It is high time the Consumer Council looked into the lucrative practice of fleecing consumers through after-sales servicing of durables.
In April I decided against servicing my fax machine at the generous annual terms of HK$750, thinking that at this rate I could gift myself a new fax machine within two years.
I had that much confidence in the reliability of the brand I chose.
However, one day recently, the machine went dead. To call their technician would cost me $450 and spares would be extra. If I took the machine to their service centre in the New Territories the charge would be $300 and I would have to wait 30 days to get it back.
I took the machine to a repair shop and it was fixed for $50; a fuse needed changing.
Is $500 a reasonable price for a $50 job or is one-third value of your machine a justifiable yearly retainer? LAL DASWANI Kowloon