Failed Maytag Refrigerator and forty-five days (so far) without a refrigerator.

Sirs;

I am writing to bring to your attention a seriously deficient warranty effort. I have been involved in an attempt to have a working refrigerator since 29 November, 2006. I am including a narrative for your information.

I am asking that A&E Factory Service consider reimbursing me for a cost I will be charged and which I would not have incurred except for the actions of A&E Factory Service.

Through most of this experience I found that, beyond call centers, there is no effective way to find customer service and that the inconvenience and misery a customer endures while performing to a warranty contract is hard to justify.

Sincerely,

The following is a narrative of my experience with Maytag warranty.

Tom M Theobald

9960 N 90th Lane

Peoria AZ 85345

623 878 5208

Email User

Certificate: AM 0096698826

M/N: MFD2560HEQ

S/N: 10981267EL

Thursday, 30 November:

Refrigerator not holding cold temperature. Checked coils for dirt; showed clean. Power is on. Ensured that doors were closing properly.

Friday, 1 December:

Refrigerator still not holding temperature.

Monday, 4 December:

Contacted service per phone number on service contract. Not correct number. Called number given and arranged for service. Hold time one hour.

A&E Service technician inspected unit and stated that it was functioning properly. Tech suggested calling next day if unit still not cooling.

Tuesday, 5 December:

Contacted A&E for follow-up service since unit still not cooling.

Wednesday, 6 December:

A&E Service technician inspected unit and stated compressor not functioning. Service tech ordered part for repair at house but part on back order with a seven to ten day wait time.

Friday, 15 December:

Received computer generated call informing me that the part for the repair was available and that I was to call a number which was given me so quickly I had no time to find a pencil or to understand the number as given on the phone. I called the local Maytag store and was fortunate that they had the number. I contacted the designated party and was informed that the part would be sent to me by overnight mail and that the earliest time for a visit by the service tech would be the following Wednesday, 20 December.

Tuesday, 19 December:

Received a computer generated call reminding me of the scheduled repair visit for

the next day, between 8:00 am and noon.

Wednesday, 20 December:

At approximately 11:00 am I received a phone call from A&E asking if I had received the repair part. Having told A&E that I had not received any parts I was informed that the repair would be rescheduled for Friday, 22 December, and that the part would be sent to me by overnight mail.

Thursday, 21 December:

Received repair part.

Friday, 22 December:

A&E Service tech arrived approximately 8:30 am. Service tech was not aware of this case and did not have equipment necessary to install replacement part. Service was rescheduled for the afternoon of this day.

At approximately 12:15 pm a different service tech arrived to install replacement part. During this time the tech advised me that the original compressor was functional and that the problem lay inside the tubing of the system. Something was interfering with the flow of coolant and starving the compressor.

The tech removed the original compressor and installed the replacement. The unit would not cool. Several times the tech attempted to evacuate the system, replace the dryer, clean the system and reintroduce coolant. After several hours the tech stated that the unit was functioning properly. The tech asked that I not purchase any perishable items for a short period, wanting to ensure no fubrther loss in case the repair did not hold.

Using a thermometer I measured the differential temperatures inside the box and found virtually no difference between the air before and after the cooling coils. The unit was still not cooling.

Saturday, 23 December:

Contacted A&E for a return service call. Service tech arrived approximately 9:00 am and inspected the unit. Service tech discovered broken capillary tube inside box and declared unit irreparable.

Service tech contacted his supervisor and advised him of the bad repair. Service tech assured me that all information necessary for the responsible parties in this warranty situation were sent the appropriate information and that I was to call on the next business day to initiate the process whereby I would receive a replacement refrigerator.

Tuesday, 26 December:

Contacted Maytag Dependability Plus™/warranty provider/unknown, phone number 1-800-4MAYTAG. Not correct number apparently, tried 1-877-468-9824, again not correct number, tried 1-800-688-9900, not correct number but was passed on to some one. Was informed that they had no information passed to them by A&E and that they would contact A&E for corroboration.

Wednesday, 27 December:

Contacted various persons at various numbers and found that A&E was waiting for a call from the warranty people, the warranty people were waiting for a call from A&E and no one could do anything until they had corroborating evidence of the validity of warranty claim. The corroborating evidence I had been assured had been proffered on the previous Saturday.

Thursday, 28 December:

As instructed by Customer Service at Maytag I called Dependability Plus after 2:00 pm today. The purpose was to confirm that the information needed by Maytag for resolution of this issue had been given as required. The CSR today informed me that no information had been given them.

I called A&E Factory Service and found that the information had indeed been sent but did not include a Service Order Number in the submission. The obvious result was that no one had the ability to discern the proper file destination and my case was left, as before, floating in the ether. The individual at A&E sent an email to Maytag as we spoke and informed me it would be a wait of one to three weeks for final resolution of this matter.

Spoke with Dependability Plus after another twenty minutes on hold and found that the email promised by A&E would be read tomorrow, business hours today having passed. I was informed that in one to three business days someone would contact me with a solution to this problem. The ‘solution’ may be problematic. I am trying to find out if the ‘replacement’ will be a new model equivalent to my current model, something retailing at the price I paid two and a half years ago or a refund offer. I fear that the first option will not happen.

Friday, 5 January:

Contacted Dependability Plus and was told that no information had been transmitted. Contacted A&E and was told that everything that could be done had been done and that the information Maytag needed was in the system. Contacted Dependability Plus and was told to contact warranty company. Contacted warranty company and was told to contact Dependability Plus. Contacted Maytag and was informed that the information was made available to the appropriate parties while I was on hold. Was contacted by the adjudication department, of Maytag I believe, and was told to contact Dependability Plus. Contacted Dependability Plus and was told to contact the warranty company. Contacted Dependability Plus, was passed to the C.A.I.R. was held for an hour then given to a supervisor who placed me on hold then told me that the appropriate information was now in file and that I would be contacted within seven business days concerning payment for the delivery of a replacement refrigerator. I am to be charged $150.00 for the replacement activities. I was also told that the refrigerator would be ordered and that delivery would be in a matter of two to three weeks.

During the above process I have called every possible number to find a resolution, unsuccessfully. I have contacted Maytag by e-mail and phone and have not received any response beyond automatic confirmation of receipt except in one instance and that was a response from management assuring me that I would be contacted soonest.