I have been SUPER frustrated for the last month. Around Christmas our washing machine broke. The clothes came out soaking wet. Not normal washing machine wet, like able to squeeze a full glass of water out of a baby sock wet.

Right after New Years we called the only “certified” company recommended by our brand in our area. They came out, said that it was probably a sock stuck in the drain. Did you know that about front loaders? Socks can get stuck in the drain to prevent that you are suppose to wash them in intimate bags. Who knew? I digress. There was a sock stuck in the drain.

The tech was here 15 minutes and it cost $233. I was assured there would not be any more issues, so I started on my 2 weeks of laundry. First load out everything is SOAKED. I call the tech, he says call the office and make a new appointment. 1.5 weeks later he is back with a new lock for the door and a pump. He is here 30 minutes and charges me $299. He leaves. I do a load of laundry. It is soaked. I have to call the tech again. He says it can’t be fix and to call the company for my money back, and THAT is where my personal H**L began.

I have called that company roughly 10x since January 16th. Every time I get a different customer service agent. They will only give me that main number, and they insist that a supervisor will call me back same day. Around the 7th call and 2 weeks in, a supervisor actually did call me back to say she needed to speak with a senior supervisor, but not to worry that person would call me back same day. No one EVER called.

I spoke with the tech who said he was horrified and that he had submitted the paperwork on January 16th for our refund, and he would take care of this for us. I gave it 2 weeks. No call. No refund.

I called again, and wait for it, I was told a supervisor would call me back same day. It has been 2 days. I bet you can guess…. I feel like a jilted one night stand with all her friends saying, “Sorry honey, he is not going to call.”

I was having coffee with my friend, Gregg, and I told him this story. He said, “That sounds like fraud.” I agreed. Here is the difference between that sad girl waiting by the phone and me. I paid those failed services on my American Express. I have given them almost an entire month to make this right, and have reached out more times than I should have had to, so last night, I signed into my Amx account, and in a few clicks, reported 2 cases of fraud on my credit card. Amx immediately refunded the money, and now American Express will have to wait for the supervisor’s supervisor to call them back, and something tells me they will be a lot less pleasant than I would have been (let me have this fantasy). Amx is my big brother going to kick the snot out of that one night stand, and I don’t even feel bad.

All this to say: You have rights. Do not let people take advantage of you, and use your credit card when paying service people. On a credit card you have up to 60 days to report it with up to $50 in liabilities, usually no personal liability . If you use a debit card, you have 2 days, and may still be responsible for $50 after 2 days, but before 60 days that increases to $500. After 60 days, your bank will likely say it is your problem not theirs and you will be responsible for the entire loss.

Epilogue

On January 18th, we bough a new machine, which cost only $50 more than what we spent on the repairs that weren’t repaired. Next time, I will likely go to this step much faster.