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I’ve never been particularly handy. Shelves I nail on the wall result in books falling down days later; assembling Ikea furniture takes more than a few evenings to complete; and there’s a reason my TV sits slightly higher on the wall than it should.
But when the lightbulb in my integrated Bosch refrigerator decided to blow out one day, it was something I knew I could fix easily. Except, a couple of weeks after I’d successfully managed to screw a lightbulb into the socket, it blew out again.
I put in another new one, and another, and another, but each time they just blew out again. Whatever I tried, my lightbulbs just wouldn’t stay alive. Eventually, a strange burning-like smell started emanating from the side of my fridge, and when I cooked my meals for the next few days they had a chemical taste to them. So, I decided it was time I called in the professionals, who diagnosed the problem straightaway as an issue with the control unit.
Feeling smug that it wasn’t anything to do with my bulb work, I was happy to get a diagnosis, but how much did you say it would cost to repair? With a new control unit and the call-out charge included, the answer was: a lot. However, there was another option. I could take out a repair and care plan from Domestic & General – a homeowner’s best-kept secret when it comes to lowering repair bills.
Domestic & General is a home appliance care firm that works with leading manufacturers, such as AEG, Samsung, and Hoover to repair appliances. The company not only offered to repair my fridge at a more affordable price, but it also provided coverage for any issues, including accidental damage, for the next 12 months.
Days later, my fridge was up and running again. The chemical smell had gone, the bulb stayed on whenever I opened my fridge, and all I had to pay was £17 a month for 12 months.
What is Domestic & General?
If you’ve never heard of Domestic & General, the company provides aftercare for more than 20 million domestic and household products, ranging from ovens and tumble dryers to dishwashers and boilers. If your appliance breaks down, the company will repair it as many times as necessary, or just straight up replace it if it can’t fix it.
How does Domestic & General work?
When you head to Domestic & General’s website, you’ll be able to grab a quote for either a one-off repair or a repair and care plan. The latter sees you pay a fixed monthly price in exchange for Domestic & General repairing your appliance an unlimited number of times – parts and labour included. If the company can’t fix your appliance after the first repair, it’ll give you a new one. In the case of my fridge, it worked out cheaper to take out the repair and care plan over a one-off repair from the manufacturer, plus I got extra coverage for any future faults within a year.
It’s worth mentioning that the broken control unit in my fridge was an expensive bit of kit, but if the part that’s broken in your appliance isn’t going to cost a lot, you might be better off going for Domestic & General’s one-off repair (though you won’t be covered for future breakdowns). Overall, it’s an affordable way of repairing an appliance, and my fridge was back up and running in no time at all.
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