Over 1,400 Dyson customers conned by bogus "official" repair firms into expensive vacuum services they do not need
Dyson has this week revealed that hundreds of its customers have recently been the victims of bogus "official" repair firms who are using high-pressure tactics to sell them replacement parts for their vacuum cleaners that they do not need, and overcharging for poor-quality work.
The company says it has so far identified 1,480 people who in the last 12 months have found themselves conned into using a repair service from companies masquerading as official Dyson engineers. There could well be many others who have not yet come forward.
An estimated 25 companies are cold-calling people and offering to service Dysons ? and then often charging unsuspecting owners hidden additional costs. Many people, as they are at home to take the calls, are elderly, frail or housebound.
Just before Christmas, Warwick Dixon received a phone call out of the blue at home reminding him that his Dyson vacuum cleaner was due for a service, and offering it at a special half-price rate of �19.99. The DC07 upright-style cleaner was eight years old and, though no longer covered by the original guarantee, still working as well as when it was brand new.
The 75-year-old retired lecturer thought it odd as he had not requested a service but as he was planning to clean the existing foam filter anyway, he decided to take advantage of the offer. It was an attractive deal given that Dyson's standard repair service for machines beyond their guarantee is �69.
But when the engineer, "Chris", turned up at Dixon's home in Dartford, Kent, the following day, he insisted that the machine needed two new filters and a new brush ? and charged him �89.96. Chris also tried to persuade him to take out an annual service contract.
"It was all very strange," recalls Dixon. "I had got the very strong impression from the original phone call that the company was connected with Dyson. He claimed the company he worked for shared a database of customers with Dyson."
When Chris left, Dixon phoned Dyson's customer services department, which later confirmed that Chris (and his firm) was not an engineer authorised by the company. In addition, the parts fitted were not genuine Dyson spare parts, and when Dixon retrieved his old filter from the dustbin, cleaned it and refitted it, he found the machine worked perfectly. Dixon was unsettled by the experience ? and subsequently got his money back. He has since found out that he is far from alone.
Although Dyson owners across the UK have been targeted, the firm has identified a number of regional hotspots where large numbers have been affected, including Reading, Leicester, Nottingham, Durham and Belfast.
Dyson says that in many cases customers are being charged more than originally quoted for the service ? up to �150 ? which is often carried out to a poor standard or with non-genuine parts. Some are offered other products to buy which they do not need. Repair work of this kind involving non-approved Dyson parts can invalidate people's guarantees.
The company believes households are being contacted at random, in the hope they have a Dyson appliance, before being told their vacuum cleaner requires servicing. And it says if someone calls or turns up saying they are from Dyson, they are not. A spokeswoman says: "We don't authorise anyone who isn't a fully trained Dyson field service engineer to repair our machines. This includes independent repair companies such as the ones operating these scams."
It says its national network of 150 service engineers never cold-call and never visit homes unless the customer has contacted them. Only a Dyson engineer will have a van full of genuine Dyson parts and he or she will also wear an easily recognisable uniform.
Dixon later contacted the company that came to his house and managed to get his payment refunded after changing his mind within seven days. But he felt strongly that he wanted to publicise what had happened. "I was definitely misled about there being a connection with Dyson. I was sold parts that were clearly not needed, and in a 20-minute call-out I was nearly conned out of �135. I feel sorry for Sir James Dyson, that his name is being used for other people's gain. I stood my ground but I am worried there are many people not able to do that."
The Guardian tracked down the Sussex firm that serviced Dixon's appliance. It insisted it had done nothing wrong and had not broken the law. Its managing director told us he is in the process of seeking "authorisation" from Dyson, even though Dyson says only its team of field service engineers are fully trained and approved to carry out repairs.
Robert Bailey, of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, had a similar experience last summer. Bailey, 73, received a letter from a third-party company offering him a full service for his Dyson for �25. The machine was only two years old, but Bailey told Money: "I didn't think it was an unreasonable deal, so I rang them back and made an appointment."
The engineer visited to give him a service, and "by implication" he says he thought they represented Dyson. The engineer fitted what he claimed to be genuine Dyson parts ? and charged him nearly �50 for them ? but they turned out not to be. Bailey later threatened legal action against the company, at which point it provided him with a new Dyson machine.
Contacted by Money, the Yorkshire-based firm claimed it had "amended" its telephone script "to ensure customers are aware we are a totally independent company".
However, Dyson says: "We are not aware of any changes made to the script ? and we have continued to see high volumes of calls into our call centre about this company."
The manufacturer says it is working with council trading standards officers to stop companies misleading customers. In a number of cases this has been successful, only for the firms to close and then reopen under different names. Dyson has been contacting all registered owners with advice to be vigilant, and taking out adverts in local newspapers.
The spokeswoman says: "We're approaching the third-party companies and working with trading standards to review their call scripts. We have contacted nine companies (the ones generating the most calls to our helpline) about copyright infringement, trademark infringement and passing off. The scripts need to mention at least twice that the company cold-calling is not related to Dyson. The difficulty is making sure the scripts are adhered to."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jan/22/dyson-customers-dirt
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