• My repair company say I must wait in all day for their engineer, can they do this ?
• My washing machine is under guarantee, but my repair company say they will charge me if their engineer can't find any fault. Can they do that?

My repair company say I must wait in all day, can they do this?

Large national repair companies and washing machine manufacturers often insist on making you wait in all day for an engineer. An all-day call can mean you have to be available from 8am to 6pm. There may be an 8am to 1pm or 12pm to 6pm slot available, but these are often limited and you may not get one.

Why do they do this?

To work around everyone's availability they would have to employ a lot more engineers, and because of all the doubling back and extra traveling, each engineer would be much less productive. Sole traders and small independent repair companies shouldn't have too much trouble accommodating reasonable requests such as avoiding school pick up times or even giving a 2 or 3 hour slot because they usually cover a smaller area and don't necessarily have as many jobs to complete in a day, but most big repair companies and manufacturers can't / won't.

A paying customer can choose any repairer, so they can vote with their feet and use someone who gives a better service. If you are a captive customer, with a washing machine under a guarantee, or under a repair insurance you may not be able to go elsewhere. (Check your extended warranty or maintenance contract to see if you are able to use an in dependant washing machine repairer). Some contracts do allow you to use an independent repairer who tend to give a better service. [ Related: Find a washing machine repairman ]

If you are forced to use either the retailer you bought the washing machine from or the washing machine's manufacturer, you may have to argue your case with them. Personally I don't think it's reasonable for a customer to have to wait in all day from 8 AM to 6 PM, but the repair company may equally say that it isn't reasonable that they should have to accommodate every customer so that no customer has any inconvenience. This would be impossible to achieve. Ultimately, it has to be accepted that it is inconvenient when any washing machine breaks down and it is going to cause some inconvenience. If "substantially" inconvenienced due to poor workmanship or unreasonable delays, it may be possible to claim some compensation. It may also be possible to claim compensation if the washing machine is new and breaks down resulting in you having to take a day off work. [ Related link: I want to claim compensation from the repair company or the washing machine seller ]

My washing machine is under guarantee, but my repair company say they will charge me if their engineer can't find any fault. Can they do that?

This is very common, and is usually even written in the instruction book. I tend to view it as more of a threat that's unlikely to be carried out or is unenforceable, but it's definitely possible an engineer will try to charge, particularly as they usually get commission on money collected. The idea is to discourage people from calling out an engineer unnecessarily, which does happen a lot.

If you call the repairman out because you heard a funny noise once, but it hasn't made it since, or because you think it would be an idea to get a free check up just before the guarantee runs out, then you could well be liable to a charge. The guarantee doesn't cover free check ups or give a free service. However, if you genuinely have an intermittent fault and are concerned that the repairman may not find a fault (and try to charge you) I would stand my ground and refuse to pay if he doesn't find anything.

Intermittent faults are notoriously difficult to find, but no one could reasonably argue that because a fault wasn't found, it proves there is nothing wrong with the washing machine. Another scenario is when an engineer may be too pushed for time, or even unfamiliar with the product (more common than you'd think), and doesn't find a fault. Again, this does not prove there is nothing wrong with the washing machine. Under these circumstances, if an engineer is insisting on charging, I would ask what compensation I would receive if the fault continues and is found at a later date, or causes damage to laundry or the flooring etc.

If you are concerned that a fault on your washing machine may not show itself when the engineer visits, use your mobile phone camera, a digital camera or even a video camera to record strange behaviour, noises, leaks etc. You can show this to the engineer if he claims there's nothing wrong and tries to charge you.

Which? have launched Which? Online ( Which? - Your Rights ) where you can research many consumer issues and reports (not just washing machines) and benefit from their highly respected opinions and experience of consumer issues.

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