Fixitt refuses to honour their guarantee.

FIXITT- The Appliance Repair Center (Fixitt) complaint 9-12-2018 fixitt.co.za ********** / ********** / ********** ********** 24 Losack Avenue, Epping, 7764

To whom it may concern On the 27Th of October we had called out a Fixitt technician to repair a black Smeg Fridge model no. FAB32NE7 Sn: 90 ********** 0. After their inspection they deduced that the compressor had failed and needed to be replaced. Fixitt then did the replacement of the broken compressor (job no.14721 ********** Two months later (around December 2017), the fridge trips the electricity in the house and is not working at all. I then called Smeg for their technician to have a look at the fridge. Smeg’s technician deduced that the main contributing factor for failure of the compressors was that the original compressor( the compressor Fixitt replaced) had been replaced without the Start/Run Capacitor being connected, ultimately causing the internal compressor motor wires to overheat, resulting in the protective varnish of the motor coils to be burnt and exposed which then led to “shorting of the earth”. This meant that both compressors needed to be replaced. I contacted Fixitt, who had done the initial compressor replacement to then make the necessary correction and replacements. Firstly, it was challenging to get a technician to have a look at the fridge. According to my call logs, I called Fixitt on the 19th, 23rd, 25th of January and the 6th, 8th of February. Screenshots herewith attached. A Fixitt technician arrived on Thursday the 8th of February. If need be, I can find call logs dating back further than the 19th of January 2018. When Fixitt’s technicians arrived, they conducted themselves in a very defensive manner. Fixitt’s technician inspected the fridge and immediately accused myself and the previous Smeg technician of tampering with the wires in the back of the fridge. Fixitt’s technician, who refused to give his name, then checked if the compressor was faulty. His demeanor immediately changed, when the compressor was in fact found to be faulty. Now that the compressor was determined faulty, the technician said he needed to consult his boss (Zaheer) whether they would stand by their guarantee and fix the compressor or not. They attempted to rely on an alleged breach of an imp**** term, no copy of which to date has been given and no breach of which has been proven. According to the Consumer Protection Act no.68 of 2008, Consumer Right no.7 states “Suppliers are required to provide consumers with prior written notice of clauses in agreements that may constitute a potential risk or liability to consumers.” Fixitt’s manager/boss (Zaheer) is on record stating that they will not honor their guarantee as they could neither prove nor disprove that the fridge was tampered with. According to trite-law of South Africa, “he who alleges must prove”. Accordingly, I submit that Fixitt has flatly refused to honor their guarantee and is consequently in breach of common law, contractual law, statutory law with me. Fixitt therefore cannot rely on mere allegation that anyone tampered with the wires in order to get out of honoring the guarantee of 6 (six) months, that they advertise on their website. The manner in which the situation was handled by Fixitt’s technician and their manager/boss is inexcusable. I have sent two emails enquiring copies of invoices for the original compressor replacement (job no. 14721) and for their latest visit. According to the Consumer Protection Act, no.68 of 2008, Consumer right no.7, “Consumers are entitled to obtain free copies or free electronic access to copies of agreements/contracts, irrespective of whether consumers have entered into such agreements/contracts.” Fixitt is infringing on my right to obtain these copies. I would recommend that the company undergo suitable appliance repair training, as well as training in customer service. Unfortunately, Fixitt has decided to not stand by their guarantee and legal action will be taken.