'American Style' Samsung Fridge Freezer (merged threads)

luigiboo

LUIGIBOO wrote: »

Bought the samsung rs21 fridge/freezer jan 07, the worst purchase i have ever made. Three months ago experienced the loud noise coming from the fridge compartment and then the fridge then stopped working overnight, so i lost a fridge full of food.Went online and did my research to find the product had been on watchdog. Rang samsung straight away they sent an engineer to fix the fault. Since then I have had 2 leaks appear one from the bottom of the salad draw the other from the freezer door, rang samsung again the said they would send an engineer again. He came but could only diagnose one leak which needed a new part(something to do with the where the water drains away) he said someone will be around next week to fix the new part. The day after a really load noise started then stopped after four days and then came back twice as loud, and i then noticed the back had frozen up again! Been two weeks since i heard from the engineer so gave samsung another ring i asked to speak to a senior member, i told how unhappy i was with their product he said only the engineer can sign off the fridge to get a refund or replacement, spoke to the engineer this morning he said he is not willing to sign off the fridge as this part will fix all the problems! I don't think i can take much more!!

The engineer repaired the fault again and suprise suprise not even 24hrs later we have got the same fault. I rang samsung again and asked to speak to a manager, she was unable to find one and asked what the problem was, i explained and she said because it has been repaired three times i qualify for an exchange i said i didn't want a exchange i wanted my money back as i have no confidence in samsung products, she said they are not able to refund as they are the manufacturers and it would be currys that would give the refund, but because it is over 12 months old currys will not refund! so i am stuck with the exchange! they said they will contact me within 5 days to tell me what they can offer me, so i will let you know the outcome!

Just to let you know there is a free phone number for samsung 08009880123

downshifted

I have just sent back another RSH1NMH fridge freezer bought via John Lewis. Both had perfect packaging, but the first had a dent in it and the second (which arrived 3 weeks later) had a very obvious mark by the door handle.

Quality control appears non existent - and if they can't get the outside right, how can I trust the insides?

downshifted

downshifted wrote: »

Sorry to hear of all the problems you have been having with Samsung american style fridge freezers - especially since I have an RSH1NHMH, silver, product code 86555353 on order from John Lewis at £553.

Firstly, this model has no water cooler (we thought we wouldn't use it, drinking only tea, coffee or alcohol in this household!). Does anyone know of any likely problems with it?

Secondly, we ordered it on 30 July, with a supposed 5 week delivery. Surprisingly for John Lewis they have been very poor in keeping us informed of progress on the delivery. They were out of stock for a while and JL offered us an "upgrade" to one with a water cooler - which we declined. A delivery eventually took place last Friday - but it had a very obvious dent in it (and the packaging was not affected, so it had clearly been packed in the factory like that) and we sent it back. I am still waiting to hear when a replacement will come and am beginning to think the whole thing is jinxed!

Any views from all you helpful MSE people?

kind regards

downshifted

bubs65

beebee1 wrote: »

With an update on my last post.... After reading all the posts and email from Samsung saying that it sounded like a fault but they wouldn't do anything because it was out of warranty! OH said he wasn't prepared to pay for an engineer to rip us off so he had a look at the fridge, took the panel at the back of the fridge off ( it had frozen solid!!) and took the hairdryer to it. Our fan was still working but had iced up around it. He made a bigger hole in the drain (as per Shamrockabc's engineers advice) and put it all back together. It wasn't too difficult to do, the trickiest part was getting to the screw holes that had iced up.

The result is that the buzzing noise seems to have gone! Fridge is working fine and hopefully all is rosey in beebee land. :T

I too am having this problem. I have taken off both vents, I can see one screw, but the other is covered by something that looks like a teabag! I'm not sure what to do now....any tips beebee1 or anyone else!! Would really appreciate some help, I don't really want to pay out £200 for an engineer, especially in these current times.

bubs65

beebee1 wrote: »

With an update on my last post.... After reading all the posts and email from Samsung saying that it sounded like a fault but they wouldn't do anything because it was out of warranty! OH said he wasn't prepared to pay for an engineer to rip us off so he had a look at the fridge, took the panel at the back of the fridge off ( it had frozen solid!!) and took the hairdryer to it. Our fan was still working but had iced up around it. He made a bigger hole in the drain (as per Shamrockabc's engineers advice) and put it all back together. It wasn't too difficult to do, the trickiest part was getting to the screw holes that had iced up.

The result is that the buzzing noise seems to have gone! Fridge is working fine and hopefully all is rosey in beebee land. :T

I too am having this problem. I have taken off both vents, I can see one screw, but the other is covered by something that looks like a teabag! I'm not sure what to do now....any tips beebee1 or anyone else!! Would really appreciate some help, I don't really want to pay out £200 for an engineer, especially in these current times.

jvcmonkey

is this the fridge everyone is taking about, as thinking of getting one in the next couple of weeks

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1360220465.1224686049@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccddadefhjehedicflgceggdhhmdfhj.0&page=Product&fm=4&sm=2&tm=1&sku=288259&category_oid=-34510

Cheers

bubs65

Yes...this is the first problem I've had, and we've had about it 5 years, so I cannot go back to Samsung....judging by some of the posts, I wouldn't get any joy anyway!

jcsjenny

Hi i have a Samsung fridge freezer and not had a problem til three months ago a noise coming from the fridge didn't think anything to it until a week ago the noise was getting louder and would stop when opened the fridge door, engineer came out today, said had a few faults one of them was a manufactuer fault, couldnt fix it said wait to see if samsung will replace it, was a very slim chance so now fridge off and food thawing out thanks samsung, what ever you do if you hear a noise call engineer straight away!!!

Broadsword

My recollection of the Watchdog piece was that Samsung offered to extend the guarantee on the models affected to 5 years, so keep pressing them for satisfaction. However, if you want a refund you have to go back to the retailer and be pushy. There is no such thing as "only a 12 month guarantee". The product has to be fit for purpose and is expected to last a reasonable time. If the retailer does not budge take action in the County Court (see https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp for online claims). Then the court can decide for you whether it has had a reasonable lifespan. However this route is for the persistent and it is essential that you have full records eg who you spoke to, when, what they said. If you keep a good record my experience is that proving reasonableness is quite easy. However the courts are not the first recoursel and you should give thev retailer every opportunity to put things right. Do not be fobbed off at the local store. Write (recorded delivery) to the Chief Executive at their registered address stating the reasons for your claim detailing what has or hasn't been done at a local level.

For other interesting details of the RS21 fault see:-

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2088
http://www.fixed4free.com/answers.php?id=76613

kwatt

There is also no such thing as a 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 year guarantee on durability.

It's all based in what a court considers to be "reasonable" in line with the price paid and goods bought. The price and goods are variable in any one case unless you launch a class action.

So what's a "reasonable" lifespan free from fault on a mechanical device that is not serviced and costs less than £1000? Now add to that the fact that the defacto standard machines of that ilk cost more than double that.

It's all about perspective.

K.

Mike_in_Horwich

I purchased the RS21WCNS in July 2004. Paid £645. Approx. 18 months later I had the fan noise and temp. rising problem, Samsung replaced the evaporator cover and fan assembly under warranty. Then, about 7-8 months later same problem. Samsung informed me the replaced part only carried a 3 month warranty and hence I'd need to pay for the repair.
I reluctantly agreed, contacted Samsung for a list of reputable service companies in my area - given one only. That company was prpared only to supply the part (about £100) but wouldn't fix it.
After no further assistance from Samsung I accessed various websites and found this problem was widespread. This was in late 2006/early 2007 and WAY before the Watchdog program.
I wrote to Samsung explaining what had happened, got a feeble response back (still have the letter) in Feb 2007.

I then partially fixed the problem myself and posted my solution on a couple of web sites devoted to this issue.

In essence, my fan had failed completely - probably as a result of the ice build-up over time. I removed the fan from the assembly (this assembly being only months old at that stage) and installed a similar sized fan from a PC. The wires for this were passed through the rear of the evaporator cover, out through the gap between the door and side of fridge and into a d.c. transformer able to power the fan at 12v, 9v, 7.5v etc. It has run since then (20 months or so) and provided me with the ability to continue using the FF until Samsung responded to the Watchdog program.

Now however, Samsung are disinclined to replace the assembly citing my "modifications" as invalidating the warranty.

I find this amusing as they refused to replace the replacement assembly as the "warranty" expired after 3 months.

I'm awaiting a manager 'phoning me back whereupon I'll argue my case. I'll post the outcome on here.

:beer: