Dr TV Vaswani, a family physician of Mahim, is a very upset man these days. He had bought a Whirlpool Refrigerator in 2005 with a seven-year warranty on its compressor
Dr TV Vaswani, a family physician of Mahim, is a very upset man these days. He had bought a Whirlpool Refrigerator in 2005 with a seven-year warranty on its compressor.
In July 2008, the fridge was not cooling so he sent in a complaint. A service attendant informed him that the refrigerant gas had leaked and, on paying Rs395, would be replaced. Two weeks later, when the problem recurred, he was told that there was a major fault with the compressor which would have to be repaired in the service provider’s workshop.
Having agreed, Dr Vaswani was kept in the dark about the progress. As the number on the service card turned out to be non-existent, the Whirlpool helpline gave him a mobile number, when contacted. On calling, he was told that the refrigerator would be delivered to him ‘soon’. The fridge was finally delivered four weeks later with a bill of Rs3,000. When told that the compressor was under a seven-year warranty, the helpline feigned ignorance and promised that the company would get back to him ‘later’.
Stories like Dr Vaswani’s are in plenty. Companies selling televisions, mobile phones, refrigerators, computers and the like promise a warranty for several years without considering their service providing capacity.
Several years ago, a TV manufacturing company had come out with a scheme in which the consumer was to get his entire money back for the set after seven years. Not a single client got his money back as the company went bust within four years.
Similar ‘lifetime free’ services are available with mobile service providers but no one bothers to read the onerous clauses regarding the number of years the lifetime is supposed to be, the minimum amount to be paid periodically, and the number of calls.
The consumer has to run from pillar to post either talking to a faceless call centre number to no avail or see his money go down the drain with the company changing hands and the new owners ignoring these ‘liabilities’. It then becomes a lifetime of headaches for the consumer who has unwittingly fallen into a trap from which he cannot extricate himself.
dr.m.s.kamath@gmail.com,
mailto:dr.m.s.kamath@gmail.com
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