A&E Factory Service Assurant Warranty 3 Weeks of Waiting w/Stripped Apart Washing Machine - Appt No Shows - Appt Cancellations - Internet, Illinois

My Whirlpool Duet front loading washing machine made a loud pounding noise like a jackhammer during a spin cycle, and shredded plastic pieces all over the inside of my machine destroying a load of delicates, so I contacted Whirlpool to set up an appointment for a repair.

Whirlpool understandably could not diagnose the problem over the phone, or an estimated cost to repair, so they talked me into a 1 year full coverage warranty on 02/28/13 (covering everything including parts and labor) for $399.99. They set me up with an appointment for a technician to come out on 03/04/13 to diagnose the problem. 

On Monday, 03/04/13, the A&E technician, Robert, came out to my home and looked at the machine. He told me what parts I would need and that they would be shipped to my house no later than Friday. He scheduled me an install / repair date for the following Monday, 03/11/13. 

The parts arrived Thursday and I called A&E to see if I could get someone out sooner, but they didn't have an opening available. 

Come Monday, 03/11/13, my appointment that had a timeframe of arrival scheduled between 8 and 12 was mysteriously cancelled. I called A & E to see if they could provide me with an estimated time of arrival and they told me that they did not have me on the schedule for Monday. They said they would have repair technicians come to my house on Wednesday, 03/13/13 between 8 and 12. 

On Wednesday, 03/13/13, I recieved a recorded phone call at 7:47 AM to tell me I was the first stop of the day and the technician should be calling me shortly. No show, no call. I called A&E at 9:45 and the gentleman I sopke with told me the truck had broke down, they were dispatching someone else & I should receive a call soon. I received a phone call from Sears (A&E) around 11 AM and she told me that they had 2 technicians call in sick today, and the technician should be there around 1PM. One technician showed at 11:15 and waited on my driveway for the other technician to arrive, which was around 12:45.

The technicians completely stripped my washing machine, and there are parts everywhere. They began assembing the new plastic outer tub on the steel wash drum in my hallway when one technician called Assurant, who my warranty is underwritten by. The technicians began packing up their tools when one of the techs told me that he won't be fixing my washing machine. He said the good news was that they'll be sending me a new washing machine. He also said that someone would return to pick up my old machine and the replacement parts will need to be sent back via UPS. I would be receiving a phone call from Assurant soon.

On Friday, 03/15/13, I recieved a phone call from Danny at Assurant who began telling me that the value of my machine new is $804.60, but they have to figure in depreciation, the repair was not cost effective and a refund agent would be contacting me to decide whether they'll issue me a refund check or replace my machine. That wasn't what the repair technician told me. He said I was getting a new machine. Guess it's a good thing I knew my warranty. I asked him what needed to be replaced that cost more than they could cover. My original Whirlpool warranty said the steel wash drum has a lifetime warranty and the plastic outer tub is covered from the 2nd through 10th year. Danny admitted that he missed the portion of my warranty that said it covered the outer tub, so that it is a part Whirlpool will pay for; which means the technicians can come back to my house to fix my washing machine. He scheduled an appointment with A&E for Monday, 03/18/13 between 8 and 12.

Monday, 03/18/13, A & E sent a technician alright. They sent one. George arrived and said he couldn't do the job on his own. He said he would be here for hours and it should be a 2 man job. He called his boss, who called me and said he would send out 2 technicians between 8 and 12 on Wednesday 03/20/13 to complete the repair.

Today is Monday, 03/20/13. It is 12:54PM. As I sit here and write this review, there are no technicians from A & E Factory Service. I have called A&E (800-771-3029) and they talked with dispatch, who apparently scheduled my repair with 1 technician for the job. Since I have a repair that requires 2 technicians, I will need to wait until 1:30 for them to come out.

I will update this as progress, if any, is made. Moral of the story, I would start out by avoiding Whirlpool products. They don't stand behind their warranties, they hide behind Assurant. If you're too far gone like I am, getting a new appliance will save you time and money. Don't bother spending the $399.99 on the warranty underwritten by Assurant. If Assurant deems that it's unrepairable by costing more than they're willing to spend on your warranty work, they'll send you a check, which would probably be the same amount you just spent on the warranty. With the warranty, you'll takeyour chances on having your time wasted by the A&E technicians coming out and doing absolutely nothing about your failed appliance, except pass on the problem to the next guy who does nothing about it. And if you already have that warranty through Whirlpool... DO NOT request that your service repair be performed by A&E. Find another local repair service in your area. I'm sure there's good technicians amongst the ones who can't handle the job, but in the meantime, those that work for A&E and schedule the jobs could not care less about your time, or how they schedule appointments, or even bother to read the notes on the job they're dispatching their technicians out to. I have missed 5 days of work and have probably jeopardized my job because of the way they do business. This is poor management, poor communication and lack of consideration of other people's time.