[MichelleUK]

Hi,

I've had a run of bad luck lately where my washing machine and television have broken and my cupboard doors have falled off my wardrobe in the space of a couple of weeks. In the UK I knew a company I could call who could fix them all. Not speaking much Cantonese, living here is a bit more of a problem. Does anyone know a English speaking repair centre/company that could do house visits in the Wan Chai area?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Michelle

[jessielibo]

Hi, hope you know those so-called repair companies would charge you a lot. I know someone who can help you though he might not be able to speak English too well. You can't just call any handyman out there since they like cheating expats.
He is not always available but he surely is reliable. .

[KnowItAll]

Washing Machine / TV: Call the manufacturer or their agents. Let us know what the brand is and I can dig up their service center contacts.

Cupboards etc... talk to your landlord. Basic maintenance should be covered by the landlord. If you own the place, talk to your management guy / caretaker, he'll have a list of handymen lying around and they are usually fairly reliable.

[MichelleUK]

Hi,

Thanks both for your help.

Unfortunately, I have a rather unhelpful landord that lives in mainland China and doesn't speak any English. The pipe into the toilet burst 5 days after I moved into the flat and he made me pay for it so the chances of him paying to fix the tv and washing machine are slim to non existant haha.

My washing machine is Ariston, which I think is an Italian brand - certainly all the instructions are in Italian (better than Chinese for me though) and my TV is Hitachi.

My doorman doesn't speak any English either. I think I'm going to have to invite a Chinese friend over haha. My Cantonese is not very good.

Thanks

Michelle

[KnowItAll]

Call Hitachi, assuming you're willing to spend the money to get your landlord's TV fixed.

By the way, your rental contract should say that landlord is responsible for strutural damage and repairs to contents provided by him.

HITACHI ELECTRIC SERVICE CO. (H.K.) LTD.
We are the subsidiary of Hitachi (Hong Kong) Limited, to provide installation, repair and maintenance service for Hitachi home appliances.
Address: 18/F, Ever Gain Centre,
28 On Muk Street,
Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong
Service Hotline: (852) 2753 5386
Fax No.: (852) 2753 0993
Email Address: service@hitachi-hk.com.hk
Office Hour: Monday to Friday 9:15am - 5:45pm
Saturday 9:15am - 1:15pm
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays

[Alby]

contact the property agent in who rented you the apartment as they have an on going relationship with the landlord and can help you by speaking to the landlord.

However, if you are paying for repairs and maintence that are beyond the agreed terms of leasingg the apartment make certain you keep a record and receipt for all you paid out - as the landlord is required to "maintain the structure" and if they dont then you have recourse if the landlord complains about how you "changed" the flat or even tries to raise the rent.

[jaetee]

Congrats to people who have rental agents who help - ours barely got involved even before we moved in (we had to supervise all the repairs, and they never even did a walk through or reviewed the check list ) , and afterwards the only time they ever called was to collect their commission.