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I had a customer ring me yesterday and asked me if I could fix her Bosch dishwasher and how much did I think it would cost?
Typical enquiry of course and in this instance I suspected a simple pump blockage problem, gave her a quote and she subsequently asked me to call. Needless to say I called this morning, cleared the blocked pump – job done! :tup:
During my visit she explained that she’d searched various websites including Fixya and BSH’s own site. Prior to calling me she rang BSH who offered her their REPAIR CARE PLAN which she admitted was a temptation at first for her to take on…………..
…….the deal is that BSH offer to call and fix the machine once signed up to (in this case a dishwasher under 5 years old) a monthly outlay taken by Direct Debit for just £14 per month (£168 p.a. including VAT). The Direct Debit details must be instigated prior to a service visit taking place. Now if on initial visit if the engineer finds the repair BER then no charge ensues and the plan is cancelled forthwith. If it’s fixable he gets it sorted and the minimum monthly take of £14 sets in motion. When that minimum term is due to expire BSH contact and advise the plan is continued on a monthly basis thereafter.
If, during the lifetime of the plan a service visit deems the appliance BER at any stage then BSH will replace the appliance with a brand new one!
Of course, you may know all about this idea, but it’s a new one on me, hence why I thought I’d share it amongst you guys lest you too were similarly afflicted. 😉
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
indesit/hotpoint had same insurance deal but they never ever replaced anything there was not a ber, only if parts not available. it is through D&G insurance
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
It’s called Cover+1 as best I know.
There’s a big bit about it in the DEGs thing.
K.
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Just another sneeky way of getting people to sign up to an insurance plan that they don’t need. 👿 …..,people will see through it…. i hope 😉
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Martin , its a Dom & Gen plan . Not sneaky in anyway as everything is explained upfront with the customer . There is an upper limit on the first visit of £250 so anything more than that and the policy is cancelled…..and the customer doesn’t get charged a penny.
As with any repair , its almost pot luck as to the cost of the initial fault .Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
I totally disagree with you! Bosch are getting peole to sign up to a contract when they are at there most vunerable.People are stressed that there machine is out of action and Bosch are there dangling the carrot.How often do you wright off a Bosch machine because it ber? Very rarely? Now imagine if the cost of the parts were practicly nothing , how many would you write off then ?and in that situation how many parts would you have to replace to reach 250 quid…. practically the whole machine.So they are pritty much guaranteed to get 168 quid out of that person which it as much, if not more than there standard call out fee …..its like fishing with dynamite!
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
I would point out, it’s not just Bosch.
I would also point out that most of these products are most certainly not insurance. They are not underwritten and they are NOT FSA regulated. They are service or warranty plans, not insurance.
I had to do a bit on this for the WTA DEGs report thing and ended up learning a bit about it. It’s quite interesting when you get into it.
It trips into other sectors as well, as I found out.
The manufacturer’s I know are using this off the top of my head are:
Indesit Company
Glen Dimplex Home Appliances
BSH Group
Candy Hoover Group
Whirlpool
Electrolux GroupProbably more I’d have to look up.
Where it’s direct service by the OEM it locks the customer to the OEM service.
Where it’s indirect service the agent gets the call back at an insurance or warranty rate as opposed to a chargeable rate, thereby cutting their margins.
It excludes the independents from the equation pretty much and will, almost undoubtedly, have reduced the volumes available to the independent sector.
Having said that, some agents that do work for DAG see a volume increase where the direct agent isn’t used.
I could go on about it but I’ll refrain.
My overall take on it is that, on the whole, I don’t think it’s a good thing for the health of the service industry but that’s just my opinion.
I don’t think that, on balance, it’s that good a deal for the customer as, after all, the warranty company isn’t doing it for nothing and the manufacturers will (pretty much I know) also be having a slice of the pie. This will almost inevitably lead to higher service costs, even if they are masked in a £10 or whatever monthly direct debit.
The manufacturers and warranty companies however are very pleased with the situation.
K.
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Looking at the deal offered, from the customers side of the fence that is, it is a temptation. BSH can call and repair the machine for a fixed fee of £89. A one off charge that doesn’t include the possible cost of fitting parts parts though. Often the thought crosses their mind that…. “I may just be the programmer, or even the motor that’s at fault?”
But for just £79 more they cover themselves against that prospect, the whole appliance is covered for 12 months against further visits, including parts. AND, better still, if it can’t be fixed, they don’t charge a penny…!!
Now that’s gotta be a temptation for any rational person to consider surely? In this, my customers position, she would almost certainly have taken the offer up but for the fact that by ringing me she considered my comments about her faulty appliance a better, cheaper solution. Which, as it so happens, turned out to be the case.
She took a gamble on getting a local independent out to fix it in spite of the tempting offer from BSH. On this occasion I end up the eventual winner. She got her machine fixed (next day) on the cheap and will no doubt call me again if ever any of her 3 Bosch appliances start to act up!
Independent = 1
BSH = 0😀
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Haha nice one Martin. 😉 This sort of thing really winds me up as carefully worded phone scripts tempt people,but in my opinion its a rip off,and not good for the industry as kwatt said.But atleast you showed them what for in the end 😆
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
To be fair they’re shooting themselves in the foot too. After all, who’s going to buy insurance at POS or afterwards, if they can just call up when their machines breaks and sort out insurance there and then – cancelled FOC is their machine is BER.
Really the only winners out of this are BSH, who I assume get a large commission on sales plus get paid to do the call plus get to charge D&G for “genuine” Bosch parts. Can’t see it being good for them long term though – pissing off the indies who recommend them plus selling rubbish Belay tacticals as a premium product can’t be good for their brand.
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Some brands offer Homeserve Policies, around £110 for a repair and one yr cover instead of the call out and repair charge, offered when client asks for a call out.
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Well HERE’S ONE EXAMPLE where the bloke got his FREE callout.
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
Makes Clive Brammel (sp?) look quite saintly. Was that a model where you could have changed the motor end bearing?
Mike.Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
kwatt wrote:I would point out, it’s not just Bosch.
I would also point out that most of these products are most certainly not insurance. They are not underwritten and they are NOT FSA regulated. They are service or warranty plans, not insurance.
I had to do a bit on this for the WTA DEGs report thing and ended up learning a bit about it. It’s quite interesting when you get into it.
It trips into other sectors as well, as I found out.
The manufacturer’s I know are using this off the top of my head are:
Indesit Company
Glen Dimplex Home Appliances
BSH Group
Candy Hoover Group
Whirlpool
Electrolux GroupProbably more I’d have to look up.
Where it’s direct service by the OEM it locks the customer to the OEM service.
Where it’s indirect service the agent gets the call back at an insurance or warranty rate as opposed to a chargeable rate, thereby cutting their margins.
It excludes the independents from the equation pretty much and will, almost undoubtedly, have reduced the volumes available to the independent sector.
Having said that, some agents that do work for DAG see a volume increase where the direct agent isn’t used.
I could go on about it but I’ll refrain.
My overall take on it is that, on the whole, I don’t think it’s a good thing for the health of the service industry but that’s just my opinion.
I don’t think that, on balance, it’s that good a deal for the customer as, after all, the warranty company isn’t doing it for nothing and the manufacturers will (pretty much I know) also be having a slice of the pie. This will almost inevitably lead to higher service costs, even if they are masked in a £10 or whatever monthly direct debit.
The manufacturers and warranty companies however are very pleased with the situation.
K.
and COMET, we’ve been doin this for some time now, ppl seem quite keen, but the limit is £150 for us
Re: Bosch do FREE callouts!
If it’s a good idea to pay for this cover, then it should be a good idea the following year too, and the next. In fact each year that goes by it’s a better idea because it’s a year older..
Even assuming it never went up, £168 per year is £1,680 over 10 years. If you are 20 and in your first house and you buy into this fear-purchase and live until 70 – needing a washing machine all that time – then over the next 50 years – not taking into account the definite price increases over that time – you will have spent £8,400 just in order to have a working washing machine.
It’s hard to imagine many circumstances where simply buying a decent washing machine and keeping it maintained could cost any where near that amount.
Personally I despise all these fear products (have you seen the new “protect my bubble” insurance (aptly named) offering to “protect” all your stuff and reminding you how at any minute something nasty could happen to it?
Anyone buying into the idea that you should be so scared of your remote control getting stood on, or dropping their phone, or their dishwasher, cooker, fridge, freezer, washing machine, microwave, Television, central heating, car, iPod, iPad, vacuum cleaner, computer and so on and so on breaking down or getting damaged will find themselves trapped in a never ending cycle of insuring and can never afford to have anything repaired because they are paying out so much each month or at every new purchase in insurance and maintenance contracts – so they of course need the cover more than ever.
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