Reader Zack is frustrated with General Electric because they offered to inspect and repair his washing machine as a courtesy, then after they came by they stuck him with the bill. Now they’re threatening to send him to a collection agency.
Zack writes:
OK, I’ll try and make this a quick summary. I called GE with a problem with my 11 week out of warranty washer machine on August 4th. Long story short, I get forwarded to customer relations, who tells me that as a courtesy a technician will be sent out the following week, on the 11th. I get immediately suspicious and ask that he will in fact fix the washer, as I thought this might just be a courtesy diagnostic to tell me the true cost of repair. No, she said that it would be a full repair.
A week later, on the 11th, a technician comes and immediately determines that the motor and lid switch need replacing. He says that there is no courtesy credit to my account, and calls in to confirm that yes, they will not repair the washer for less than $175. I decline, it is a $400 washer give or take and I don’t want to throw good money after bad. I talk to customer service with the technician there to confirm that the previous weeks technician did not in fact fill out the correct form to give me the free repair. I am informed those forms can no longer be filled out. So be it, I am where I was last week, no big deal.
The problem comes as the technician leaves. He tells me that I will be charged $99 for the visit. To make it clear, the first time out of several phone calls and speaking to several people I am informed of the charge is as the guy is leaving. I tell him to leave the property immediately, and he does.
I call GE, and they say that they will not remove the charge. I never would have consented to it, it was said that this would be a courtesy call for which I expected there would be no charge at all. They have already threatened to send this to collections. One representative said it doesn’t matter if I was not informed of the charge as, and I quote this, “I should have been aware of the service charge already.” I will be filing complaints to the BBB and NY Consumer Protection Board, but is there anything else I can do to not have to pay $99 to get my credit out in the clear?
We’d suggest getting in touch with someone higher up at GE to see if they can resolve this.
(Photo: silent (e))
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Shopper beware.
You get what you pay for.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, e.g., free oil change = broken fan belt.
Valet parking is also a courtesy, albeit a costly one.
Fixing your credit is harder than you think, and you won’t get your “lost wages” back in small-claims court.
GE sucks, lost money on their NBC Olympics broadcast rights, but now has access to sell their appliance and medical equipments to billions of Chinese people. (Read: one individual American scammed consumer = worthless.)
@parliboy: As a courtesy, I will say thank you for that stunning insight.
Now you better pay be $5 for my gratitude, or I’m sending you to collections.
@Starfury: I have had good luck with a GE dishwasher. It’s over 7 years old, and still works like new: the only maintenance I have done is run it through a full cycle (empty) with lime remover every six months. I just veneered its faceplates so it goes with my new kitchen cabinets.
A GE telephone/answering machine and a GE rechargeable flashlight I received as gifts, however, both sucked mightily.
*shrug*
Filed under “am I getting old or what?” — used to be, people repaired their own appliances; it was considered a basic life skill to do simple repairs like that. Now no one even attempts it. Most appliances are still really simple to work on, and you’re not likely to scam yourself. ;o)
I have worked for GE for 11 years (our company was bought by GE). I receive decent discounts as part of employment, so when I bought a new house 6 years ago, I filled it with GE appliances at a nice discount. The dishwasher leaked without my knowledge and soaked my bedroom carpet. After being repaired, it had various other problems, so to cut my losses, I ripped it out of the cabinent and threw it in the back yard. My refrigerator has the worse ice maker every constructed. It is starting to have other problems, so I’ll probably get a hernia when I throw IT in the back yard.
GE is getting away from the consumer end of the market. They sold their Plastics division to Sabic last year, their insurance and financial divisions a couple of years ago, and they are currently in the process of selling the appliance division. My opinion, good ridence, let someone buy it and try to make actual reliable appliances.
Bottom line, I get a huge discount from GE and I’ll never buy another GE appliance again. Crap is crap, even at a discount.