On April 24th, I bought a Fedders 24000btu window air conditioner from Wal-Mart, with the intentions of this unit being the sole air conditioner for my small home. I installed it myself, with the help of a friend, and verified its operation upon completion.
As warmer months approached, I began to use the unit sporadically, then religiously. Until, that is, on July 15th, it failed. It still blew cold air, for ten minutes, before losing its mind and shutting off. Local repairman - over an hour away - was called and showed up the following Tuesday, the 19th, to inspect/repair the unit. Technician diagnosed the problem as a bad mainboard, and would have to see if the shop had it in stock, and if not, would order one. Tech also said this was a very common problem, and that I should contact Fedders about extending my warranty to cover future failures, as he was certain I would have one (or more).
A few weeks go by, with no call from local repair shop (Hunts, in Paragould, AR), so I call them (long distance). Got the run around about the part not arriving yet, etc. The next day I call Fedders (long distance) and was given a tracking number for the part, and after tracking, found it had only been ordered the previous day (after I called Hunts) and should arrive Friday (the 12th) after which they would promptly install the part in my unit.
No call Monday, so I call them. Seems they never got the part, despite signing for the package that Fedders allowed me to track. They maintain that included a "general" order, and not the part for my unit. They further tell me that they have 15 of these main boards on order, and all are backordered indefinitely. At this point, even before, it was clear that Hunts and Fedders weren't singing from the same book.
I call Fedders back, long distance again, and demand a refund on the unit. The rep actually acted like she was genuinely concerned, for a time - getting all the info on where to send the refund check, before adding that "someone would be calling me". If I had a dollar for every time someone from Fedders or Hunts was supposed to call me I'd have enough to go buy a REAL air conditioner.
Wal-Mart, while only at fault by selling the junk, apologized for my troubles while agreeing that the units Fedders supplies them with are indeed junk, but stuck by their policy that I have to go thru Fedders to get the unit repaired/replaced/refunded.
So here I am, exactly one month later - and the hottest month of the summer, mind you - without an air conditioner, STILL.
0 comments