Washer machine wrangle puts pair in a spin
THEY CLAIM STORE ONLY TOOK ACTION AFTER THEY APPROACHED DERBY TELEGRAPH
CURRYS PC World has been forced to apologise to a Derby couple who had to wait months for a faulty washing machine to be replaced.
Marcus Conner and Andrew Eaton’s Kenwood appliance broke down just five weeks after they bought it, heralding the start of issues that would last six months.
Having struggled to resolve the problem with the company, the couple said it was the influence of the Derby Telegraph that finally forced the electrical giant to replace it.
The original washer was bought for £379 in Mr Eaton’s name in May and the pair soon noticed it had a number of faults. It would regularly leak and break down.
Mr Conner said: “It was fine for five weeks but then it started dripping underneath the machine. At first it wasn’t too bad so we just put puppy training pads underneath.
“Then it got worse over time. We were sent engineers and they made repairs like fixing the seal and changing the door. Each time they came out the problems just seemed to get worse again.”
Eventually, the washing machine model was recalled, but this only increased the stress on Mr Conner who struggled to get a replacement.
Although he was promised a new washer towards the end of last year, he received no update on getting his appliance exchanged.
The 38-year-old said he would sit on the phone for hours waiting to get through to a manager and even visited the company’s Kingsway Retail Park store, but he was constantly passed between advisers without getting the issue resolved.
He said: “After trying and failing to get through on the phone I decided to visit the store late last year to get things sorted. I was helped by a member of staff and got through to an adviser on the phone, who was lovely. She gave me an exchange code and said it could take up to seven days to sort.
“After that, we still had no success. We had the code but were passed between about 10 different people trying to get a new washer.
“We were told to contact a manager but none were ever available. I was still having to ring up pretty much every day since the new year, but I had no luck getting through.”
This struggle meant he and Mr Eaton, who is an NHS worker on the frontline, were without a working washer for over six months.
With Mr Conner struggling with disabilities and his partner working long hours in the fight against the pandemic, this proved a nightmare.
Mr Conner said: “It was absolutely ridiculous, really. With my health conditions, I can’t leave the house on my own to go to a launderette.
“The closest people who could do the washing for us are over half an hour’s drive away, and my partner works at the hospital and often wouldn’t get back until late. The last thing we wanted on evenings and weekends was to be going out to a laundromat when we’d already paid for our own machine.”
After reporting the issue to the Derby Telegraph, the couple received an apology from Currys PC World and have finally been given a new washer.
A Currys PC World spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that on this occasion, Mr Eaton did not receive the standard of customer service we usually expect of ourselves. We have apologised to our customer, and have arranged for his faulty washing machine to be exchanged. We have also offered him a gesture of goodwill, and our customer is pleased with the resolution.”
Mr Conner said that, while the couple appreciated the response from Currys PC world, he believes they would not have received one without the help of the Derby Telegraph.
He said: “We do accept the apology. However, we believe they only decided to do it after you contacted them.”