CUSTOMER SERVICE? - PowerHouse

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Dorothy Shaw, of Mackworth, and Annette Fuller, of Mickleover, are both in dispute with PowerHouse regarding products they bought from its Kingsway store. When they bought their washing machines in 1998, they both took out an Extended Warranty costing £219.99. Under the Extracare Extended Service Protection, PowerHouse would refund the cost of the warranty if they had not made a claim for repairs for five years. Both have not made a claim and should be due for their money back - but they are yet to see a penny from PowerHouse.

Mrs Shaw bought a Zanussi washing machine on March 15, 1998, for £349.99. Shortly before the five years were up, Zanussi wrote to her asking if she wanted to join its insurance scheme. She decided she would use her refund from PowerHouse to fund the insurance. She wrote to PowerHouse a couple of days after her warranty expired, but, on April 10, she received a reply. The letter stated that she should send in her "redemption form" - an official PowerHouse form that would allow her to redeem her insurance money from the firm once the five-year period was up.

She said, "They said that the only way I would get my money back was to send them my redemption form, which I should have been given when I was sold the machine - but I wasn't. I definitely would have remembered being given the form because it is obviously very important." Ms Fuller finds herself in an identical situation. She has been waiting even longer to get her refund. She bought her washing machine for £249.99 in December, 1997. In January this year she sent off her paperwork to PowerHouse in order to get her refund.

But she was sent the same letter as Mrs Shaw, which stated that, to get the refund, she must send in her redemption form. Ms Fuller said, "I never had a redemption form. I've kept every receipt and document relating to my machine. If I'd have been given it I would have kept it in a safe place." A PowerHouse spokeswoman said, "We've been in touch with Annette Fuller and Dorothy Shaw and we're working to try to sort out their queries. Although neither qualify under the rules of the warranty cashback scheme, we'll do our best to come up with a satisfactory resolution for both customers."

PowerHouse then offered the ladies 75% of the amount due. 75%? What's that all about? Did they enter into a contract with the ladies or not? PowerHouse are still offering cash-back warranties on this rip-off scheme and it's assumed more people are involved in this scam of theirs. Customers who are affected by this scheme should seriously consider suing for breach of contract and, in addition, claim compensation. Future customers should be aware that this type of treatment is typical of PowerHouse and would be well advised to shop elsewhere.

PowerHouse is now battling to safeguard its future after an insurer withdrew some of its cover. It concerns the supply of items from electrical manufacturers to the firm, along with payment for them. In the last financial year, post-tax profits slumped to £300,000 from £5.2m a year earlier making it difficult for PowerHouse to purchase new supplies on existing payment terms.

The company, which employs 3,000 staff at 230 stores, said it had taken steps towards placing itself into administration, a protective move that would allow it to continue trading from existing stock. The company is currently in talks with lenders and said it would provide further details soon. Some may say this is justice for the way the company has treated its customers in the past. The company later decided to close 93 of its 223 stores.

PowerHouse in the Meteor Centre is to close with the loss of up to 20 jobs. The decision by parent company PRG ends almost two years of speculation about the future of the shops. The Kingsway store will remain open and trade as normal. A company spokeswoman confirmed the decision, but was unable to give any indication of when the closure would happen or what would happen to the staff working at the shop. A company spokeswoman confirmed the decision, but was unable to give any indication of when the closure would happen or what would happen to the staff working at the shop.

She said, "I can confirm that the Meteor Centre store will close." The news came as a shock to workers who were told by letter that their jobs were to be axed and the shop shut. "The staff received an unsigned letter telling us we were losing our jobs," said one of the shop workers. "Do you think it's right and proper in 2005 for loyal staff to be notified this way? It's even more upsetting when it appears that the store is profitable and the staff, some of whom earn only £5 an hour, are to be given the minimum redundancy by law."

Staff at both Derby stores were under instructions not to speak to the media. John Gorle, a spokesman for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), said the union had a long-standing agreement with PowerHouse, pre-dating the buyout by PRG, regarding job cuts. He said the closure was expected to take place within four weeks but that the union was hoping that some of the staff would be relocated to Kingsway and other stores. Mr Gorle said the company had given the costs of running the Meteor Centre shop as the main reason for its closure and had accepted an offer for the premises.

Paul Hassall, of Meadow Lane, Chaddesden, bought a television and video from PowerHouse's Meteor Centre store in April, 1998, for a total of £820, and took out an extended warranty costing £149.99. In April, 2003, when the five-year period expired, Mr Hassall contacted PowerHouse to reclaim his cash. The firm told him that he had failed to put in a claim for his cash within a 28-day period after his warranty had expired and had missed the deadline by a week. He asked for his case to be considered by the firm's appeals committee and PowerHouse agreed. Since May he has heard nothing. When Mr Hassall contacted PowerHouse to find out what was happening, he was told that it was "no longer its problem" as the firm had gone into receivership.

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