Fridge gone bust...

Lish_2

Hiya
I moved into a brand new apartment a month ago and have had several things go wrong already- the latest thing is the fridge

Basically to cut a long story short- the brand new fridge in my brand new apartment has stopped working and rather than bother somone to come out over the bank holiday to fix it, I emailed my letting agent (who always tell us to contact them in the first instance for anything related to the property as they are also the management company too) first thing on Tuesday morning.

It is now Wednesday afternoon and I have heard nothing and apparantly the woman dealing is 'away from her desk' whenever I try to call:mad:. I have had to throw out a load of stuff from the fridge and the freezer and cannot go out and do a shop until it has been resolved. Can anyone tell me if I am entitled to some sort of compensation for me to afford to replace what was in there before the fridge packed up? I really cant afford to replace it all!

All help greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lish

moromir

Lish wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if I am entitled to some sort of compensation for me to afford to replace what was in there before the fridge packed up? I really cant afford to replace it all!

All help greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lish

Your contents insurance should cover the cost of the items in your fridge, if there is a small excess on your policy you could perhaps write to the Landlord via the LA and ask whether he would cover this as a good will gesture?

silvercar

Do you have contents insurance? Contents insurance usually covers the contents of your fridge/ freezer.

Landlord's are required to do repairs in a timely manner. They are not magicians who can prevent things from ever going wrong. That said the letting agent should be keeping you updated with progress.

Lish_2

I dont have contents insurance :-(

moromir

I suggest that the first thing you do is get contents insurance. Pronto.

That being said, it isn't the Landlord's responsiblity to 'insure' your posessions (ie your food) so I don't think you have grounds to ask for compensation. In all fairness to the LA, they seem to be aware of the problem.

I would however advise you to send a letter to the Landlord via the LA by recorded delivery outlining the problem and noting down when you reported it to the LA so that you have a papertrail to go back to if there are problems further down the line. Be firm, polite and factual and request that they contact you within a set time frame (5 working days would seem reasonable) in order to organise repair or replacement.

By the time they get the letter they will have probably already contacted you but it is wise to have the letter in place anyway.

Jowo_2

Lish wrote: »

I dont have contents insurance :-(

Who would you expect to pay to replace any of your goods stolen in a burglary?!

Does your AST mention any liability on the landlord's part for your belongings or does it put the responsibility for insurance squarely on the tenant?

Fire_Fox

Even if you had a claim against the landlord you cannot claim for food you have discarded, ditto if you were insured usually evidence will be required. Have you tried changing the fuse in the plug or checking one of the circuit breakers has not tripped out?

pinkshoes

You should ALWAYS have contents insurance when renting! It's a small amount to pay vs potentially losing all your possessions in a fire!

As you weren't insured, you have nothing to claim against for the lost food. It's not the LL's responsibility to pay for the lost food either.

As it's a brand new flat, then the fridge will no doubt be under warranty with either whoever the LL bought it from, or perhaps the builder if the flat was sold with white goods. This means it'll take longer to get it sorted, as they'll be able to get it fixed for free.

Could you not freeze the food in the fridge?

Could you not ask a neighbour if you can store it in their fridge?

Could you not get a cold box and keep it topped up with ice packs?