TOM K.

We called Puls on Wednesday for a dishwasher that would not pump out the water. The technician came the same day and after looking at the machine for a few minutes, said it needed a new water pump. The pump and the labor to instal it would be approximately $240.00. There was an upfront service charge of $89.00 if we chose not to have the repair. We opted to have the repair. He needed to obtain the pump and get back to us with an install date (next day or day following). No one called; so I called PULS for at least an hour repeatedly. I tried every avenue: PULS Member, Warranty Information, Billing, and each time the call would be answered followed by a rapid hangup. I then called for new service, and got an immediate answer. That person forwarded me to the complaint department and I was told that I had not yet paid the estimate. I told him the repair was not yet done, and my fear was that as soon as I paid the cost, I would never see them again. As an aside, I called PULS because they came up on my Internet search as a local agency. They are actually in California, and I am in Florida. The two people I eventuallyl got in contact with have a Connecticut and Texas exchange.

Finally, I was able to have the pump replaced, and the technician put on the unit, and it appeared to be working properly. One of the charges on the Invoice is for $14.90 for a Security and Support Fee explained as follows: "This fee covers various operating costs such as expensivetechnician background checks and continuous customer support." I argued with the technician that those fees are a cost of doing business and not for the customer to pay. He indicated he never had seen them. There was no way to avoid them on the invoice. It was a "pay in full" or not at all. I paid the fee, but then opted not to provide the technician with a tip which I normally would do.

Within 15 minutes of his leaving, we put just a few dishes in the machine and decided to run a cycle. The same thing that happened on Wednesday happened again. The pump sounds as if it is struggling and the machine shuts itself off after about 5 minutes.

I called the technician back and left a detailed voice mail. There was no return call. After about an hour, I called him again, and this time, the phone rang unanswered before it timed out and hung up.

I then called PULS Warranty Claims and explained everything above. They said that it would take up to 48 hours to research the matter and reschedule. I told them that I did not want someone to come back and then say that I needed something else at an additional cost. I opted for the $268. Repair since it would have otherwise cost me $89. For the service call, but I did not want to invest even another penny in a 4-year old GE Dishwasher.

I then immediately contacted Discover and informed them that the charge was only pending, and I knew a dispute was premature, but I wanted there to be a timely record of what transpired immediately after the failed repair.

The technician was very nice and courteous, but I would never utilize PULS again.