Illustration by Dustin Elliott.

By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

Christopher Elliott

None of Jacquelyn Smith’s appliances work properly. Repeated visits by GE technicians have failed to fix the problems. What can she do?

I ordered GE appliances during the pandemic, including a new range, refrigerator, and dishwasher. GE delivered them in February 2022.

The range and refrigerator have malfunctioned from day one. The refrigerator froze food no matter what setting. The range consistently burned and boiled food one notch above “low.”

I had three visits by GE technicians for the fridge in the first five months, and they replaced various parts. But now the compressor on the fridge isn’t working.

I’ve sent in 15 videos about the malfunctioning stove top. I have had six visits by techs to address the nonexistent calibration.

I would appreciate a full refund or replacement with similar appliances that actually work as they should. Can you help? — Jacquelyn Smith, Califon, N.J.

It’s unusual for one appliance to break down on the first day. But two appliances? That’s got to be a first.

What went wrong? I think GE would like to blame this on the pandemic. You ordered these appliances during the lockdown. It took months to deliver them. It’s possible that there were production issues that caused your appliances to fail.

While GE has a standard one-year warranty for most of its appliances, it also has an implied warranty. It’s not something written in a contract, but it’s an implicit promise that your appliance will work as advertised. I have more on implied warranties in my guide to getting your appliance fixed, published on my consumer site.

It looks like you followed all the steps to what should have been a successful resolution. You contacted GE through its customer service department. It sent a technician. That didn’t work, so it sent another technician. And the process repeated itself several times until it became clear that the only solution was replacing all of your appliances or refunding you.

In my experience, manufacturers are slow to get to that point. That’s because replacing an appliance is a big decision that drags down a company’s profits. For an appliance manufacturer, it is the last resort.

You shared compelling evidence with GE that its appliances didn’t work, including videos and photos. By the way, good work keeping such detailed records. Most customers would have just demanded a refund with no evidence to support their request. You had the goods.

A brief, polite email to one of the GE executives might have spurred the company into fixing this. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the GE executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

I contacted GE on your behalf. GE agreed to replace your appliances at no cost to you.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (https://elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him.