My Samsung dishwasher stopped working again. Can I get a refund?
Jason Blanke’s Samsung dishwasher stops working after less than three years. And Samsung can’t seem to repair it. Can he get an exchange or a refund?
Question
My Samsung dishwasher, which is less than three years old, recently started to leak and would not operate.?
I called Samsung, and although the dishwasher is out of warranty, they agreed to cover any parts needed so long as I pay for the $200 service call. I agreed.?
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A Samsung technician came to my home and replaced a part. However, after a couple of weeks, the dishwasher stopped working again.?
A technician returned, inspected the appliance, and told me the dishwasher needed “a few additional parts.” He said he would come back to install them.
But nobody came. When I called the service company handling the installation, a representative said Samsung had canceled the service call. Samsung said they could not get the parts.?
I then asked to be transferred to the department handling exchanges. A representative told me Samsung couldn’t exchange the dishwasher because it was out of warranty.?
?I am demanding Samsung give me a refund or exchange. I agreed to pay for the service call because they agreed to cover the parts. Otherwise, I would have just bought a new dishwasher. Can you help me? —?Jason Blanke,?Parsippany, N.J.
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Answer
Your dishwasher shouldn’t have broken down after just three years. The average dishwasher lasts about a decade, with some minor repairs needed after five years. Even though your Samsung appliance was out of warranty, the company should have found a way to get you a working dishwasher quickly.?
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When you notified Samsung that the dishwasher broke again, it should have kept you posted on the parts instead of canceling your service visit without telling you.?
Technically, Samsung is right. Your dishwasher is out of warranty, and the company owes you nothing. It repaired your dishwasher as agreed and had it working, and then the appliance broke again. Samsung has no liability.?
But you don’t have to be a consumer advocate to look at this situation and know that it’s wrong. The dishwasher should have lasted longer than three years. The repair you paid for should have given you another eight years of life on the appliance — not a few weeks. Who cares what the warranty says?
A brief, polite email to one of the?Samsung executives ?list on my consumer advocacy site might have convinced the company to help. I also publish a few?exclusive strategies on how to fix a consumer problem ?that might be helpful.
I contacted Samsung on your behalf. A representative reached out to you and agreed to refund the $700 you paid for your ailing dishwasher.?
Christopher Elliott ?is the founder of?Elliott Advocacy , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes weekly columns for King Features Syndicate,?USA Today ,?Forbes ?and the?Washington Post . He also publishes the?Elliott Report , a news site for consumers, and?Elliott Confidential , a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his?advocacy website . You can also follow him on?Twitter ,?Facebook , and?LinkedIn , or sign up for his?daily newsletter . This article originally appeared on Chriselliotts.com under the headline, My Samsung dishwasher stopped working again. Can I get a refund?
Environmental Compliance Analyst at City of Tracy
1 年I have this EXACT issue with Kenmore. Our fridge stopped working in July—2.5 years after installation. Warranty is 1 year. Parts are 5 years. We paid a local technician to come out—he diagnosed immediately and ordered the part. The order was cancelled the next day since it was “unavailable”. I called Sears/Kenmore directly and they confirmed the part is unavailable. I asked how do I fix a nearly $3,000 fridge that’s less that 3 years old if I can’t even get the part. She said if a Kenmore certified tech comes out (which took a month), verifies it is that part, and it is unavailable, they will have to refund me the fridge. I did what they said, paid a second tech, confirmed it’s a part that they are saying the manufacturer doesn’t even make any more (less than 3 years later?!??) and they will not help now. I’ve been transferred over 10 times, spent hours on the phone, only to have a ~$3,000 paperweight taking up my car’s space in the garage. This kind of service is horrendous and I’m at my wits end on what else to do?