Has anybody experienced difficulties trying to get their hands on a new household appliance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic? We’ve heard some reports of people having trouble, either because of products being out of stock, or big delays on receiving products they have ordered.
Please let us know your experiences.
We have seen many products out of stock. We bought a freezer in the height of the Victoria lockdown and there were not many choices in the size we needed, and then finding stock for any of them was a challenge - we found the one we wanted in stock at our TGG shop at a decent price and had it the next business day.
Currently looking to upgrade our aging TV we found our pick from the Choice test is unavailable, discontinued, yet still showing on myriad web sites. A visit to Costco yesterday had most of the more desirable TVs on display as being out of stock at the location.
We also made numerous on-line purchases and excepting for a few extra days enjoying Auspost trucks and depots, did not have any other worries.
An irritant, using Bunnings as an example, was that while we could click and collect, much of what we wanted (and in cases needed) was out of stock at our local Bunnings yet the products were not available for nor could be ordered for delivery.
We haven’t had any issue in Tassie. We bought a new fridge mid covid (31 July) and there was plenty of stock available in store then but this may have changed more recently.
Around the same time visits to Target (and chatting with store staff) indicated that they were having problem restocking their small appliance section…resulting in many empty shelves. I haven’t been back since to see if it has improved.
My Fisher & P dishdrawers have perished rubber around the filters.
I paid for the parts ordered direct from them on July 31. Keep promising never delivering.
Just get the sorry emails and more promises. What is going on?
Hi @coofam, welcome to the community.
I’ve previously purchased spare parts for F&P appliances, including a DW Drawer. I needed to wait nearly 2 months for a controller card, but not the time period you indicated. How old is the Drawer Dish Washer?
Have you checked with any of the major parts suppliers for stock of the item you require?
One option I’ve used successfully previously.
https://shop.onlineappliancespares.com.au/browse/dishdrawer-29705
They list whether an item is stock or requires ordering in. They appear to have seals for at least one of the many models in stock.
As F&P are now owned by PRC Haier, but still based in NZ there may be a supply issue ex China. Hardly an excuse. There are a number of supposed assurances re replacement parts under Australian Consumer Law and other possible remedies depending on the age of the DW. Does the condition of the seal prevent use of the DW? What further advice is relevant will vary, based on any additional information you might be able to share.
We often use Australian online appliance spare parts suppliers rather than going back to the original manufacturer to get parts. They are often cheaper and offer non-OEM replacements as an option as well. Their service and despatch is also good, and have had no issues thus far (touch wood).
Shoponline offers the item but says order from manufacturer! The dishdrawers are 5 years old and therefore out of warranty - but it wouldn’t help as they don’t have stock of the parts anyway.
The perished seals require the replacement of the whole base plate at approx $100 each.
One of the drawers can still function as it is not so bad but the top one is inoperable.
Fisher & P are all promise and no deliver.
Just wondering if you have the model number of the dishwasher? There a a number of websites that stock F&P spare parts and these websites may also have the parts you are after.
Is this seal around the drop in filter basket or the main seal under the filter plate around the washer arm drive or?
Eg item 4 per this diagram is described as a ‘Filter over mould Assembly’.
P.S.
Our single drawer is more than 12 years old and has no issue in this area. Only a failed controller PC board which we were able to fault find using details from an online maintenance diagnostics manual.
Our dad had a drawer DW for four years without any issues.
Problems with appliance availability and with new appliance faults here.
We recently had to send back a new Haier 517L bottom-mount fridge because the freezer door wasn’t staying closed and the mechanic sent by the manufacturer wasn’t able to repair it. The retailer (Bing Lee online) had sold out of that model and instead sold us a similar size Fisher & Paykel at a discount (The Haier was about $1000, the F&P $1900 and the discounted F&P $1460). This was the best fit for the alcove in our kitchen and is a Choice recommended model. Unfortunately the F&P which arrived today has a big patch of what I’m guessing is corrosion or oxidation (it looks like light blue-green gunk) on a copper part at the back and I don’t know if this means it’s another dud. Fingers crossed that it’s either normal or repairable. I’d be interested to see if anyone else had a similar issue. I’m certainly kicking myself for having them take our old fridge away before we had a definitively working replacement.
The dishdrawers are DD60DCX7 five years old. The perished areas are all around the base plate and the filter.
We are in the market for a new bread maker and when shopping around some of the Panasonic models there appears to be a lack of available stock at the moment. We have a number of older Panasonics which perform well and would like to replace one of them with a new one. The model in question is SD-2501 and most local and online retailers seem to be out of stock at this point in time. There are a few we have found with it in stock…but it takes some hunting.
Another thing worth noting is the retail price of this particular bread maker has gone up substantially since Choice did a review on bread makers earlier in the year. The Choice price was $269, where most retailer are selling it for $349 or on special for $285. I wonder if the price has also gone up because of COVID-19?
Apparently not just Panasonic.
I just looked at Breville bread makers and the prices are much higher than the last one we bought some years ago which I think was a BB800. The Breville website lists tham as “sold out”.
We only ever used it as a pizza dough mixer and we sold it in an as-new condition on Gumtree for around $50 after we bought our Kitchenaid stand mixer.
No problems with household appliances but our car was rear ended two weeks ago and is almost unusable since the damaged rear sensors means the door electronic door lock will no longer work! The car is safely parked and we have a replacement (insurance) but we have been warned that the delay is likely to be over six weeks before any spare parts arrive! So a long wait to get our car back on the road!
Looking at a number of Aussie based spares suppliers they are quoting ex F&P 1-6weeks, some with a Covid disclaimer or excuse.
There is an obligation to be able to supply spare parts for the reasonable life of the appliance. Perhaps the problem is common with your model?
Importantly, under Australian Consumer Law there are statutory guarantees and remedies that are not limited by the manufacturers standard warranty.
Note:
Choice offered this guide to the reasonable life of common household appliances.
It’s important to consider whether the dish drawer has been correctly installed. If it is connected directly to hot water, rather than cold, it is possible to damage a dishwasher. The maximum hot water inlet temperature should be specified in your owners or installation manual.
These dishdrawers were replaced 5 years ago at the suggestion of the Fisher & Paykel serviceman who said the originals were past their use by date and the new ones were offered as a trade in and put in by their service people. Perhaps it is common for the seals on all their products to have issues?
