What should you expect from a repair man ?

You expect somebody who knows the range of equipment they are going to be asked to repair, and who knows what parts are likely to have failed. You expect that they will listen to what they have been told about the problem, and make a sensible judgement about how best to proceed. You also expect that if the engineer who turns up does not known what the problem is, he can refer back to base for guidance from somebody who does know.

This has not been my experience with DOMEX.

Last week, I called them to look at a problem with my fridge freezer.

Basically, the fridge did not work but the freezer did.

I had already tried to fix it myself once or twice and got as far as the back of the freezer where there was a panel which was frosted up. I defrosted it and put it back, after which it worked for a couple of days and then packed up again.

Clearly this was not just a frosted up panel. Something else was causing the panel to frost up. Time to call in the professionals I thought, and called DOMEX.

They sent an engineer around, who talked to my wife and took a look. My wife explained that I had removed the panel and defrosted it, and that the problem had came back in a few days. Nonetheless, the engineer recommended replacing the panel (which would take at least 4 weeks to arrive)

This panel is simply a block of expanded polystyrene with a few channels moulded in to it. It has no seals and no moving parts. It is held in place with a couple of screws.

I called DOMEX to explain. I told them that I had already tried defrosting the panel, and that it had not cured the problem. I told them I suspected that it was more serious than just an expanded polystyrene panel and that perhaps a sensor or a fan motor might be the problem. They said they were sure that the engineer knew what he was doing ant that the panel needed to be replaced. They said that the parts to be ordered would include sensors and fan motors. I asked them to check.

They did eventually call back and said that the replacement part was simply the expanded polystyrene panel, no motors and no fans. Or sensors included. I explained that the panel in question was simply a block of expanded polystyrene, and that I had already tried defrosting it, to no avail. Their answer was: “We have to go with what the engineer says”.

I explained that although I was not a fridge engineer, I was an engineer and that I had plenty of experience with troubleshooting all sorts of equipment, and that I had already tried defrosting it, to no avail, and the existing panel was in perfect condition. Their answer was: “We have to go with what the engineer says”.

But surely, if I tell you that the part he wants to replace is in perfect order, and it looks like the problem is elsewhere, you can suggest a different course of action ? Their answer was: “We have to go with what the engineer says”.

OK, so what if your engineer is wrong, as I suspect, will you reimburse me for the incorrectly ordered part ? Their answer was “I can’t say. We have to go with what the engineer says”.

What does this ay about DOMEX ?

• It says their engineers did not know my particular fridge.

• It says they were not prepared to listen to what the problem was and what had been tried so far to fix it.

• It says that they were unwilling to be accommodate the needs of their customers over their own internal processes.

• It says they were not prepared to admit that they did not know what the problem was.

• It says that they were prepared to charge me for unnecessary work that would take ages to carry our, and would still leave me with a broken fridge.

This is why I will not use them again, and would recommend that you avoid them too.

We are a professional couple with very busy working and traveling schedules. Our Bosh dishwasher broke down and we found hard to arrange a repair visit by calling the regular Bosh assistance. We therefore decided to search online and found on google a service called: www.domex-uk.co.uk, which promises to repair dishwasher for GBP70. THe website is very easy to use and the forms are very easy to compile. Users give their names and address, chose a time slot and a day and shortly after submitting their requests, they receive a phone call confirming the time. The problem starts when the call center communicates with the repair engineers. They are slow, non responsive, lazy and unreliable. We have arranged our first appointment three weeks ago and our dishwasher has not been yet repair. To be fair, an engineer showed up two weeks ago, did not fix it, but asked for GBP35 just for showing up. Now they seem lost. I wonder, if I can get a refund.