Product review (1 stars): Warning, Don't Buy Whirlpool!
We bought a Whirlpool Duet Washer in 2002 and it did work well for nine years.  When it broke I researched the problem and determined that the outer tub needed to be replaced.  That part alone costs over $400 on the internet and requires complete disassembly of the machine.  I called the Whirlpool Service number on the front of our manual to see what it might cost to have the repair work done.  I explained the situation to Brandy, who told me that our machine qualified for a program that, for a flat fee of $325.91, would pay 100% of the cost of Labor and Materials to repair the machine, no matter what was wrong with it. I was skeptical and reiterated that the cost of parts alone would probably be $500 or more.  She insisted that this program would cover all costs of repair and would include a one year warranty.  She said she could set up a repair appointment as soon as I paid the $325.91.  I just figured that Whirlpool was trying to reestablish some good will for current customers after reading so many negative reviews online about them.  I paid w/a credit card and she scheduled an appointment for two days later w/a local repair company.

The service guy showed up and spent 5 - 10 minutes looking at the washer and determined that the outer tub did indeed need to be replaced but that he needed authorization to order the parts and do the repairs.  He also said that, in this situation, the company usually just offered a cash settlement according to a formula in the contract based on the age of the appliance.  This, of course, was not what I had agreed to so I called the Company that was administering the contract and spoke to Natalie.  I explained the situation and she did a little research and said that we had a "Broken Appliance Contract" and that, yes, the contract would pay 100% of the cost of repairs, extend the warranty one year, and, if the service guy couldn't fix the washer, would pay to replace it with a comparable machine.  She also said that she spoke to Edwin at the Repair Company and that he had already ordered the parts and would be calling me to schedule the actual repair.

Two days later we get a call from the Company administering the contract and Rose said she could offer us $202.50 instead of doing the repairs because it wouldn't be cost effective for them. I demurred and asked for a supervisor.  Antoine got on the line and apologised that I might have been misinformed about the terms of the contract but I explained to him that two different people from two different companies (Whirlpool and the Contract Administration Co.) had misrepresented the terms of the contract in exactly the same way and that they were perpetrating an organized fraud.  I demanded my money back or that they repair the washer according to the verbal contract I had with Whirlpool.  He agreed to reimburse me $299 which he said was the cost of the contract and wouldn't do more than that.

I called Whirlpool and spoke to a supervisor and insisted that they reimburse the balance of $325.91 and registered a complaint about the fraud that they were running.

They promised reimbursement checks in 7 to 10 days.  If we don't receive them, they'll have to deal with American Express.

Whirlpool is running a blatant bait and switch fraud and I will never buy another Whirlpool or Maytag product again.