Hoover HNL 9146

Bought a brand new Hoover VisionHD and also a brand new Hoover dishwasher when I had my kitchen refurbished a couple of years ago. Must admit that they looked good but that's where the praise must stop. Both machines broke down after just over 12 months of being installed. Of course they lasted long enough to get them through the guarantee. The cost of fixing both were nearly as much as the machines themselves cost to purchase. Totally unreliable and a compelete waste of money. The old dishwasher and washing machine I had before these (Hotpoint) had lasted 13 years and were still working perfectly but I sold them to upgrade to newer appliances...what a mistake! Went to an auction and bought a second hand dishwasher and washing machine (made sure they were Hotpoint) and these are working perfectly and have already outlasted the pile of junk I bought brand-new from Hoover. Stay away from Hoover products. They used to be reliable products but since being bought out by Candy (another unreliable brand from Italy) you are likely to be very disappointed.

I have just had an unbelievable conversation with Hoover washing machines. We have a brand new washing machine that we bought 6 weeks ago and have just been told we need to spend £150 repairing it because a 20p coin was left in a pocket.

Basically, I have been told categorically by the customer care team at Hoover that this is a known (and accepted) issue - they are knowingly selling washing machines which they know are likely to brake seriously (ie at a cost of over £150) if something as small as a 1p coin or a metal button (from a child’s dungarees, for example) is accidently put in the drum.

From my conversations with them, this is a common problem and they are fully aware that machines are not of a good enough quality to withstand even a one pence coin. The build of the machines is such that a coin can pass from the internal metal drum through to the plastic outer drum; at high spin speeds this coin or button can make a hole in the plastic drum which will cause all the water to come out. The plastic drum will then need to be completely replaced. Other manufacturers use metal for an outer case which prevents this problem.

Families are obviously not being made aware of this when they are purchasing these machines in good faith. Neither does the Service Guarantee mention anything at all about foreign bodies in the machine, although apparently leaving a 1p coin in a pocket is categorised as ‘misuse’ of a washing machine. I was told that families should really take out the ‘extra warranty’ to cover this known problem or even use laundry bags (this is obviously not mentioned in their service booklet)! To me, this indicates that Hoover are aware that their machines are not of robust quality and therefore not really fit for purpose.

I think this is disgraceful for consumers and obviously something Hoover knows all about. I would certainly have thought twice about buying a Hoover machine if I had known this to be a problem.

This is the THIRD Hoover HNL replacement machine..the first only lasted 3 weeks, the second 4 months and this is last one is just over a year old.Hoover Customer Services are the worst I've ever dealt with., they're completely ambivalent about whether items are repaired, let alone repaired satisfactorily. Their engineers are friendly but incompetent: we're entering week 5 of waiting for the correct part to repair the latest machine as each time the wrong part has been ordered by them. The resulting launderette bill is over £300 (and rising) but Hoover are unwilling to pay compensation. Will NEVER buy a Hoover product again. It's terrible and the company are abysmal.