The Eclectic Interweb

When we got the new fridge at the end of 2006 the old man insisted we should get extended warranty on it… luckily we did ‘cos it broke down last week!

Yesterday I emptied and cleaned it out just in case it was something simple… like a need for a defrost or whatever… and plugged it back in. So right now if nothing else it’d clean for the first time since we bought it which will be far less embarrassing than it might have been.

Of course it still isn’t working so I called the store to get someone out to repair it. That was when I discovered that Fisher and Paykel fridges have 2 years manufacturer warranty so I need to call them. However, I *did* learn we have 4 years extended warranty as well so it’s covered for 6 years in total! Sweet… assuming someone comes to fix it quickly! 🙂

Hmmm… seems the oven is covered for 4 years as well! I wonder if cleaning is included? Probably not. 🙂

Ok… as per usual in this house nothing went quite as simply as it could have… or should have.

I called Fisher and Paykel (didn’t realise they were a New Zealand company!!) , explained the problem and started to make a booking. I find the serial number by lying on the floor and looking up under the door… which is an ideal place to put it if you’re ‘infirm’ in some way… luckily I’m not quite that bad just yet. Great… how would I like to pay for the $100 call our fee and the parts? Excuse me… did you say pay? It’s still under manufacturers warranty!

Apparently her records show the fridge is out of warranty… which my highly trained mind (?? 🙂 ??) instantly deduces is caused by Harvey Norman (the store it was bought) having sold us stock they’d been holding for some considerable time!

We then have a short discussion about her having to ‘sight’ the invoice before they can do the job under warranty.. and my having to explain to her I don’t much care what her records show, the date on the invoice is what counts. In retrospect I realise I *could* have faxed a copy straight to her… but as the invoice doesn’t have the serial number on it anyway I’m not sure what difference seeing it would make anyway!!

In the end I agree to have the invoice available for the technician to view, and to sufficient funds available to pay the call out fee in cash if required… which satisfies her requirements even tho it was clear to both of us there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance of me paying out *anything* regardless. On the other hand he (funny how I assume it’ll be a male eh??) may decide the problem was caused by mice chewing the wiring (and be able to demonstrate that’s the case) in which case I’d just have to fork out the cash and smile through gritted teeth. 🙂

Anyway, service is provisionally booked in for Thurs 6th March between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. We’ll see what develops then.