Second new Beko fridge - bad smell

Aitch7

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone had any advice on this as I am stumped.

I bought a brand new Beko fridge RA710S and after a week or so a bad smell started inside it which contaminated all food and even the jug of water which tasted vile.

I had followed all the instructions re letting it stand for 4 hours after it was delivered and then cleaning it with bi-carb and water. Nothing had been spilt and I could find no reason for the smell.

Electrical Discount UK where I bought it were rubbish and told me to go to the manufacturer who would have to send an engineer to inspect it.

This took over 2 weeks to sort out as Beko are just beyond crap and did everything from telling me they couldn't make outgoing calls because they were so busy to just forgetting to call me.

The engineer took one sniff and said it must be leaking somewhere i.e. the insulation and recommended it was replaced.

This took another 3 weeks due to further incompetence from Beko who said that the company who send the engineer out is a sub contractor and not part of Beko and they had to send a report back etc etc

I was 5 weeks with no fridge including through that heat wave - I couldn't buy milk, meat, fish etc.

In desperation I called Consumer Direct which is a free advice dept. and they told me that if I was having the fridge replaced I should go through Electrical Discount UK as it was them I had the contract with and that I should claim expenses from them for time/stress/money spent on frequent trips for food as I couldn't keep it more than 2 days in the heat and I had to borrow money sometimes to eat out - and I am on benefits at the moment.

Electrical Discount UK aren't entertaining any of this and have been rude and unhelpful refusing to give me any compensation or take any responsibilityas they say that Beko caused all the delays - which they did but Consumer Direct insist that it's up to Electrical Discount UK to claim back from Beko.

As Electrical Discount UK didn't have a replacement fridge in stock Beko supplied one but my contract is still with Electrical Discount UK.

I still have no compensation and am wondering about the small claims court - what does anyone think to my chances?

I have now had a new fridge for a week and guess what - the same vile smell is back and contaminating everything!

The fridge is spotless - I can't think what is causing it. I've never had a problem with a fridge before. Does anyone have any experiences of this kind or any advice?

Thanks! Aitch7

ka7e

My Beko fridge is self-defrosting and seems to go through cycles of icing up and then thawing again. The water drains through a small hole in the base of the lowest shelf above the crisper. Twice the water seems to have become contaminated and the (fixed and very difficult to clean) collection chamber in the back of the fridge has emitted a foul smell. It took me a while to track down the first time!
I doubt that it would cause a problem after only a week, though. Is it possible the heat from the fridge is affecting something on the wall behind, or the underneath of the worktop?