Part Three

[read Part One here: http://aronmifsudbonnici.com/aplan-dishonouring-warranty-on-siemens-applia]

Mrs Borg visits the GP complaining about her son’s bad cold and asks for something to blast the “bacteria” as, to her, all baddies are “bacteria” and that includes the common cold virus. The GP has heard it all before and prescribes paracetamol and Vitamin C.  No big deal. A bug’s a bug whatever Mrs Borg calls it. But if I visit the GP to complain about the badbout of flu I have and he starts explaining my “bacterial” infection I start to wonder whether he studied medicine in 1933 or whether he’s just pulling my leg. He’s the expert, so why is he referring to influenza as a bacterial infection? 

Which brings me to Aplan’s justification for having been unable to repair my Siemens coffee maker in the 135 days since I reported the defect. In one of his emails, Aplan chief Lino Apap tells me that “regrettably all attempts made have been unsuccessful due to the intermittent nature of the fault with the machine working satisfactorily during its testing period in our workshop/or during technician's visit and then failing when customer goes to use it.” Wikipedia, that great source of free information, defines an intermittent fault as “a malfunction of a device or system that occurs at intervals, usually irregular, in a device or system that functions normally at other times.”   

The ailments originally reported in August of last year are still there. The machine’s tray sensors erroneously report its state and this often prevents the device from working at all since it insists that the trays are missing when I swear they are there. When it does realise that the trays are there, it will forget that the trays need to be emptied and, before you know it, the state of the art Siemens coffeemaker floods your kitchen. Hurrah! 

What’s intermittent about this fault, I ask? It either doesn’t work or overfills and leaks profusely. Is this how the machine “works satisfactorily” during its testing period? Perhaps I’m being fastidious but Aplan’s level of satisfaction is not good enough for me. I’d rather have it working outstandingly well and in perfect working order because I paid for a machine that came with a 7-year warranty to do just that – work perfectly in true German fashion.   

I happen to know why the machine will not work perfectly and so does Aplan. They do not stock parts and they resist ordering parts. When the machine was taken to their workshop in October, the defective parts were not replaced because no replacement was available. Instead, their repairmen became creative and did some solder work instead. Mr Apap claims that it worked well enough during its testing period at the workshop, however short that may have been. The fact remains that, back in my kitchen, the machine didn’t work well. Not even “satisfactorily”. So, on the 10 November 2010, following another servicing outcall, their technician instructed (possibly even begged) their servicing department to order a replacement tray. Two months later and Aplan’s servicing department hasn’t yet ordered the defective tray. Only the tray’s stainless steel decorative cover made its way to my kitchen. Now let’s see how that solved the fault. Right, it didn’t. 

So you cannot call a defect or fault “intermittent” just because you didn’t test the “repaired” unit well enough and Aplan cannot evade its legal and contractual obligations as a seller by hiding behind the silly excuse of an intermittent fault.  Intermittence excuses are a first line of defence against valid consumer claims. With rogue customer care departments, these lines of defence typically end with something similar to that infamous quote from The Rainmaker: 

“On seven prior occasions we have denied your claim in writing. We now deny it for the eighth and final time. You must be stupid, stupid, stupid. Sincerely...Everett Lufkin, vice-president of claims.”

But, as Forrest Gump said in another famous movie, “stupid is as stupid does.” Not everyone falls for the trick. A few years ago, one unhappy Aplan customer just went ahead and sued them over a defective Siemens microwave oven which they refused to replace. Aplan defended itself by stating that there was no latent defect and that the oven merely had an “intermittent fault.” The learned Judge Philip Sciberras was not impressed and finding in favour of the consumer, rescinded the sale with interest and costs awarded against Aplan.

Is that what it takes for an Aplan customer to get redress?

[To continue …]

Part One

I tend to choose brands on the basis of design, functionality and perceived reliability. I typically go for established names. The length of the commercial guarantee beyond the statutory two years is a major selling point. In my mind, if the seller is offering a 5-year guarantee then he actually believes that his products are unlikely to fail within thestated period.

In 2006 I was shopping for appliances for a new kitchen. Boring stuff like the standard oven, ceramic hob, dishwasher, etc. Here shines Aplan Limited (of Mizzi fame) sporting the Siemens appliances range and screaming solidity, reliability and no-nonsense German design. Guess what? They’re now offering a 7-year commercial guarantee! And a well-placed friend will also secure me a discount on showroom prices. Time to splurge on an unessential but very sexy built-in Siemens coffee machine. You know, the one that is meant to feed on coffee beans and brew me the most magnificent coffee at the press of a button. A truly splendid prospect for someone who’s been a coffee aficionado for most of his adult life.

So I model the kitchen to accommodate the new stainless-steel baby. It was not a cheap baby either: discounted, it still cost over EUR1,000. For just under four years, the appliances lived up to their Siemens name. Oh well, in the summer of 2010 the coffee maker did start to show some signs of corrosion in its “stainless” fascia. It’s the sort of thing you don't expect but yet come to accept because you know it will be too much of a hassle to complain about.

But by August 2010 the machine started failing me in its most basic functions. The initial trouble related to defective tray contacts, which caused the machine to incorrectly report its state. The machine would loop between “trays missing” and “empty trays” mode even when the trays were empty and properly installed. It’s one of those moments when you pat yourself on the back and feel happy that you spent extra money with a company that offered a 7-year guarantee.

You call Aplan’s servicing department and things start turning sour.

Part Two: http://aronmifsudbonnici.com/after-four-months-aplan-still-cant-get-it-rig