So angry I locked in the repair man
Jan 19 2009 by Paul James, The Journal
AN irate grandmother was so sick of a company failing to fix her washing machine that she imprisoned a repair man in her home.
Fed-up Tracey Fox hasn’t been able to do her laundry since the middle of December, despite a series of visits from service engineers.
And when the latest repair man said he was going to leave her home without fixing the machine, she locked the doors and refused to let him leave.
Housewife Tracey, 42, of Thornley, County Durham, took the drastic action after being left high and dry for weeks, and having to rely on family and friends to wash clothes for her.
She said: “I’m not proud of my actions, but I felt there was no other option.”
Tracey, of Thornley, County durham, bought her £249.95 Hoover washing machine from Currys in Gilesgate, Durham, less than a year ago, but claims since then it has brought her nothing but trouble.
She said: “I bought the machine in February last year and by October it had broken down.
“An engineer came out and said there was something wrong with the motherboard. It was fixed and I thought it would be fine, but it broke again just before Christmas.”
A series of repair men came out, but could not fix the problem.
It was during the last appointment on January 13 that Tracey, whose husband Terry, 44, is a machine operator, decided to act.
Tracey, who also washes clothes for daughter Katie, 22, and grandson Brandon, 2, has to rely on others for clean clothes.
She said: “People say they don’t mind helping out, but you feel guilty after a while. Electricity costs so much these days .
“When the engineer did eventually turn up, he just took a quick look around and said the problem was a two pence piece which had got stuck.
“He didn’t replace the parts the other engineer had said needed replacing. He wasn’t even going to attempt to fix it.
“I was sick and tired and I’m not proud of myself, but I decided that I wasn’t going to let him out of the house until it was sorted.
“The washer is still under it’s one year guarantee. I told him he might as well dial 999 now because he wasn’t going to leave until it was fixed.
“I locked all the doors and refused to let him out. He phoned his manager and the manager must have contacted the police.
“The police did eventually turn up but I had relented by that stage and had freed him.”
Since the incident, Currys first offered for Tracey to get it fixed by a repair man and send them a bill ‘within reason’.
They would then send her a cheque the same day they received the bill. But after more complaints, Tracey has been offered a new washing machine to the same value.
She picked up her new Bosch washer on Saturday.
Currys did not wish to comment.
