can have a look to see if they have the terms and conditions on their website.

julesmum23

It is domestic & General, it is on their policy my own fault for not reading when 1st purchased and subsequent years of buying.

What I cannot understand is why pay £102.88 per year yet the repair limit is less?

I feel so stupid with paying all that money for nothing. But surely I should have something back even if it is the 30% so I can buy a second hand model

mattymoo

Right, I've had a look at their site and this bit, along with the PDF files linked to are of interest.
http://www.domgen.com/products/extended-warranty/exclusions.html

In the third and subsequent years the most they will pay towards repair is 30% of the current retail price of the machine or its equivalent.

Beyond 30% they say it is uneconomic to repair and will ask for 70% towards the replacement cost.

So, £354 (your contrib) divide by 70 = 5.05
Multiply by 100 and we have £505.71. This must be the replacement machine cost quoted by their supplier.

£505.71 x 30% (their max repair cost) would be £151.71
You said the part was £85+VAT = £99.87
Their engineers fee would need to be £51.84 or less to make this an economic repair. Worth checking they have done their maths correctly.

Secondly, I would ask where they are sourcing the machine from - sounds like Harrods. They do state on the link above that
"(The current retail price is the lowest price reasonably available)". We could argue that Curry's / Comet etc would be reasonably available. I suspect their supplier may be inflating the price since they have a contract with D&G and no need to be competetive.

They do have a fall back in their T&C - they will give you vouchers to the value they would have paid under their terms. I would challenge their figures and push them to move to this fall back solution of vouchers which will then give you some freedom to get a better deal on the high street.

julesmum23

Your post is fantastic, I could not get myself past the "I cannot afford it bit".

It does say about the vouchers on my policy and I was not offered that this morning, I did ask for vouchers and was told no I had to let them know what I wanted and they would purchase it with me paying 70%, I took that to mean I could have gone for a standard machine which (mine is by the way) about £250 and I would still have to pay 70% towards costs.

I feel a lot calmer now and I am going to call them back, will let you know how I get on.

julesmum23

Got no joy the department I need to speak to are gone for the day.

Had a quick look on comet website I can get a new machine for cheaper than my share. And better specs than mine now.

I am certainly going to be cancelling many policies with them.

The dds will be going into a separate account for this very thing.

judy2357

Think British Gas policies are better from experience as in the past few years they have contributed towards a washing machine, a fridge freezer and a microwave so I would well recommend them. Although I agree in principle with albertross I feel that as appliances are definitely not made to last nowadays and in our case they rarely last longer than 2 years. We have a deal with British Gas Homecare 400 which covers central heating, plumbing, electrics and appliances.

Mikeyorks

julesmum23 wrote: »

This policy for the washing machine this year is £102.88

If I'm reading this correctly ... you've ("but only once on the washing machine in question and that was 3 years ago." ) already paid for a brand new machine and are probably well on the way to paying for the second. Yet, after 3 years, you're barely protected?

Most of these white goods policies are poorly disguised rip-offs. Personally I'd junk them all and start putting the cash into a contingency account. After a couple of years you should be ahead .... but do try to buy white goods where the parts, at least, are covered up to 3 / 5 years.

julesmum23

I am going to which brings me to my next question.

Do I cancel every single policy or just those with the same sort of protection?

Do I see the year through most run out christmas time.

I have already cancelled due to not renewing 2 today but would not of cancelled if this had not happened that is £150 they as a company have already lost, a quick count up of what I pay is approximatly £650 per year.

Yet I have always been thrilled with my dyson policy and have used this, they always have repaired it, not once to my knowledge have they had to ring for permission whilst repairing it, I have even had parts that have worn sent by the repairman.

Mikeyorks

julesmum23 wrote: »

Yet I have always been thrilled with my dyson policy and have used this, they always have repaired it

You're going to have to re-evaluate your white goods purchases;) If you have a product that needs insurance, because it's always needing repair? Then it's not the insurance that's good ... it's the product that's lousy!

Honestly with £650pa on insurance ... you're really paying way over the odds for what is really a false sense of security. Buy products with a better inbuilt warranty ... and just stick the £650 into a contingency account. And we'll meet up in the Bahamas (your treat, from the contingency fund) in a few years:p