We bought an IFB Washing Machine and an IFB Drier from IFB Point on 03 October, 2009. Both appliances were purchased on the same date and are under warranty from IFB till 02 October 2013. In September 2012, we faced a problem with the washing machine where the “spin-dry” function stopped working. IFB Point sent someone from their service centre who informed my wife that some parts in the washing machine would need to be replaced. This was done on 15 October 2012 and my wife was asked to pay Rs.6316 for the parts. My wife was not informed about the warranty by IFB and also whether the parts that were replaced were covered by the warranty or not. The cash receipt from IFB for the payment made to IFB is with us. In mid-May 2013, we faced a problem with both the drier and the washing machine. I visited IFB Point to register a complaint and was reminded by the IFB executive that the washing machine and drier were under a 4-year warranty. I also got the numbers of 2 senior managers at IFB from him — Mr. Narain and Ms. Neema. A couple of days later, two people from IFB Point visited our house and changed a part of the drier and charged us Rs.2416. They however did not do anything about the washing machine. Also, they asked my wife to pay Rs.650 for visiting charges even though the machine and drier were under warranty. I called their managers (Mr. Narain at 9312186719 and Ms. Neema at 8595324115). I told Narain that we were being repeatedly cheated by IFB – we were being made to pay for visits, repairs and replacement of parts even though both appliances were clearly under warranty. Importantly, IFB staff who visited us in the past and took payments from us had never even bothered to inform us about our rights although the washing machine and the drier were still under warranty. It was obvious that we were being cheated by IFB and being non-transparently charged for parts that IFB staff insisted needed replacement. I told Narain to urgently send someone to check and repair the washing machine. I also told him that I expected him to resolve my larger complaint regarding cheating by IFB. Despite several calls to him in the following weeks, and his repeated assurances to me, he has not bothered to send anyone to my house till date (18 June 2013) which is nearly one month after I first approached IFB Point. Perhaps IFB is waiting for the warranty to expire before they effect repairs.

We have ended up paying nearly Rs.9000 for repairs and replacement of parts that we were perhaps not expected to pay as the machine and drier are still under warranty. On top of that, we can’t use our washing machine and have had to employ a maid specifically for washing clothes.

Complainant Information
name- Gautam Bhardwaj