A few years ago our Hotpoint freezer went wrong and we called in a local repairman at under half the price of the Hotpoint man. Nice bloke, said it was an electronic unit that needed sending for repair by exchange. No freezer for 2 weeks. Refitted the part and hey, presto – it still didn’t work . He said we’d have to pay for the exchange item, even though it wasn’t broken, and we’d best call out Hotpoint. He then tore a hole in the lino floor putting the freezer back. Nice one. A couple of days later Hotpoint turned up and replaced the most obvious and cheapest item – the thermistor – and in 5 minutes it was working. Score 1-0 to the manufacturer.
Couple of months ago our fairly new Bosch oven started tripping the earth leakage device when it reached 200degC, turning off all the electricity and setting the burglar alarm off. Called in the local repairman who said it was the element and replaced it. Seemed OK for a few weeks but then started tripping again so we can only have the oven on 170deg. Repairman said that earth leakage faults aren’t covered by warranty and he could only suggest replacing the new element at a parts only charge. Bosch, await our call in the next couple of weeks, interesting to see what they say.
The burglar alarm why did it go off every time the earth leakage device tripped. The company who maintain it said, the alarm thinks it’s been hit by lightning because earth leakage devices trip so fast and it goes off. Take his word for that as he’s been very good. After a bit of persuasion he came out and replaced the battery at no charge with one with a capacitor and now it doesn’t go off. Score 1-1 with a result awaited from Bosch. No hesitation in recommending Hi-Tec Security for maintenance, although he’s in Lytham and the company address in Bispham.
Then there was a problem at a relatives with the lock on a upvc door. Called out a locksmith and he seemed a decent bloke but it was taking a long time practically taking door apart. Then with one great movement he fell over a table and knocked the leg off. It was somehow made to appear good. Then he decided he couldn’t fix the lock and said he was leaving without a charge. When he’d gone it was discovered he’d broken the lock although it still worked. What do you do? Called in locksmith number 2 and he fixed it up and replaced the back door lock at a good price as he was there. Those upvc mechanisms are quite expensive though as it was a wind-up action or something. No hesitation in recommending Mr Boyd of Boyd Locksmiths, a local repairman.
Finally, had a problem with our Hotpoint washing machine about a year ago when it started moving around the room during spin. Didn’t call out a local man – called out Hotpoint – cost a lot but was fixed with a new valve of some type the day after in 10 minutes.
Finding the right person isn’t easy. There are plenty of websites claiming to offer advice, often too much advice and a lot of it little help. As goods get more complex and protection systems like earth leakage and burglar alarms are added to the equation it seems it can get beyond the local repairman. Sometimes they might tear your lino or break the leg off a table. Although they are so much cheaper it is quite possibly worth taking a chance.
