Gyser review: Refusal to replace a geyser that was reported.

377 Lemon wood Street

Protea Glen Ext 1

P.O. Chiawelo

1818

06 June 2022

Builders Warehouse

Southgate Road Southgate

Johannesburg

2091

To Whom It May Concern:

This serves as a complaints letter for the poor or non-service I received from the company that was sent by Builders Warehouse to my home on the 31st May 2022 to replace a geyser that was reported.

I bought a geyser at Builders Warehouse in Protea Glen on March 2018. The geyser was installed by a plumber and was working fine until on the 16th may 2022 when we heard water dripping on the ceiling and later discovered that water was coming out of the geyser tray outside. We had to switch off the water supply to the property as water was all over the yard and then we called the same plumber who installed it to come assess the situation. Upon he’s arrival he told us that it is a geyser burst and mentioned that a geyser comes with five-year warranty. He further turned off the power to the geyser, isolated all water and drained all the hot taps so that we can use other taps. He then advised us to call Builders Warehouse and file a warrant claim as the geyser was still under warranty. On the 30th May 2022 I sent my mother and sister to Builders Warehouse in South Gate to file the claim, upon their arrival they were referred to Mr. Katlego Tshabalala who was to assist them with the claim. He gave them his contact details and advised them to go home and take a picture of the geyser and send it to him as it was the procedure. They did so the very same day and after a few hours having sent the requested pictures of the geyser, they received a reference number confirming that the claim has been filed and they should expect technicians to come within a week. The following day on the 31st May 2022, Gugu my sister received a call from the technicians informing her that they are on their way. She was unfortunately not at home at the time but my mother was. Three technicians came to my house and explained to my mother that they have to assess, take pictures of the geyser and send them to their office for confirmation to proceed with the installation of the new geyser. After about 30 minutes they told my mother that they have just confirmed with their office, all is okay and a new geyser will be installed. They then requested an amount of R500 for them to install the geyser, when she questioned what the money was for, they explained that it is not their job to remove tiles from the roof and she told them she doesn’t have the money. She then asked if it is possible for her to organise people to that as she did not have the money. She organised two neighbours who assisted with the removal of the tiles. Then after, the technicians removed the old geyser and installed the new one. One of the three technicians called my mother and told her that he just got an instruction from their boss to remove the newly installed geyser and re-install the old one. When she asked what the reason was for that, he showed her the stopper on the tap that was installed by our plumber on the day of the bursting of the geyser and told her that it is the reason the geyser busted. She tried to tell him that the stopper was installed after the burst to stop the water, how could it be the cause but they did not even want to listen to her. They then removed the new geyser as per the instruction. When I got home that day we called the number that they used to call us with when they informed us that they are coming, it was picked up by a gentleman called Diamond. When asked him what had happened he just told us “those technicians are suspended” and he has nothing further to say to us we should call his manager. He then gave us a cell phone number to call and when we call that number it rings unanswered to date. We then called Mr. Katlego Tshabalala who promised to call the company. The following day Katlego called us and informed us that he called the company but they do not pick up, he also mentioned that he also left them an email and was awaiting their response. On the 3rd June 2022 Katlego forwarded to us their response which states that their team visited the site and almost mistakenly replaced a geyser that was actually a voided claim due to the pressure control relief being blocked. The issue we have with their statement is that why are they saying it was almost mistakenly replaced when it was in fact actually replaced and removed. Why did the technicians say everything is okay, their office confirmed that they should proceed with the installation and later changed. Is it because we did not have the R500 they requested? Why did they not want to listen to my mother when she explained that the stopper was installed after the burst to stop water flow? And why are they saying the geyser was actually a voided claim?

I trust this is not the way Builders Warehouse wishes to conduct business with its valued customers and I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. I would also welcome the opportunity to discuss matters further and to learn how you propose to prevent a similar situation from recurring.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Themba Nthulana

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