Claim for loss of food after fridge freezer breakdown

Adam70

Hi All

Our big American Samsung fridge freezer broke down recently resulting in us losing the entire contents.

We have asked for a claim form from Samsung which arrived this morning however they are saying the maximum they will allow you to claim is £50.

We had way more than £50 of food in there - how can Samsung limit their liability when it was their faulty unit which caused the problem?

I realise I can claim on house insurance but I really think this is Samsung at

What are my consumer rights in this instance?

Thx
Adam

adam.mt

Hold old is the fridge/freezer? Are you trying to claim under standard warranty, an extended warranty policy or Sale of Goods Act?

Strictly speaking any claim should be from the retailer you purchased from, dealing with the manufacturer direct is more a convenience factor.

Adam70

It's still within warranty - we get 2 years onsite with Samsung - it was purchased through Boots online webshop.

So you would suggest we go back to Boots online to claim? I think they may refer us to Samsung's onsite warranty service.

neilmcl

A manufacturer is under no legal obligation to offer a warranty and thus if they do they are only bound by the terms contained within. If they limit their liability then so be it. Your contract as a consumer is with the retailer so if you want anything more then you should be chasing them not the manufacturer.

tracy71_2

Hi all
was just wondering if anyone can help my samsung fridge freezer is 13 months old with a 2yr warranty but its developed a fault & I have had to through all my food out Samsung are sending an engineer but would I be able to claim for the loss of food

Thanks

wealdroam

Will your household insurance help you with freezer contents?

adam.mt

If you're claiming under warranty then they can have whatever conditions they want for the warranty policy, just so long as they are stated under it's terms. Thus, a limit on liability for food loss is perfectly valid.

If you want to claim more then you'd have to claim under the SoGA and beyond the first 6 months it's your responsible to prove the fault is an 'inherent' one. This is usually done with an independent engineers report which you would need to pay for. You then proceed to the Small Claims Court (if sending the retailer a letter before action doesn't work) and if you win you will get the fix or appropriate compensation, the cost of the report back and potentially 'consequential losses' if you choose to add them to the claim. You should make the claim against the retailer, not the manufacturer.

OlliesDad

adam.mt wrote: »

If you're claiming under warranty then they can have whatever conditions they want for the warranty policy, just so long as they are stated under it's terms. Thus, a limit on liability for food loss is perfectly valid.

If you want to claim more then you'd have to claim under the SoGA and beyond the first 6 months it's your responsible to prove the fault is an 'inherent' one. This is usually done with an independent engineers report which you would need to pay for. You then proceed to the Small Claims Court (if sending the retailer a letter before action doesn't work) and if you win you will get the fix or appropriate compensation, the cost of the report back and potentially 'consequential losses' if you choose to add them to the claim. You should make the claim against the retailer, not the manufacturer.

It would appear that Samsung have already accepted blame for the fault, therefore no report would be needed.

adam.mt

OlliesDad wrote: »

It would appear that Samsung have already accepted blame for the fault, therefore no report would be needed.

Sorry, missed that!

wee_larky_lass

My Samsung fridge freezer is only 4 weeks old and has broken down, resulting in all my freezer food being thrown out. I have contacted Samsung direct and they are getting someone to call me within 24 hours to arrange a time to come out and fix this. Am I able to claim samsung for the food that I have lost?

I purchased the fridge freezer from Boots Appliances but went direct to Samsung to get a quicker response. Should I make Boots aware of the problem?

Cheers

Hintza

Is that not why you have home contents insurance that will cover things like this.