Whether high-priced parts are worth money
China quality news network 2008. 11. 1807:35
“an amount of $15 for home service, $120 for television opening and $225 for spare parts.” mr. Wang was surprised by a maintenance order of up to $360, despite having been consulted and having some psychological preparation. “it may be corporate regulations for door-to-door fees, box-to-box fees, but it is difficult to accept a hundred bucks worth of spare parts, and it is not clear when maintenance prices will be truly transparent.” at the same time as he complained to the press, mr. Wang cast doubt。
Mr. Wang's television was bought two years ago, after a warranty period, and recently there was a sudden quality failure and no image was shown. Mr. Wang enquired from the warranty card attached to the television to the maintenance telephone and made an appointment for a home maintenance service. Upon inspection by the maintenance staff, it was indicated that two spare parts required replacement at a cost of $225. When mr. Wang questioned the high price, the maintenance staff claimed that the price was set uniformly for the company. Having said that, the maintenance staff did not produce standard spare parts price documents and the television was opened, mr. Wang had to accept the advice of the maintenance staff。
Later, on the basis of the documentation left by the maintenance staff, mr. Wang made an online search and found that the same product price was just a few dollars, up to a dozen pieces, and the same was true for the other model. Mr. Wang felt deceived and called the maintenance hotline for questioning and was vague and without any clear explanation. He then consulted the brand site and sent emails to the webmaster and service department, respectively, but they were returned。
The journalist made a telephone call based on the telephone number provided by mr. Wang, stating that “the 15-dollar start-up home service fee and the 120-dollar television opening fee are fixed, and that the specific maintenance price must be measured on site, but the price of all replacement parts is determined by the company in general”. Subsequently, journalists called the branded after-sale hotline and received the same statement. It is understood that the maintenance costs that the state permits enterprises to charge mainly include inspection fees and repair costs. The so-called door-to-door fees and charges actually fall within the scope of inspection fees. The gradual increase in household electricity functions, the increasing complexity of structures and the increasing technological content have placed increasing demands on the technical level of maintenance personnel. At the same time, maintenance by the repairer at the request of the consumer would have to increase the cost of the business, and it would have been reasonable to charge for the door and the door。
However, in response to mr. Wang's question about the incorrect cost of spare parts, the client did not respond in a timely manner, but only promised to the press that it would be reflected to the authorities concerned, ascertain the situation and respond to consumers in a timely manner. On the following day, mr. Wang told the journalist that the company's staff had contacted him and indicated a refund of $100. Subsequently, the staff called mr. Wang again and stated that the company had met and decided to increase the refund by an additional $50 totalling $150. This amount of lost money complicates mr. Wang's mood. “the money is refunded, but it is not always clear. If it had not been for its own efforts and for the help of the media, the complaint would have been dead by now.”
The lack of transparency in the price of household electricity maintenance has been a hot spot for complaints, and mr. Wang's experience has not been the tip of the iceberg. Are there uniform rates for maintenance staff? Are the high-priced parts worth anything? How to protect from old parts? It's a consumer concern. For a long time, regional differences, differences in enterprises and differences in product types have made it difficult to harmonize price standards for the maintenance of household appliances。
The china national electronics and electrical maintenance association recently published information on the prices of domestic electronics and electrical maintenance services in 2008, detailing and classifying, in form of tables, the prices of products, such as paint and electricity. While there is some reference, experts believe that some of the information is too general, such as minor repairs, medium-term repairs and major repairs in the “repair” section, without clear criteria, and that enterprises are easy to exploit. Therefore, maintenance personnel are required to indicate to the consumer, before charging the relevant fees, in order to safeguard the consumer's right to know. Consumers should also, to the extent possible, contact brand-designated repair agencies or repair firms with formal qualifications to overhaul home appliances, and be careful to maintain relevant records and instruments and to defend their rights in a timely manner if incorrect prices are discovered。
