Washing machine repairers

If your washing machine or other household appliance is faulty, then for the majority of people, using a professional repair company or calling in a local repairman is the best option. However, finding a reputable washing machine repairman or company isn't always easy, and there are many issues relating to having a washing machine engineer call to your house that are covered in the repairs section. (including links to find a washing machine repairer in your post code area).

• Should I look for a free estimate?
• Should I pay a call-out charge?
• Should I call a repairman out of normal working hours?
• Should I let my washing machine be taken away for repairs?
• Should I have my washing machine serviced regularly?

 

Should I look for a free estimate?

Some trades offer a free estimate and always have. The costs incurred in coming out to quote are all part of the prices charged. Most businesses that do it are usually estimating for large jobs potentially bringing in hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Examples of this are builders, decorators, double glazing companies etc. They are all able to make enough money when they do get a job to cover the expenses of the ones they lose, and most of them need to come out and inspect things before coming back another day anyway - so more than one visit is inevitable whereas a washing machine repairer will often be able to fix the appliance in one visit only and is geared up to striving for that).

The average cost of a washing machine repair is relatively very low. In many areas I found quoting anything over £60 for the total price of a repair was met with shock and disgust followed by, "is it worth it?". With people owning the average washing machine anything over £100 (including parts, labour and VAT) almost always resulted in the customer buying a new machine. The cost of a budget replacement washing machine is now ludicrously cheap (as low as £175). There is simply not enough profit to cover free estimates and no call-out charges repairing washing machines these days (if there ever was).

Bearing all this in mind, you should think how reasonable it is to expect someone to make an appointment, which means designating potentially up to an hour of their allotted time from their working day, to call to your house, and then spend time checking and diagnosing your machine, and finally giving you advice - all for nothing. Many adverts do offer free estimates (and even free call-outs) but you will often have to fit in with their times and maybe wait in all day. They are also likely to be reluctant to spend much time looking at your washing machine, and may not even take the top or back off. They can sometimes simply make up a price based on your description of the fault, or quote a predefined standard amount based on what they think they can get away with. If the fault looks like it will need more than a few minutes to diagnose - they simply can't afford to spend this time with no guarantee they will get paid anything.

Basically if you are not paying for something, you often don't get it. It is also common for them not to tell you exactly what is wrong with your washing machine, and exactly what they are quoting you for. This is because they will need to guard against customers using them to diagnose the fault and then fixing it themselves or ringing round to find someone to do it cheaper. So you may well be just given a price, or a vague description of the problem with a price and it's take it or leave it.

Another problem is that if your washing machine is not worth repairing, and a repairman tells you this honestly, he will not be able to charge you and will lose money. Even honest people can find this soul destroying if it's more than the odd job and these days a high percentage of people don't have the repair done. I once went out on a Saturday morning with 5 jobs and only one had the repair done. Fortunately I charged each one a small amount to at least cover costs. If I'd been committed to giving free estimates I would have lost out big time. Shouldn't every business transaction result in the business making some money?

I know of some traders who always warn customers not to get rid of their washing machine and to have it repaired. This way they lose far fewer jobs. They warn them that the new ones are "rubbish". This can persuade many to spend large amounts on a repair when their washing machine is exactly the same build quality as the new ones in the shop (just as "rubbish")

Summary:

The point of this article is not to vilify everyone offering free estimates, but to defend traders who make a stand and say, it costs money to come out and diagnose a fault. Someone has to pay for it - and that "someone" should be the person who doesn't have a repair done after diagnosis. Don't penalize someone who has a very reasonable (often nominal) call-out or estimate charge as they are often just trying to be honest and up front about charges. Their call out costs are not additional charges, they are usually just the portion of the labour costs that cover the coming out and diagnosing. To give free estimates a trader usually has to charge higher prices to cover it.

I am not saying that all people offering free estimates will be cowboys. In fact in some areas, because the vast majority of rival companies offer free estimates and no call-outs it can be very difficult or even impossible for a genuine repairman or company to not to follow suit. Also, a local repairman covering a village or small area may be happy to give free estimates and absorb the costs, which will be far less than someone covering a large city. However, in many cases - particularly if a trader covers a large area in a big city - free estimates are often subsidised by higher repair charges. If they don't, then I don't know how they can survive unless they are persuading most people to have the repair done even when they may be better off buying a new one.

I personally prefer to deal with a repairer who has the luxury of being free to be totally honest with me over whether he thinks my product (whatever it is) is worth repairing or not without being penalized financially. I don't want to have someone in front of me that will lose money if he is honest and advises me my product isn't really worth repairing and who can only cover his costs if he can pesuade me to have a repair done. I know there are many honest engineers, but I think giving free estimates means either charging higher somewhere to cover them or not making a fair profit and potentially struggling to keep in business.

(The next article below is strongly linked to this topic - ( comment on either of these topics on my Blog Free estimates and no call out charges - are they realistic? )

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Should I pay a call-out charge?

Call-out charges are grossly misunderstood by many customers and unfairly despised by most. People often don't appreciate that if you book an engineer to call at your house, the engineer has to allow for between half an hour and up to an hour's slot in his day to fix your washing machine. If he only books in 8 jobs each day then one eighth of his day is given to you. Once he has a full day's work booked in, he could lose work when other customers can't be fitted in. If subsequently he comes to your house and you aren't even there, or you don't have the repair done, then it has cost him much more than the cost of the petrol to get there.

People tend to unfairly resent paying call-out charges (in the same way they resent paying delivery charges after buying a product.) These resentments are understandable to a point but unfair. It costs money to call out to a customer so of course they should pay. Many engineers realise that customers are generally much happier when call-out (and likewise delivery charges) are simply hidden within the cost of a product or service, but it you do not have your washing machine repaired it's not possible for an engineer to hide the costs unless they charge extra on successful repairs to cover it.

If a call-out charge is very high then it's a different matter, but a small £10 - £20 charge is very reasonable and even £40 will only cover the actual costs of sending some engineers to a customer when a company employs engineers. An important note, often not appreciated, is that if an engineer has a call-out charge, then their labour charges are likely to be reduced accordingly, they are not additional charges. It's highly unlikely that a company charging £40 call out would also charge as much for labour as another company offering no call out charge. They are most likely just splitting the costs in order to cover the costs of coming out if you don't have the repair done. Conversely, someone who doesn't charge a call-out charge may well quote and charge more for the repair to cover it. So ironically, you could pay more for a washing repair from someone not charging for estimates or call outs. e.g. One company may chage £30 call out and £20 for the first hour. Another company may charge NO call out, but charge £60 for the first hour - £10 more. The moral is to find out exactly what all the charges are before an engineer is booked.

Make sure you also read the Should I look for a free estimate (above) which is an important part of this topic and inextricably linked.( comment on either of these topics on my Blog Free estimates and no call out charges - are they realistic? )

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Should I call a repairman out of normal working hours?

As inconvenient as it is, a broken down washing machine is not really classed as a genuine emergency. Other trades (such as plumbers) usually have out of hours services for emergencies, but we all know it costs a fair bit extra. There is no real demand for out of hours washing machine repairs at an increased cost. Most washing machine repair businesses only operate during normal

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Should I let my washing machine be taken away for repairs?

Having your washing machine taken away for repairs has the following disadvantages -

• It is likely to cost you extra, as considerably more time and effort is involved
• Two visits are needed so it takes longer
• You have no idea what is being done to the washing machine
• There is no good reason to take a washing machine away in the majority of cases as virtually all repairs can be done in the home (see note below)
• Your washing machine could get damaged in transit
• Many cowboys routinely take washing machines away because they can charge for work not carried out, or fit second hand parts but charge for new ones

NOTE: Some reputable engineers could legitimately want to take your washing machine away to a workshop if your machine has a fault that is intermittent and hard to trace or otherwise difficult to diagnose. Also, if you have a very small kitchen, someone may prefer to take it away for a tub or drum bearing change. In most cases taking one away should be avoided.

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Should I have my washing machine serviced regularly?

Ideally the answer should be yes because mechanical machines benefit from regular maintenance. If you want to have a washing machine serviced every so often, especially if it's a quality washing machine it shouldn't do any harm and could be very beneficial. The problem is that as purchase costs have come down, many washing machines are just not expensive enough to warrant investing money each year on servicing. A service can cost between £30 and £90 depending on who you use, so having a washing machine annually serviced each year for 10 years could be very expensive. The economics just don't encourage annual servicing - especially when many breakdowns could not even be prevented with a service. Of course some breakdowns could be prevented, and some problems could be sorted before they became more expensive, but the overall lifetime cost could even outweigh these "potential" savings.

The most important thing to bear in mind though is that faults are ignored at your own risk. I have seen many major faults that were caused by ignoring minor faults. Things like small leaks that can end up shorting out the electrics and damaging the main program timer, or noises that eventually cause the drum or motor to seize up, and coins rattling about inside that eventually damage the main tub. If you don't want to have your washing machine serviced regularly - which is fair enough nowadays - make sure you don't ignore any symptoms that you become aware of.

Give your washing machine a regular service wash

Washing machine manufacturers all now recommend that you regularly put your washing machine on a service wash. This can prevent several problems caused by a build up of gunge and slime inside the washing machine. For further details read - Causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machine

More on next column ...

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