[Resolved]  Whirlpool 180 Genius New Supreme — Faulty refrigerator within warranty period and very poor customer service

Address:

West Bengal

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: 1.Rusting, blistering of door panel within a year of buying a Whirlpool refrigerator
2. Longstanding and unresolved issues of malaligned door, faulty door switch and a broken fridge leg
in a new refrigerator
3. Extremely poor customer service from Kolkata branch

I write to you in great distress. I am a resident of Kolkata, West Bengal.
I had bought a Whirlpool 180 Genius New supreme refrigerator from a reputed dealer in Kolkata (‘Anandamela’ in Gariahat). Little did I know on that fateful day the consequences of this and the harassment that I would have to face in the months following my purchase.

After I had made the full payment on 8.5.2010, the refrigerator was delivered to my home on 9.5.2010. The delivery-man (Monojit by name, if anybody could care!) during installation had noticed that the door of the refrigerator was in fact bent/malaligned and so was one of the feet. The fridge switch was malfunctioning.He said he would mention this to the relevant superior and requested me to meet the dealer and contact customer services. It may be prudent to mention that I was not routinely provided with a demonstration (which I presume should be the norm) and I wasn’t made aware that this event (of demonstration) has to be arranged by myself!

I immediately visited the dealer and I was assured that the matter would be looked into and a further service-man would be sent. Since then, I have been running from pillar-to-post (including several visits to ‘Anandamela’ and the head-office in Camac Street) without any success. I shall mention a couple of official complaint references to you (KL[protected] and KL [protected] – quite a few months apart showing the duration of my suffering).

During a recent visit to the Head-Office in Camac Street, I met Mr.Kalyan Bose (Head of the Kolkata division) and he very kindly arranged for a technician to visit my place. The gentleman (named Kanchan) visited my home to replace the faulty switch and the broken leg. However, when he inspected the refrigerator, there was severe rusting of the entire door and door frame along with significant ‘blistering’ signifying severe damage inside. I, hence, refused to let Kanchan to do the ‘cosmetic’ repairs that he came to do as this would not solve the root-cause of a bent-door and a ‘rusty’ fridge. Kanchan has, in fact, taken photographs of this to the head-office. It is important to mention that my refrigerator is within the annual warranty period, but, time is surely running out fast.

There seems to be a couple of sticking points.
1. My original complaint was a few months from the day I had bought the fridge. The reasons for this are two. Firstly, I had immediately informed the dealer (the day after the installation) and had thought that this would be solved by them and hence the wait. Work business is the other reason.
2. I have been told by Mr.Kalyan Bose that the Company does not cover for ‘Rusting’ of the fridge, even during the warranty period. This seems to be completely inappropriate. How would you feel if your new fridge rusts within one year of purchase and you can’t do anything about it?

May I request you to kindly look into this matter urgently and help solve my problems. I am extremely sorry to bother you, but, I had no other options left. I have reached the end of my tether.