Trying to fix faff filled stuff...

[highlandsflyer]

Our home insurance covers accidental damage to all these things.

Ever since I was an impoverished teen I have taken a fix it myself approach. It is the croft way of life.

My mum is the same, she even made curtains for all the rooms in the hotel when I was a bairn. Something ridiculous to conceive of nowadays.

 

[Alison]

Our home insurance covers accidental damage to all these things.

Ever since I was an impoverished teen I have taken a fix it myself approach. It is the croft way of life.

My mum is the same, she even made curtains for all the rooms in the hotel when I was a bairn. Something ridiculous to conceive of nowadays.

Our home insurance covered the fridge freezer when new after a flood but if you use your house insurance every time you accidentally break something you loose your right to it very quickly, I've used it only once and our insurance went up astronomically for it, yet however many times we've had a fix with D&G regardless of accidental damage or part failure, our insurance has hardly gone up.

Also neither I or my husband could fix a leaky tap, or sew a sock, never mind take a washing machine to pieces and repair it, even if we could work out why it went wrong, we need the man that can

Alison

 

[highlandsflyer]

I didn't know Dolce & Gabbana did kitchen maintenance.

You can protect your no claims with house insurance, just as with your car.

 

[Alison]

I didn't know Dolce & Gabbana did kitchen maintenance.

You can protect your no claims with house insurance, just as with your car.

I didn't know you can do that with household insurance. Although I'll stick with the Domestic & General insurance to be honest. I remember hearing on Radio4's Moneybox program about a couple that claimed 4 times on their household insurance, just £200-£400 each time, when it came to renewal no one would touch them and when they had a flood in the house they were left with no insurance and a devastated house, so I'd be very afraid of using household insurance unless there was no other alternative, like the new fridge freezer that was too new for accidental insurance with D&G (the aforementioned insurance company )

Alison

 

[xerxes]

I've never considered maintenance insurance/plans to be worth it. After all, the washing machine that has just broken cost £40.00 five years ago and I've just replaced it with one that cost £30.00 - less than two months maintenance plan cost. If that goes for a couple of years I'll be chuffed.

Instead, put £20.00 a month in a savings plan or something, unless you're incredibly unlucky, I reckon you'd accumulate a tidy sum over a few years. After all, what do you think the people that provide maintenance plans are doing - they're not doing it out of the goodness of their heart.

As to it costing £150.00 or more to fix a washing machine - how ridiculous, you can buy a brand new one for that, it's no wonder we live in a world where it's cheaper to throw things away and replace them, rather than repair them. I appreciate that this is partly due to these things being built in automated factories or parts of the world where labour is very cheap, whereas the person that has to fix it here in the UK has to make a living and pay UK prices. But another problem is that many of these things are just not made to be easily repaired, with parts that fail virtually inaccessible, or part of sub-assemblies that can't be disassembled plus a massive mark-up on spares that renders repair uneconomical.

 

[NeilM]

According to my wife (who pays for it) our plan costs £18.00 per month.

This has paid for multiple visits to clean out the filter that is underneath the back of the machine (whatever happened to an access flap at the front of the machine), new door seals, a new door and replacement drum and eventually a brand new machine. Since we have had the new machine, the man has been back twice to replace the whole front panel, as some dope of a production engineer decided it was ok to incorporate the latch that holds the powder tray shut into the moulding. As it turns out, it isn't and the little bit of moulded plastic snaps off after about a month.

Anyway, my wife reckons the plan is money well spent.

 

[Alison]

I've never considered maintenance insurance/plans to be worth it. After all, the washing machine that has just broken cost £40.00 five years ago and I've just replaced it with one that cost £30.00 - less than two months maintenance plan cost. If that goes for a couple of years I'll be chuffed.

Instead, put £20.00 a month in a savings plan or something, unless you're incredibly unlucky, I reckon you'd accumulate a tidy sum over a few years. After all, what do you think the people that provide maintenance plans are doing - they're not doing it out of the goodness of their heart.

As to it costing £150.00 or more to fix a washing machine - how ridiculous, you can buy a brand new one for that, it's no wonder we live in a world where it's cheaper to throw things away and replace them, rather than repair them. I appreciate that this is partly due to these things being built in automated factories or parts of the world where labour is very cheap, whereas the person that has to fix it here in the UK has to make a living and pay UK prices. But another problem is that many of these things are just not made to be easily repaired, with parts that fail virtually inaccessible, or part of sub-assemblies that can't be disassembled plus a massive mark-up on spares that renders repair uneconomical.

I have learned over my 46 years there is a lot to be said for the saying buy cheap buy twice, and when I started out I used to buy the cheapest and always ended up buying another one within a couple of years, so we buy midrange, had second hand too and had very little luck with that as well. I could put the £18 a month into a savings account but in two years that wouldn't cover the cost of the washing machine replacement never mind the other three things our insurance covers.

No I'm sticking with the insurance, it's been a lifesaver for us

Alison

 

[highlandsflyer]

It is with massive irony that as soon as I mentioned this Blomberg being trouble free it is playing up. I will have a look at it tomorrow, the washing went through a cycle and was still wet and soapy at the end. I really shouldn't have said anything!

 

[The History Man]

It is with massive irony that as soon as I mentioned this Blomberg being trouble free it is playing up. I will have a look at it tomorrow, the washing went through a cycle and was still wet and soapy at the end. I really shouldn't have said anything!

I did say.................... A very brave post earlier!

 

[technodup]

I've never considered maintenance insurance/plans to be worth it. After all, the washing machine that has just broken cost £40.00 five years ago and I've just replaced it with one that cost £30.00 - less than two months maintenance plan cost. If that goes for a couple of years I'll be chuffed.

Instead, put £20.00 a month in a savings plan or something, unless you're incredibly unlucky, I reckon you'd accumulate a tidy sum over a few years. After all, what do you think the people that provide maintenance plans are doing - they're not doing it out of the goodness of their heart.

As to it costing £150.00 or more to fix a washing machine - how ridiculous, you can buy a brand new one for that, it's no wonder we live in a world where it's cheaper to throw things away and replace them, rather than repair them. I appreciate that this is partly due to these things being built in automated factories or parts of the world where labour is very cheap, whereas the person that has to fix it here in the UK has to make a living and pay UK prices. But another problem is that many of these things are just not made to be easily repaired, with parts that fail virtually inaccessible, or part of sub-assemblies that can't be disassembled plus a massive mark-up on spares that renders repair uneconomical.

^^^This.

Anyone paying for 'care' plans, warranties or pointless insurances needs their head looking at imo. Especially ongoing monthly ones like British Gas etc. I've spent £80 in 6 years on my 20 year old boiler. £15/m with BG over 6 years is >£1k ffs. Zero on any other appliance in 9 years of adult living. Zero on phone insurance. Zero on contents insurance. Zero on TV licence.

I'll get a new boiler this year. The beauty of my line of work is that that will be installed (and likely supplied) free of charge. As will the redecoration and flooring I fancy. My pennies belong in my pocket, nobody else's. I could do with a new telly but finding a suitable retailer to get one free might be a bit of a challenge even for me.