No power for 14 hours, can i claim for freezer contents?

mumtomolandroo

I'm with British Gas, my electric went off just before 10pm last night, an engineer came out and said there wasnt much he could do, was advised to wait til this morning when someone would come and find out what the problem was and fix it. Power was finally back on at 12.30 this afternoon, some 14 hours after it had been reported.

Obviously my main concern was my freezer contents and I did express this to the engineer that arrived this morning but he said it should be ok for up to 18 hours...... since the power went back on I have checked the freezer and some of the contents had started to thaw. Does anyone know if its possible to claim for this loss from British Gas or do I need to use my home insurance?

Altarf

Not possible to claim from British Gas.

The electricity network operator is liable to pay compensation of £50 if you are cut off for 18 hours, and then £50 for each 12 hours afterwards. So as the power was restored in 14 hours no compensation payment is due.

So I would look at your home insurance.

JasX

Is much of it not-recoverable?

If well segregated things like vegetables and sweet deserts could mostly be refrozen without much hazard but might be a little soft textured when you come to use.

Any meat you might be worried about you could continue to thaw and cook immediately then refrigerate and will be good for a few days (could be reheated once when needed), same goes for ready meals etc etc.

obviously don't take risks if young children are involved but I'd probably go for it

Pink_fluff

mumtomolandroo wrote: »

an engineer came out and said there wasnt much he could do, was advised to wait til this morning when someone would come and find out what the problem was and fix it.

Was that really the engineers words??? I find that difficult to believe. Do you know what the fault was that caused your power to go off, was there a reason why he couldn't fix it during the night?? Sounds very odd that they'd just tell you 'not much I can do' and walk away....
As said previously, you need to claim from your home contents insurance, or claim from the distribution company - who did you call to report the power cut and what company was the engineer from?

McKneff

Cant see that it would be profitable claiming from your contents insurance if you factor in how much your excess is and the fact that your premiums will probably go up next renewal.

If it was only partly defrosted it isnt usally a problem.

PNPSUKNET

are freezers not okay if left closed for 24 hours?

specialsparky

do not chance refreezing anything. Once something has started to thaw then it should not be re-frozen. You can claim from your household insurance and itis unlikely that your premiums will be affected. Good luck and I help this helps

JasX

specialsparky wrote: »

do not chance refreezing anything. Once something has started to thaw then it should not be re-frozen.

OP you can Ignore the ill-informed scaremongerers with their old wives tales.....

As a reference you can find the official US Department of Agriculture guidelines on the safety of refreezing food here:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/focus_on_freezing/index.asp

Pretty much common sense stuff as already posted but the safety guidelines are there to follow letter and verse if required

US_Department_of_Agriculture_guidelines wrote:

Refreezing
Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.

Power Outage in Freezer
If there is a power outage, the freezer fails, or if the freezer door has been left ajar by mistake, the food may still be safe to use if ice crystals remain. If the freezer has failed and a repairman is on the way, or it appears the power will be on soon, don't open the freezer door. If the freezer door was left ajar and the freezer continued to keep the food cold, the food should stay safe.

A freezer full of food will usually keep about 2 days if the door is kept shut; a half-full freezer will last about a day. The freezing compartment in a refrigerator may not keep foods frozen as long. If the freezer is not full, quickly group packages together so they will retain the cold more effectively. Separate meat and poultry items from other foods so if they begin to thaw, their juices won't drip onto other foods.

When the power is off, you may want to put dry ice, block ice, or bags of ice in the freezer or transfer foods to a friend's freezer until power is restored. Use an appliance thermometer to monitor the temperature.

To determine the safety of foods when the power goes on, check their condition and temperature. If food is partly frozen, still has ice crystals, or is as cold as if it were in a refrigerator (40 °F), it is safe to refreeze or use. It's not necessary to cook raw foods before refreezing. Discard foods that have been warmer than 40 °F for more than 2 hours. Discard any foods that have been contaminated by raw meat juices. Dispose of soft or melted ice cream for quality's sake.

When it is freezing outside and there is snow on the ground, the outdoors seems like a good place to keep food until the power comes on; however, frozen food can thaw if it is exposed to the sun's rays even when the temperature is very cold. Refrigerated food may become too warm and foodborne bacteria could grow. The outside temperature could vary hour by hour and the temperature outside will not protect refrigerated and frozen food. Additionally, perishable items could be exposed to unsanitary conditions or to animals. Animals may harbor bacteria or disease; never consume food that has come in contact with an animal.