Amen. I bought a fairly expensive Electrolux oven. About a week after the two-year warranty ended, the electronic control panel developed a fun feature - everything works except the off button. So no way to turn off the oven except unplugging it. Seems like something the manufacturer should jump at fixing, warranty or no, given that “turn the oven off” seems like a core safety feature. Instead they commiserated that I hadn’t bought the extended warranty and told me a replacement control panel would cost $1200 (25% more than the oven cost) but they’d graciously give it to me for half price. Plus installation.
Instead, we installed an extension cord with a switch on it. So dumb.
We had a Samsung microwave that developed a problem right after the warranty expired. To make things dumber, it was a known problem that Samsung had a recall for (of course we weren’t notified). But even though they knew it was a manufacturer defect, and did a recall for it, they refused to help fix it because the microwave was out of warranty.
Then we stupidly bought a Samsung refirgerator a few months ago. Its compressor makes an annoying amount of noise, to the extent that we thought it was dying. The factory-certified technician came out and checked it out, and said that’s just the way this model is. The subtext of his remarks was: don’t buy Samsung anymore.
For the past year or so i’ve been having an impossible time finding known, branded products on Amazon. More so if they’re low cost items like charging cables, surge protectors (literally bought some this week), etc. The last time i bought some random Chinese knockoffs were cheap power strips and they looked great but everything about them started to slowly concern me over time. There’s no off switch, moving the cable can affect the power to whatever is plugged in, it being really inconsistent with their USB charging ports (sometimes its fine and other times there’s not enough power), etc.
Often i’m at a loss because i will try to look up lists of top branded products and those very lists recommend the shitty knockoffs.
I generally don’t buy much consumer stuff directly from China, but some of the industrial stuff that is available on Aliexpress is really cool. Especially things like carbide cutters and pneumatic tools that are intended to be used in factories. I bought some really unique tools (like pneumatic reciprocating saw not much bigger than a typical permanent marker) this way and I’m mostly happy with purchases. Having said that I probably wouldn’t dare to buy a tool that could cause serious injury, like a circular saw or chainsaw.
The way it works here in Norway is that a warranty is an optional bonus the brand can give you, but there is a separate right to get your money back or defects fixed for a reasonable time after you bought an item (defined as two years, or five for anything the user can reasonably expect to last longer). That right is a matter between you and the company you bought it from, and you can demand that they handle all contact with the maker.
For damages, you’re still responsible for products you sell – though yeah, this really should be a matter between your insurance company and them.
Insurance companies maintain CLU reports that are like credit reports for the house. So when you go to sell the house, the buyers will be asking you about every insurance claim you’ve made.
$500 is likely under her deductible? And even if it isn’t, product liability is a thing. Generally, when manufactured products cause damage due to a defect, the manufacturer is liable for the damages. Whirlpool should be responsible even if having insurance handle it and decide if it is worth pursuing with the manufacturer would have been easier.
That’s a great idea, but how? That is supposed to be what brand names are for. She bought a whirlpool not a no-name brand. The problem is whirlpool contracted the manufacture out to some fly-by-night CM with the lowest bid. Presumably she could have saved herself some $$$ by buying crap directly, but she paid extra for a well known brand that wouldn’t even stand behind the product?
I know the trope is that american customers won’t pay for quality products, but since paying doesn’t guarantee quality what is the alternative?
Her oven was “not a Whirlpool product,” a company representative told her via email, so Whirlpool wasn’t liable for the damage. She was referred to Elec-Tech International.
So, I guess it would be too much to expect Whirlpool to advertise its Elect-Tech International products as Elect-Tech International products. Gotta use the Whirlpool name; “we’re trustworthy”.
