Repaircare are a National appliance repair company offering fixed price repairs. This review was written only several months after they began trading. Things may, or may not, be different now.
Their fixed price appliance repairs include call out, parts, labour and VAT. Repaircare are part of Connect Distribution who are the UK’s largest distributor of appliance spares and accessories.
They supply much of the independent repair trade. Their website is easy to use and features 3 simple steps to get a quote. It’s incredibly simple and well designed.
How do they do fixed repairs? What’s the Catch?
I’m naturally pretty sceptical and not easily impressed – always looking out for a catch. It shouldn’t be possible for Repaircare to be able to include the spare parts in their repair charges but they are the UK’s largest spare parts distributor so they have access to much cheaper parts than most and they obviously think they can.
Repaircare advertised fixed price repairs, but unfortunately the truth is they did not fix every appliance for the price initially quoted. They covered themselves against the more expensive repairs with a clause in their terms and conditions allowing them to charge extra.
They did claim that most repairs should be covered by the amount advertised, but after a few months (of complaints) they were forced to change their terms and conditions to remove their right to charge extra for certain parts. Offering fixed price repairs is a big ask.
But Repaircare should have access to very cheap spare parts because of their massive buying power as part of the UK’s largest spares distributor 4Ourhouse. However, they don’t employ their own engineers.
They instead use a network of independent engineers, which appears to cause some problems at times where people have complained of poor customer service.
Complaints
Repaircare have been accused of washing their hands of some complaints when (presumably) a customer and the independent engineer have been telling them different things.
However, I don’t believe they can do this because a customer’s contract is with Repaircare, and not the engineer that Repaircare subcontracted to do the repair.
It sounds like Repaircare have been frustrated by different accounts from the engineer and customer and want them to sort it out between themselves. But if a customer can’t, then Repaircare must.
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Margins must be small and this operation probably relies on economies of scale. As it is covering all of the UK they may be able to achieve the quantities of repairs necessary to be viable. However, they need most repairs to be relatively minor to balance out the expensive repairs.
If only people suspecting they have a serious fault use them, the system just won’t work. There have been a lot of complaints in the comments of this article (and elsewhere), which is disappointing.
They may have been struggling to cope with the work load at the early stages as they had promoted themselves very heavily. It’s also fair to say that appliance repairs tend to attract a lot of dissatisfied customers due to the length of time it can sometimes take to get them repaired.
Repaircare did eventually respond pro-actively to public complaints and put in place a system to allow people to complain directly to a manager. People with complaints previously felt they had no option but to complain on the Internet because they couldn’t get past the call centre staff to complain to a manager.
If you are the type of person who takes comfort in prices being fixed and inclusive, then fixed price repairs may be attractive for you. Sadly it’s become the main way large repair companies operate now.
You can end up paying a lot more than necessary if your appliance turns out not to need any parts, or only needs inexpensive parts, (most repairs).
You can save money if it needs an expensive part but if it’s quite expensive most repair companies just tell you it’s beyond economical repair. This can make it difficult to get a “win” on these schemes.
Make sure you read and understand the terms & conditions. It will probably state that if parts are “too” expensive they can say the appliance is not worth repairing, which may still cost you a fair amount of money.
Make sure you understand how much it will cost you in that scenario.
Alternatives?
Some manufacturers also offer fixed price repairs now at rates competing with Repaircare. For example Hoover / Candy, Ariston, Indesit, Hotpoint, Creda and even the obsolete Dyson washing machine have fixed price repairs. Also, AEG, Electrolux and Zanussi have relatively low and reasonable labour charges.
Only 3 months guarantee
A mere 3 months guarantee on repairs is very poor indeed. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (previously the Sale of Goods Act), any repair should last a reasonable time, as should any new parts fitted. 3 months (90 days) is nowhere near a reasonable time for almost any repair, especially if new parts are fitted. However, that’s all you get.
So you would have to pursue your claim in the small claims court or through a consumer help body if a repair by a company offering only 3 months guarantee failed after an unreasonable time outside 3 months.
I have to be honest and say that I personally would never use any repair company that only gave a 90 day guarantee, which I consider pretty disgraceful, and a very poor show of confidence in their own work – Is a 3 month guarantee on repairs reasonable?)
More appliance repairers
There are some appliance repair companies listed on site Book washing machine (or other appliance) repair page including companies offering a much more desirable 12 month guarantee on repairs.
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John: I’m pretty sure if anyone sub contracts out work to a third party they are totally liable for the third party’s actions. I’ve no idea why Repaircare constantly say they have no responsibility for the engineer they send out and that Repaircare’s customers have to fight out disputes themselves.
It sounds as if there are people at Repaircare that genuinely believe it’s nothing to do with them if there’s a dispute between their customer and the engineer they sent out.
If Repaircare would like to show that they are genuinely not responsible in these circumstances and can legitimately tell their customers they need to argue it out with the engineer I’ll be happy to stop advising that they are responsible. If by any chance it was the case though it’s a strong disincentive for booking repairs through a third party company.
I had a repair carried out on our tumbledrier by Repaircare in December 2009 – the job was carried out by RDA (Bellshill) as sub-contractor.
The repair did not solve the problem so we contacted Repaircare who arranged another visit from the same engineer. The said engineer came and told us that the fluff still appearing in the tumbledrier drum would eventually disappear and refused to even look at the appliance.
As the problem continued we called in another company, who quickly discovered that RDA had not fitted the machine back together correctly with the result that the seal was loose causing the fluff to escape.At a further cost of £120 the problem was solved and has worked well ever since.
I made numerous calls to Repaircare and was given the name of John Biddle as our contact.I did speak with Mr Biddle |(who was at the time having his car fixed at a garage), who promised to call me – I am still waiting! i have ‘phoned again and left messages, and,surprise,surprise no call from Mr Biddle.
I regret using Repaircare and would advise anyone NOT to use them.
John & Cyanna if you email [email protected] and mark the missive for my attention Richard Lawson I will look into your complaints.
Ernie, I have asked John Biddle for an explanation and will email you separately.
Thank you.
I had trouble with this outfit. Sorted after going down the legal route.
Ernie. Can I suggest you contact DASA the Domestic Appliance Service Association. According to their website, RDA are members, and so it seems are Repaircare.
Might be an idea if DASA took this up, as the trade is being damaged by 2 members of the very association that is supposed to protect everyone. DASA according to thier website has a repairers code of practice, and if both parties are members, perhaps DASA needs to discipline them.
After emailing [email protected] my case was investigated and finally passed to Richard Lawson who phoned me tonight. I received a sincere full apology along with an offer of a full refund and compensation towards purchasing a replacement dishwasher. I have accepted this offer to resolve the matter.
The majority of my experience with repaircare was not great but credit to them in the end for resolving the matter in the way any professional outfit should.
Thank you for the feedback and advice from this website and
good luck to all others who are trying to also resolve issues.
Many thanks for your update John. It’s clearly the place to try first if you have any unresolved complaints and this shows it can work. Until an unresolved complaint’s been taken to the escalations department no one can really say they’ve exhausted all avenues and need to complain elsewhere. It’s a shame anyone should have to complain to escalations in the first place, but it’s nice to see a resolved issue.
I used Repaircare after both right hand side hobs on my 6 year old De Dietrich induction cooker failed in April 2010. The all in charge was £165 and I went into it eyes open and more than half expecting that I would be told that it was ‘uneconomical to repair’ and be left to pay the £45 call out fee. After a first visit by a service guy and his apprentice, I was told that two circuit boards would need to be ordered. By then I was pretty certain that I would be shopping for a new hob before long. To my complete surprise, I had a call within ten days to book a follow up appointment and the circuit boards were fitted. The hob is now back to normal and I am embarrassed at how cynical I had been. A thumbs up for Repaircare from me.
This company is quite possibly the worst I have dealt with, behind BT!
My fridge section of my fridge/freezer stopped working end of MAY 2010 it is now the beginning of SEPTEMBER 2010 and it is still not working.
The initial booking had the ‘trained’ electrician say the freezer just needed to be defrosted, for my £108 fee I felt a bit ripped off so kindly they re-paid to excess so it cost me £40 call out. But a few days after de-frosting my freezer the same fault occurred. I phoned to re-book and was told it would cost me £108! Ummm just payed that..so after a moan they refunded the last lot and took the whole lot out of my bank again….
The engineer arrived 2 weeks later, fitted a part the next day the fridge was not working again, booked in a re-book. On the day the engineer turned up with a wrong part! So had to re-order another one which took a further 2 weeks before I had to phone to find out if it had turned up to be told the engineer had been on holiday. One week later the engineer turned up again at 4.30 in the afternoon after being told they would be here between 9-12 i the morning, fitted a part, 2 days later..broken fridge. Bearing in mind I have a five year old who wants her cereal each morning with no way of keeping milk safe and cold. E-mailed repair care to complain and was told I am lucky as they will offer me the call-out charge refunded as compensation. But not until the fridge is fixed. Booked in another re-book, for today between 9-12. 10 days after the re-book e-mail. Phone call this morning after booked yet another day off work to say they aren’t coming out, after a confirmation text received yesterday saying they were. According to the appliance engineer company Repaircare should have told me! SO 3 months later I have yet to have a working fridge and 4 days off work, numerous phone calls.
RPPJT,
I am very sorry to read that you have been disappointed by our service. If you could send your Name, Job Reference Number and Postcode to our email address [email protected], we will do our best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Mark at Repaircare
I am utterly disappointed with the service I’ve received from repaircare. I called and paid £139 for my Smeg Range cooker to be repaired. The clock would cut out whenever the oven was used, resulting in no roasts.
An engineer arrived in good time. I was told there was a problem with the ‘clock’, which he later replaced. The oven promptly cut out on the next use. Another call to repaircare resulted in our engineer returning. He concluded that his earlier diagnosis was incorrect and that the problem was ‘the cut off’– some kind of safety feature. This he later replaced. The oven again cut out. The next visit, by the same engineer, he concluded it was the thermostat that was the problem. As you can probably guess, by now my faith in this guys ability was far from solid. Anyway, he hadn’t the part he’ll have to order it. Off he goes.
Weeks go by. Nothing. I call to find out what is happening. I am told someone will be with me in a few days. A few days later, another engineer arrives. The other one had left the company. A change of career. I’m hoping it’s not medicine.
Anyhoo, this new chap concludes the problem is the fan. It needs replacing. He left telling me he would put in an order for a new one. He arrives with the new fan, a week later. It’s the wrong one. Off he goes again. Then nothing.
Several weeks later I check what is happening on the repaircare website. I am stunned to discover my repair is logged as complete. I email to complain that the job is far from complete. The oven is not functioning at all! I receive a reply in which I am told, the part (fan) is no longer available and as the cooker functioned– just not on all settings this was deemed a complete and logged as such. I replied that this is incorrect. I am not happy with this state of affairs and have an oven that does not work– possibly because of the thermostat, who knows, he might’ve been right..
I had received no notification that the job had been abandoned (let’s face it, that’s what happened). On top of that, I am stuck with an oven that does not work. An oven I paid repaircare to fix.
I was told that they would send an engineer but there was little point as the part is not available. I replied that, yes, I would like them to send an engineer. Since then I’ve heard nothing. In fact, Ms Goulding at repaircare has chosen to ignore my emails– very professional…NOT.
This has all been extremely badly managed. The engineers don’t seem to know what they’re talking about and the client services representatives seem completely unconcerned with their clients.
I am referring this to DASA and seeking advice as to my next course of action. There is something decidedly unsavoury about this whole thing and I feel as though I’ve been taken for a ride…
My recommendation is to avoid repaircare at all costs.
Not happy. Not happy at all.