Big Brother is washing you

Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot · 2006-05-13T07:07:09+00:00

We had to call out a washing machine engineer for our machine a week ago because it was showing the wrong time for the chosen program - 2.5 hours for a wash which should take 1 hr 34 minutes. Turning the selection dial completely round a couple of times usually sorted it out.A requirement for two new boards was diagnosed and off he went again. A few days later a different engineer came to fit them. The first one, a small display board, looked to be a new design according to the engineer but he fitted it anyway, switched on the machine, we both watched it go bang and all the smoke that makes it work escaped. He then fitted the second, much larger, board and refitted the old display board, switched the machine on and then found it wouldn't accept its programming - probably due to a fault in the wiring loom or the program dial switch - so he's ordered a whole new loom, a new dial switch, and two more new boards. This is more than the machine is worth but it's got an extended warranty so I don't care. Because it wouldn't accept the programming we now have a totally dead machine for a week!These things are over-complicated. He did tell me that Merloni are improving though: new machines now have just one small board inside them which controls everything, as they should do really; how difficult can it be to control two motors and a heater?The point of the post: the engineer told me that the large board keeps usage information on it from the day the machine is "born": which programs you use, how often you use it, the weight of the washing, whether it's imbalanced, and probably a whole myriad of other information which he didn't mention . This is, he said, for market research and to check any claim you might make against the manufacturer's warranty. If they find you're using the machine, say, fifteen times a day with a heavy load each time, chances are they'll assume you're doing the washing for the local army barracks and tell you to go and fix it yourself. All clever...

May 13, 2006 25 Replies

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Owain 20 years ago

Unless you're an identical twin, you are.

Yes Mary, you're Different.

Owain

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Mary Fisher 20 years ago

Hmm. That's what I suspected.

Not old enough for Sex And Games for the Aged magazine then - but you could lie about your age ...

Mary

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Mary Fisher 20 years ago

I haven't had that since 98.

Windows 98 that is, not 1998.

Mary

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Mary Fisher 20 years ago

Everyone is ...

... that's why I read some posts and not others :-)

Mary

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John Cartmell 20 years ago

From: "Mary Fisher" Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y References:

Subject: Re: Big Brother is wash> I have no problems with Windows or Microsoft - everything I use works > correctly.

Isn't this the same Mary that had to be told by non-Microsoft using correspondents how to correct the Microsoft software that she was using? ;-)

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Mark 20 years ago

I'm sure they'll be cross referenced to your ID Card and they will arrest you whereever you are!

Mark

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