Urban Company - Fraudlant Professionals

On February 18, 2022, I booked an electronic appliance repair service from Urban Company to fix my microwave. The assigned Professional claimed an issue with keypad and PCB, which could be fixed by replacing both parts. He told us the cost of the service, which we paid. Also, when he was done fixing the microwave, we highlighted that the keypad didn’t seem to fit well and there was a slight bulge. He claimed that won’t cause any problems.
Problem: Heating issues and the keypad wouldn’t work- timer would increase or decrease automatically and after a few minutes of heating would show error code c-d0.
Professional assigned: Umesh Vilas Gapat.
Fix as per the Invoice: Switch Membrane/Key Pad Repair, PCB Repair & Labour cost.
Invoiced Cost: Rs. 3438
On May 22, 2022, we booked the repair service again with the same Professional as the issue recurred again. This time, he claimed we were facing an issue because of a new part, and had nothing to do with the last repair he had done. He said it’s just normal wear and tear of the parts, as it’s been around five years since the microwave was purchased and won’t be under warranty. He said since he’s replaced the parts previously and this time, we shouldn’t have any issues for another 4 to 5 years.
Problem: Heating issues and the keypad would show error code c-d0 automatically.
Professional assigned: Umesh Vilas Gapat.
Fix as per the Invoice: HV Capacitor, HV Diode, Magnetron 6 Fins & Labour cost.
Invoiced Cost: Rs. 3149
In May 2023, the same issue recurred again. This time the moment we switched the microwave on, the error code c-d0 would appear, and sometimes it would work, but then the time would automatically increase or decrease. We rebooked the service as it was now starting to frustrate us. The same Professional turns up, looks at the microwave, and the error code c-d0 could mean there’s an issue with more than one thing. He’ll only be able to fix it under warranty if we can share a video of the time increasing and decreasing issue. We eventually managed to take the video, but by then, Urban Company said the warranty had expired, and they’ll assign a new Professional.
Problem: Error code c-d0 would appear immediately after switching on the microwave, and occasionally the keypad would work, but after a few minutes, the timer would increase or decrease automatically.
Professional assigned: Umesh Vilas Gapat.
Fix as per the Invoice: NA
Invoiced Cost: 0
The issue continued in June (3rd and 27th of June), but the warranty expired for the previous profession under the pretext of providing him with a video recording. A new Professional is assigned. This Professional claims it’s a PCB issue and he can repair it. Of course, we were shocked to hear this as the previous Professional, Umesh, claimed to have replaced the part in Feb 2022.
Problem: Error code c-d0 would appear immediately after switching on the microwave, and occasionally the keypad would work, but after a few minutes, the timer would increase or decrease automatically.
Professional assigned: Arman Malik
Fix as per the Invoice: PCB Repair
Invoiced Cost: 1799
This of course made me question everything the previous professional had said, we had already paid Rs. 6500 for a Rs. 10000 microwave and now we are charged another Rs 1800 for the same part and the same issue that the previous professional Umesh said he had fixed. We complained to Urban Company customer care and called out all of this along with invoices – I’ve explained this to multiple customer service representatives everyday since June 27th. On the day of the repair, one of customer service representative said let the professional fix the issue, and to select the cash option and to tell the professional he’ll be paid once a resolution is provided to our complain. So, far the professional isn’t paid and I’m explaining the issue to someone all over again each day. They (Urban Company) take no responsibility for the Professional they’ve attested and are partnered with and just keep saying that the warranty period is over so they can’t do anything. One of them even claimed that since we accepted the quote of the repair it’s our fault and not the Professional fault, implying that we should have seen that the professional was cheating us and it’s our fault for believing him and his said expertise. If I were an expert at microwave parts or fixing them, why would I need their experts to identify and fix the issue. As a customer, you trust their expertise in good faith until you see the defied logic of having the same issue recurring over and over again and same parts that were replaced needing to be repaired.
Please hold such fraudulent service providers accountable.