A warranty does not guarantee good service

It could be time-consuming; also, not all faults are covered

All household appliances have warranty periods of one to five years. Dealers push products on the platform of a ‘good service record’. But getting a faulty appliance repaired or replaced during the warranty period isn’t as easy as is made out to be.

To begin, lodging a complaint can be difficult. Calling the store or dealer you purchased an appliance from might not be enough; one has to call the manufacturer to lodge a complaint, and this might take several attempts. Sometimes, you might be asked to call the regional centre. Also, a copy of the warranty card alone isn’t sufficient; you will also need a copy of the bill or invoice. In case you don’t have it, get a copy from your dealer. Without these documents, your complaint will not be entertained. Once you lodge the complaint, you have to wait for the company’s service executive to visit your house and ensure someone is at home when the executive comes. Sometimes, this could take up to a month.
 

After several telephone calls and follow-ups, the service executive finally visits your house and inspects the appliance. Don’t be surprised if he tells you the repair does not fall within the ambit of the warranty and says you have to pay for the service. A reason for this could be the appliance concerned is damaged while moving house or during installation. Or, external accessories have been installed on the appliance, due to which it has developed a snag. In many products, there are parts not covered under warranties. For instance, the outer casing and top lid in washing machines, the plastic, glassware, bulb and tube in refrigerators and the air filter and front grill in air conditioners. If the damage is due to improper use, it is not covered by the warranty (for instance, software installed in mobile phones or laptops).

Apart from this, if the appliance has to be transported to a service centre for repair, the transportation cost has to be borne by the customer. If a warranty expires while the company is waiting for a spare part, you will have to pay for the service. You might also have to pay for the travel of the service people, in case you stay outside the jurisdiction of the authorised service centre.



There have been cases in which mobile phones given for repair have been replaced with other handsets, without informing the customer. Given these hurdles, many of us prefer to call the local electrician or mechanic to fix various appliances. The Consumer Guidance Society of India receives a lot of complaints related to service of appliances and white goods during the warranty period, says M S Kamath, honorary secretary. “Customers must always find out what they are getting into. They must read the fine-print of the warranty contract. But it requires a change in attitude on the part of both the customer and the company for the problem to be resolved,” he says.

Kamath says customers must always keep photocopies of bills; companies can do the same, since they have the technology. “A company has to maintain the details of the tax paid on each item that costs more than Rs 5,000-10,000. So, why can’t they also keep the details of the buyer for the warranty period?” he asks.

However, several large companies have started good practices, like cars being recalled for faulty parts and so on, he adds.