Maytag Corporation Consumer Reviews - Page 2
SAN DIEGO, CA 92129, CALIFORNIA -- Maytag is an Total Fraud. I bought a Maytag M1010 whole-house A/C system from an authorized Maytag dealer. The AC failed to work with multiple defects. Maytag could not produce any local dealer who is willing to perform warranty service without me paying. After incurring $878 out-of-pocket expense for the diagnosis and repair (at the insistence of Maytag's insurance company), Maytag sent me a $35 refund check and claimed the rest is deductible. I filed a BBB complaint on Whirlpool because Maytag does not have an independent office after the 2006 acquisition.
After an 80 day wait, Whirlpool just notified me that my AC is NOT Maytag because the production had been outsourced to Nordyne. As a result, neither the product quality nor the warranty service is their responsibility. Can you believe this could happen to a major name brand?!
Do not buy Maytag products and don't let the "lonely repairman" advertisement fool you. Maytag has horrific product quality and ridiculous customer service. After a six month warranty repair ordeal on my Maytag A/C system, I have just come to the shocking realization that Maytag might not actually exist as a physical entity. Its management/administration is handled by Whirlpool. Its manufacturing is decentralized and handled by the third parties (in this case Nordyne). Its warranty service is handled by insurance companies (in this case Equiguard).
So as a Maytag customer, I was actually dealing with a phantom operation. When I called Maytag Customer Service, I did not know I was actually talking to the insurance company who can't care less.
So unless you want to repeat my experience, do not buy Maytag. Whirlpool is now the legal entity that superseded Maytag after its acquisition in 2006. Don't buy Whirlpool either, because Whirlpool will not stand behind the brands it carries. I was told Maytag is just a brand they carry. Because its manufacturing is franchised to Nordyne, Whirlpool has nothing to do with either the product quality or service, nor can they compel Nordyne to respond to customer inquiries.
If you do not trust me, please go to www.my3cents.com or www.ripoffreport.com and type in either Whirlpool or Maytag to read the horror stories from hundreds of customers. BBB complaint has tripled to 1400 per year since Whirlpool acquired Maytag, from less than 500 cases per year.
Haibo
Here is my long story if you want to experience Maytag's "Worry-Free Warranty".
I bought a Maytag M1010 whole-house A/C & furnace system in Jan 2007. In a moment of weakness in my heart, I was persuaded by Maytag's sales presentation which promised:
(1) "Worry-free warranty, 10 years parts and labor": "The precision teamwork required to design, engineer and deliver superior products is a key component of Maytag's appeal. Because of quality controls, such as computer-automated testing on each unit, Maytag home comfort equipment is produced right the first time to ensure worry-free performance."
(2) "Worry-free warranty, 10 years parts and labor": "To put you even more at ease, each Maytag system comes with an exclusive Maytag Worry-Free Warranty! Each M1010 Series product comes with a 10-year Worry-Free Warranty on both parts and labor, as well as Maytag's Dependability Promise. These impressive warranties set a new standard of assurance for comfort."
(3) "Maytag Dependability Promise": "The Dependability Promise states that your entire unit will be replaced if the compressor or heat exchanger fails within the first five years of purchase (if originally installed with a matched Maytag indoor coil or air handler). The 5-year Dependability Promise is standard on the M1010 Series only."
(4) "Additional Maytag Promise (All capitalized in the original document)": "Complete customer satisfaction is our goal. If your Maytag heating product should ever require service, you can count on our NATIONAL NETWORK OF MAYTAG HVAC DEALERS. THESE HVAC-TRAINED EXPERTS KNOW YOU HEATHING SYSTEM AND ARE READY TO SERVE YOU. Toll-Free: 1-866-2MAYTAG."
Looking at the "lonely repairman" picture on the sales literature, I thought I would be enjoying my worry-free A/C for the next 10 years. Little do I know Maytag is a total fraud who will break both the letters and the spirit of every promise, both verbal and written.
The A/C never worked. The first summer I turn it on, nothing happened. I call the Maytag dealer who installed the system. A guy came and refilled the Freon. In early April 2008, I turned on A/C, nothing happened. I called the same company and they had declared bankruptcy (even though they are still doing the same business with the same phone number and the same registered principal under a different company name). I thought I am just glad I purchase a brand-name product and Maytag would not be a fraud like its dealer. So started my 4 (now 6)-month saga with Maytag.
After spend half an hour waiting on Maytag help line, I was told my A/C is not Maytag but Nordyne who manufactured the product under Maytag name. So Maytag is not responsible for my unit. I called Nordyne, who told me to get help from Maytag Customer Service, without explaining the 1-866-2MAYTAG number is for the insurance company Equiguard. Apparently, Maytag does not have any customer service organization and let the insurance company masquerade as Maytag. This "Maytag" representative, **, reassured me I can use any authorized dealer with 25 miles of my home to get the thing repaired and get reimbursement.
I found the only authorized dealer Anderson PHA and spent $68 to find out the coolant pressure was low and there was a leak. ** now refused to admit the leak was caused by the product and asked me to prove it was not the installer's fault. Anderson quoted for $735 for a full leak test but demand up-front payment because Equiguard had a track record of not reimburse them. I talked to ** again about the cost, this time I felt like talking to a lawyer: I would have to pay up-front for the diagnosis and then only if the problem is with Maytag product would I get reimbursement from Maytag. I said "that's fine."
When I asked Anderson to perform the test, I was told they will not do it even if I pay. Their ongoing negotiation with Equiguard had broken down. Anderson was concerned that, if they did the leak test, they would feel obligated to perform warranty repair for which Equiguard will not adequately reimburse. (How insightful! I wish I knew before I put in my money.) I asked ** how can I find a dealer in "Maytag's National Network" to check my unit so that I can enjoy this "Worry-Free Warranty"? ** led me to a month long saga to find a dealer and can't come up with any.
After running out of all options, I begged Anderson and asked if I can have my problem diagnosed if I join their annual maintenance plan as a preferred customer with a $175 annual premium. Anderson finally agreed to take on my case and I negotiated a preferred customer discount to reduce the leak test cost from $735 to $635. The May 9th leak test determined there were two leaks, one in the cooling coil and another in the condenser unit. Both are due to Maytag equipment defects and not related to the initial installation. I was relieved that Maytag warranty would finally get me covered.
The repair was performed by two Anderson employees on June 6, 2008. Anderson also helped me to fax all the receipts involved in this repair/diagnosis to Maytag. On June 23, 2008, I received a $35 refund check from EquiGuard for the diagnosis. I called ** "why do I only got $35 out of the $878 back?" EquiGuard basically said the rest is "deductible". I asked "where did it say "deductible" on my warranty?" ** said "why don't you talk to **?" ** picked up the phone and said there is nothing he can do now or in the future.
I filed a BBB complaint on June 25 to bring Maytag's attention. Because Maytag does not really exist, the complaint had to be filed under Whirlpool. Mrs.** at the Whirlpool Executive Office tried to compel a response from Nordyne and Equiguard. After 40 days, I got a private response (no recorded by BBB) that Maytag cannot provide anything. The decision was made by ** of Equiguard and Mr. ** of Nordyne, who is VP Sales/West Coast.
Specific to my complaint: 1) Maytag will not refund my $878 out-of-pocket expense caused by multiple Maytag product failures. 2) Maytag could not found a local dealer who will not demand upfront payment for any future repair. 3) Maytag will not explain which part of my 4 (now 6) month nightmare is "Worry-free".
Maytag says they can not be responsible for poor product quality of another company (Nordyne) who lease its name. Maytag also takes the position that my now-out-of-the-business Maytag authorized dealer is to blame. I beg to differ: (1) If Maytag advertise its product under Maytag name, it is responsible to deliver the promises in its sales literature regardless of who is the manufacturer and the insurance company. (2) If Maytag's product quality is good, I would not have this problem. This is not an installation problem.
(3) If Maytag can identify any authorized dealer to repair my unit without demanding up-front payment from the customer, I would not be in this dilemma either. (4) If Maytag opted for repair when the dead A/C had been diagnosed to leak, I do not need to incur the cost of the full leak test. You just cannot have it both ways. The responsibility is squarely with Maytag.
With regard to the fabulous 4 paragraphs of "Worry-Free Warranty" quoted earlier, here is my point-to-point rebuttal:
(1) Two out of the three components in my system failed, which is a good testimony of Maytag's product quality. The A/C failed for two consecutive years since the installation in Jan 2007. My 4-year old son was unknowingly inhaling Freon the whole time next door to a leak. A check on Consumer Report found Maytag ranked among the most repaired brands across a broad category of products. A quick check on the website turns out hundreds of Maytag horror stories. Yet Maytag had the audacity to call this "Worry-Free Performance".
(2) For all the capital letters and acclamation mark for the "Worry-Free Warranty!", my unit fit every description, yet Maytag's customer service line does not even admit it is a Maytag product. They insist it is a Nordyne product. Nordyne insist it is not their problem either and give me another phone number. Unknowingly, I was talking to an insurance company Equiguard who misrepresent themselves as Maytag.
Equiguard refused to acknowledge it is a product quality issue, led me to an adventure to find an authorized dealer, duped me into paying up-front, and then renegade in reimbursement. Did I read "10-year both parts and labor"? Where does it say diagnosis is not covered? If not covered, why the $35 refund? Where does it say "deductable" that Equiguard now claims? When the product was diagnosed by an authorized dealer to be not working, why insisting on a full leak test that they now refuse to reimburse?
(3) Yes, my unit is less than 5-years old, and both the compressor AND the heat exchanger leaks. It fits every description for whole-unit replacement, yet Maytag gives the repairmen only the coils. The two service men worked 10.5 hours straight to dissemble the entire compressor using my home as the assembling factory. They kept cursing Maytag who made it "much worse than a new install".
(4) What a joke! The (866) 262-9824 number is for Equiguard, the insurance company who refused to help. Maytag substitute customer service with insurance company lawyers, and claim to have "set a new standard" in customer assurance. Yes, a new standard beneath LOW and almost obscene! After 4 months, Maytag still have not found ONE dealer who will service my unit without demanding up-front payment from me. Where is that NATIONAL NETWORK OF MAYTAG HVAC DEALERS?
I can only conclude Maytag does not have any intention to keep any of the wonderful promises. Maytag is a fraud because: (1) It used sales practice/literature with fraudulent claims to misled customers into purchase. (2) It manufactures poor quality products with multiple defects, yet advertised as "most reliable". (3) It cannot produce any dealer to do repair without up-front payment yet advertise as "dependability promise".
(4) It made and then reengaged verbal promise in diagnostic reimbursement if the problem is related to the product. It forced me into full leak test then asked why it was so expensive. (5) It failed to honor written commitment for "entire unit replacement" when the product failure met all descriptions. (6) It cultivated a disorganized corporate culture that is at once incompetent and indifferent.
Please tell me why, as a customer, should I be led to run in circles between Maytag, Whirlpool, Nordyne, Equiguard and Maytag dealer, with nobody responsible for anything? I conclude Maytag does not have the decency to delivery on any of their promises, nor do they care what you think. The "lonely repairman" is indeed long dead.
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HENDERSON, NEVADA -- I would just like to let you know about my extremely negative experience with Maytag. I recently purchased all new appliances from a Maytag retail store located in Henderson, Nevada. I purchased a stove, dish washer, microwave, washer and a dryer. Obviously when picking out the kitchen appliances, I choose items that matched. I though working directly with Maytag would be a pleasant experience. Well, the installation people come to the house and begin to install the products. My wife is there with the kids.
They get done installing the products and have her sign off. She has two twin infants that she is taking care of and just signs off. Obviously she has her hands full. First thing I noticed is that the stove is about 8 inches from the wall. The gas line is in the way. A reputable installation person would have pointed this out. I called the store and they referred me directly to Maytag's 1-800 phone number. I call them and they tell me to call the store back. I call the store back and they tell me there's nothing that can be done. Fine, I pay a plumber to move the gas line.
Second, I notice the microwave does not match the other appliances or the one from the store. The main difference is the handle. I call Candy, the sales woman, and she informs me that the model has changed. This is a problem, if I am going to spend $6,000 on appliances at the very least I would like them to match. It is the sales person to keep up on their products and not sell items that cannot be delivered. So I call Candy and she tells me that she will have a person come out and switch out the handles.
The person shows up with the handle from the item in the store and tries to install it. It will not fit so I call Candy back. She tries to convince me to keep the model I have. This is not optional, for the amount of $$ I spent they should match. She says that she can give me the floor model and at a possible discount (considering it is a floor model it should be discounted) but that she has to talk to her manager. She calls today and informs me that there will be no discount and points out that by the way the install people will have made three trips to my house as if it is my fault and an inconvenience.
I'll tell you what an inconvenience is, it is walking into a supposedly topnotch manufacturer's showroom, spending a lot of $$ on products, making arrangements to be around to have installation people come out three times, spending hours on the phone trying to get things fixed, and being told "too bad you signed a piece of paper." If that is not incompetence and horrible customer service, I do not know what is. I'll be sure to let everyone I can about the type of service you get from Maytag.
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ALBANY, NEW YORK -- As posted on several forums and chat rooms all over the Internet: Newlyweds August 12, 1989. Buy a used pair of Maytag washer & dryer (Copper colored that they stopped making sometime mid '70s). Had them through three moves and only replaced the motor one time and had to clean and lube the motor tracks a couple times.
June 14, 2004. Finally had to replace the washer, and based on having a ten year old (or older) Maytag for fifteen years, we decide to buy a new Maytag $365. June 28, 2006 new drive pulley and belt. Two year old plastic pulley wore out and chewed up the belt. $145.80. March 13, 2007 broke brake needs drive pulley "KIT" which includes the brake and the plastic pulley and belt ("Sorry can't get just the brake by itself, it only comes in the "KIT") $183.
July 5th 2007 while off on my own little vaca the wife reports the washer quits again. Get home, look underneath and sure enough there is a broken piece hanging out of the water pump. How do I know it is the water pump? Am I a trained technician? Well, there are three things hooked to that whazzit, a hose from the tub, a hose to the drain, and a belt around the pulley underneath it, I think it is the water pump.
Call Maytag 1-800-688-9900 and the first couple of minutes of voicemail hell you have to listen to notices about a couple of recalls on their products (this is building my confidence). One hour dance on the phone with Maytag explaining that I do not want to pay another $150 repair and have a three year old machine that I am not confident will keep working three weeks longer. I'd rather go spend $450 and get a new machine with at least 12 months warranty.
Maytag says they will warranty the pump but I have to pay $65 service, to which I say OK. I further tell them to make sure their third party contract service provider shows up with the correct water pump for my model, serial number, and revision of machine (they have all the numbers) because I know it is the water pump.
July 7, 2007 3rd party service tech shows up. Looks under the machine, sees part hanging out of whazzit and says "Wow, I have never seen a water pump fall apart like that before. I hope I have a replacement on the truck.” One hour plus on the phone with several other techs and tech support and he decides he can use the pump he has even though it isn't exactly the called for part number. $218.35!!!
$65 to come out, $70.18 for the part and an hour and a half labor of which one hour plus was the research to see if the water pump he had on the truck could be used on our machine. Maytag did NOT hand off the call with the note that it was definitely the water pump (A&E Service never trusts Maytag or customers diagnosis anyway). Also Maytag DID NOT provide an authorization number for the warranty on the part.
Saturday and NOBODY is answering the phone at Maytag, not even if you try to press 1 "if you are in a store and going to buy a Maytag". It is either pay the $218 or he has to take the pump back out. I say take the pump and the washer both and get the hell out. Wife says "If it is working pay him, I have to do laundry."
July 9th, 2007 I call Maytag and after several runarounds (I will not take NO from someone who does not have the authority to give me a YES) we finally get an approval to credit me for the part but I have to take it up with A&E for the labor. I also have to submit a letter and copy of the bill to get the reimbursement.
Next call A&E to see about a credit for the hour and a half labor of which over an hour was the kibbutz on whether he could use the part he had. She starts to get a little huffy with me when I finally lower the boom. "This was paid for with an American Express Card, you can either credit all but the $65 or I will protest the full $218.35 and you will get bupkis." She agrees to credit all but the $65 and the part. We will see what shows up on next month's bill.
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By C. - NEW YORK -- BUYER BEWARE - Purchased Sears Maytag Braxo XL for $750 only 14 months ago. Now showing codes F6 & E2 & E3. Was told by Sears repair that it has a faulty "electronic power board" which needs to be replaced = $236 + $100 for serviceman. Extremely disappointed. Will never purchase a Maytag appliance again!
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NEWTON, IOWA -- I worked at Maytag for thirty years and am now retired. It saddens me very much to see all the post on here about our products, although some of it is the truth. When I started Maytag at 18 years old in 1967 it was a proud company and the main thing was quality. Starting in the mid 80`s we the factory workers could see that quality was slowly being tossed out the door. No matter what we tried to do the bottom line was profit and quantity.
As Maytag bought more and more companies numbers going out the door were the important thing. We the laborers at Maytag's plant in Iowa are sad to see what has happened to the company and to you the consumer. Contrary to what the media would have you believe we have been taking cuts in our wages since back in the 80`s to try to get our wages even with other facilities that Maytag owns but it was never enough for the bean counters that run the place now.
Our own retirement is in jeopardy now as is our health benefits. We don't want pity just justice. All we can ask is that when you complain about the products is that you try and make sure where they were made. We produced the old reliable washers here, dishwashers until the late 80`s, still make commercial dryers here and started the Neptune washer here. I happened to be part of the original 12 people that started producing the Neptune. And you people are correct about the smell, and breakdowns.
We tried to tell the engineers about the problems but were dismissed as uneducated. And getting them out to the consumer was the biggest thing on their agenda. So where the blame lays is with the management at that time and the current. We still make the BEST washing machine on the market. It is the Dependable Care model WITH the porcelain tub. (Not to be confused with the Dependable Care with a plastic tub.) The one with the plastic tub is made in Searcy AK and does not have the quality of the one made with a porcelain tub.
The company has slowly been killing the one with the porcelain tub. Why?? Because the profit margin isn't as high and they last forever. You will find very few dealers across the United States that even know that we still produce these machines. We used to make almost 4000 a day, now we make 75 a day and only special stores are allowed to sell them. This is a perfect example of corporate greed and misleading the public.
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LYONS, NEW YORK -- If you buy a Maytag, Kenmore, Amanna, Jenn-air or Whirlpool because you think one is better than the other you are only deceiving yourself. They are all the made by the very same company!! I and my wife argued about which dishwasher, washer/dryer and refrigerator was the best so I did some research on all of them. It's not that hard to find out who owns what. I found that all are made by the same company!! Boy was I fooled. Sears gives Maytag the specs. for what they want and the company builds it for them.
The TV/print ads even fight each other over which is better. It's funny how they will even fight themselves for the market share. At any rate we went with Maytag because we felt that was a better product. Boy where we WRONG!!!!! We also bought the extremely expensive Jenn-Air dishwasher because she, my wife wanted the best. We had it less than 1 yr. when the timer control caught fire. After fighting with "customer service" (hahaha) for an hr. I was no closer to a fix than I was to getting a brand new mach. We paid $1200.00 (or close to it) for the mach. and the fix was $696.43 to fix it. I said no so we bought a GE and it's worked fine for 6 yrs. now.
Anyway, we got the runaround for a month. (with no dishwasher other than me or my wife. mostly me.) When we had enough and bought the new one, the part came in a box 6"x6" and weighed less than a LG candy bar plus installation mind you. (and the gov. got on Bill Gates for owning too much with Microsoft???) That was another $155.00. This co. is way too big for their own good, let alone ours.
Bottom line, no matter what you buy it's the same company making it these days. It's a shame that a company that once made a VERY good product has gone the way it has. My mom has an Maytag stove that has been in the house and used everyday for the past 40 yrs. and is still going strong. What happened to that kind of product?
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NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS -- I have used Dependable Maytag in Naperville for years to buy appliances, purchase repair parts and for repair service at my house. Most recent experience will be my last. Bought a repair part for a dryer. Due to lack of time, I could not install the part and called their service dept, who repaired the unit the next day. Spare part I purchased was not needed. Asked if part was returnable and technician said "yes".
Got to store and was told "no problem, just need manager approval". This is when the fun started. Manager said not returnable due to it being a custom order. Reminded them the part was a stock item when I bought it, 1 of 3 they had in house just 3 days ago.
Manager agreed but THEN said it was not returnable due to being an electrical part. I challenged this because the only electrical component on the item was a single wire and a light bulb socket. Manager agreed but THEN said not returnable because it was used. I showed the manager the invoice from his own service tech showing that the part was not used, and was still in the original box. Manager agreed but THEN said he could not take returns due to the owners return policy. I pointed out that the return policy is not written anywhere in store, just appears to be made up as they go.
Manager THEN said he would credit me the repair part price toward the purchase of a new dryer. At this point I walked out with my now useless part. I am horribly disappointed that what used to be a "dependable" sales and repair shop is now resorting an ambiguous return policy to make a buck on a repair part, or even worse, force me to buy a new dryer just to get my money back. I could have bought somewhere else for less, now I wish I had.
"Dependable" Maytag needs to publish a clear return policy and show a little respect for repeat customers, instead of laughing and telling them "Good Luck" as they walk out the door in frustration. (Yes, I was really told "Good Luck" as I walked out!)
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By L. - NEWARK, NEW JERSEY -- On Feb 13, 2013 purchased a refrigerator from Home Depot. On June 24 the piece of crap stopped working. I made a phone call to the warranty company about a problem I was having with my Maytag refrigerator that was not cooling. Home Depot transferred me to Maytag and Maytag transferred me to a local warranty company to come out and look at our refrigerator.
Dan Mark Appliance representative came to inspect the refrigerator and found the compressor was no good. I asked him "how does a compressor fail in such a sort time? Let me guess, made in China?" jokingly. He said "this is common with this manufacturer." I said, "Really I wish I knew this before I bought this $850 pile of junk." After waiting for a week I decided that the service company was not coming back to resolve the problem.
On July 9th I called back and they told me it would be another week before the part comes in. July 18th I have to call again to find out where the part is. "Oh, no one called you? It should be there around the hours of 2-5 pm." Thanks for nothing. The Fridge got repaired at 3:30 pm that day. At this point my food is spoiled and I asked for reimbursement. Maytag says they are not responsible for the food. It's not covered in the warranty.
I called the warranty company again and reminded them that I had been without my refrigerator for more than 15 days. I was told that they were still looking into the matter but this is my thought: DON'T BUY ANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS, LOOKS LIKE THEY ALL SUCK..... This has convinced me that I will never purchase an appliance or a warranty from Home Depot again. I will not hesitate to let anyone know of the experience I have had with the warranty company contracted by your company.
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