I sent my £240 Dyson hairdryer to be repaired but it RECYCLED it: CRANE ON THE CASE

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The filter cage on my Dyson Supersonic hairdryer came loose in October, so I called Dyson to ask for a repair. I agreed to pay £99 for a new filter cage and a service.

It was collected at the end of October, to be returned in five working days.

Three days later Dyson told me it couldn't fix it, that I'd be refunded and the hairdryer would be returned in 14 days. 

I bought a replacement filter cage from Dyson for £18 as it seemed easy to replace myself. 

The hairdryer didn't arrive, though. I called and emailed Dyson many times but everyone said said the same thing. They couldn't find my hairdryer.

At the end of November, Dyson emailed me offering to sell me a refurbished Supersonic hairdryer for £99. 

If I didn't want that, it offered a 25 per cent discount on a brand-new one. I bought my original one for £239.99.

As my hairdryer was not broken, just needed a new part, I think the offer of selling me a reduced one in its place is sharp practice by Dyson.

Strand-ed: N.M was left without her Dyson hairdryer like this one for weeks, because the firm lost and then recycled it when she sent it off for a repair (stock image)

I said I just wanted my old one to be sent back. Then I got a reply saying: 'We are sorry to inform you that your Dyson machine was recycled'. 

After I complained, I was offered a refurbished machine for free, instead of £99. 

But I'm still really unhappy that my hairdryer was recycled by mistake, that I've been without it for more than a month, and that the communication was so poor. N.M

Helen Crane, This is Money's consumer champion replies: These are expensive machines - the Lamborghini of hairdryers. 

So it's disappointing to hear that when you needed help with yours, Dyson left you high and dry.

It was out of warranty, so you paid £99 to send it away and have the filter cage - the metal grille that filters out dust and debris - replaced, and the machine serviced. 

But what should have been a simple fix, turned out to be anything but.  

The filter cage is an inexpensive part, and you could see that, if you had one, you could easily clip it on yourself - so you cannot understand why Dyson said it couldn't be repaired. 

Instead you decided to buy the part and do it yourself - but in the meantime, the hairdryer seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. 

It's still not clear what Dyson meant when it said your machine was 'recycled'. 

Was it taken apart and the parts used for refurbished hairdryers? Or is it just a nice way of saying, we threw it in the bin - or lost it? 

And is it normal for a customer's hairdryer to be recycled, if it can't be repaired?

Either way, I think it's unfair you were asked to pay £99 for a refurbished hairdryer, or even more if you didn't fancy a model made up of pre-owned parts. 

I can understand a hairdryer being recycled if it is completely broken and useless to the customer, but yours was working and only needed a small replacement part. 

You felt you were being pressured into purchasing another hairdryer when you didn't need one. 

You told me: 'I seriously believe this goes on all the time and people just buy a new machine thinking theirs is really kaput.'

Dyson did eventually offer you a refurbished machine for free, but you weren't keen on having one with used parts, which wouldn't have a warranty. 

And by this point you were seriously peeved by the poor communication - and the amount of time you'd been without your hairdryer. 

You showed me some of the emails you'd received from the company, and I could see why you were frustrated. 

You were constantly promised someone would locate your hairdryer and get back to you, but they never did. 

The emails also contained gobbledegook such as 'please let us know your consent along with your shipping address and native contacts'. 

On top of the emails you had a total of 11 calls with Dyson between 25 October and 28 November.

I contacted Dyson to ask if it could do any better. 

It said the hairdryer was recycled due to an error. When I asked why it took so long to sort the problem out, it didn't offer an answer. 

I'm pleased to say it has now sent you a brand-new machine, as well as a pack of four Dyson hair clips, worth £35.  

A Dyson spokeman said: 'This machine was incorrectly processed and recycled as a result. We are sorry for this mistake and the disappointment this will have caused. 

'We have offered N.M a new machine as a replacement, and we are reviewing our processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again in future.'

You did eventually receive the filter cage you ordered, but it was now not needed so you tried to return it. 

Dyson said to keep it and it would still refund you, but you have just written to tell me the £18 hadn't arrived after two weeks. 

You told me you will contact them again - and hopefully this time you won't be given the brush-off.