Currys settlement offer for faulty fridge

keithbw

Hi

I cant find this question answered anywhere else on MSE so hope this is the correct sub forum for it.

I purchased a fridge freezer from Currys online at the back end of the new year sales in Feb 2009 for £300.

It has worked well for 30 months but recently has stopped hitting the required cooling temperature - leaving the fridge at around 9C and the freezer at -10c. I contacted a local fridge engineer who came out and conducted some kind of gas test and confirmed that the compressor wasnt working and quoted me £125+VAT (parts and labour) for him to replace the compressor.

Because of the quoted price and the fact that I have only had the fridge for less than 3 years I contacted Currys who took details of the fridge, the problem and what the engineer had said and passed my details to their referral team. The agent I spoke to suggested that the quoted price for the compressor replacement was pretty good in his opinion. Currys have now contacted me and asked for the details of the engineer to confirm his findings and have said that if he confirms the compressor has developed a fault they will offer me £130. They are saying that that figure is the present value of the fridge and I can use the money to either contribute towards the repairs or to buy a new fridge. They have also said that is all they are required to offer under the sale of goods act.

Is that true?

Im a bit disappointed that I will have to pay towards the repair of the fridge or put a lot towards the purchase of a new one.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

bod1467

Unless you have an extended warranty that is still in force then this sounds like a very reasonable offer.

arcon5

If you can prove the fault is inherent they should offer a refund, replacement, repair -- their choice. What was the cause of the fault?

How much did the fridge cost? As they can also offer a refund less a reasonable amount that reflects the amount of use you have had from the product. For example, if the fridge was £300, some may consider a partial-refund of £130 to be reasonable bearing in mind nearly 3 years use.

keithbw

arcon5 wrote: »

If you can prove the fault is inherent they should offer a refund, replacement, repair -- their choice. What was the cause of the fault?

How much did the fridge cost? As they can also offer a refund less a reasonable amount that reflects the amount of use you have had from the product. For example, if the fridge was £300, some may consider a partial-refund of £130 to be reasonable bearing in mind nearly 3 years use.

Hi - thanks for the responses.

The engineer just said the compressor had failed. Currys said they would pay the £130 with the engineers confirmation that it was a manufacturing fault.

The fridge was £300 in the new year sale. Im impressed Currys have been so quick to offer a settlement after some stories I have read about them. As long as they are telling me the truth about their obligations under the sale of goods act then I'll be happy to take their offer and pay the difference myself.

CoolHotCold

Yes, the offer of £130 is very good, Pretty much take what you paid, £300 split into 72 (72 months in 6 years) which comes to about £4.17 per month and multiply that by how many months you've had it. That is a very rough rule of valuation, and other things can affect it such as make and price paid etc etc.

Currys have offered you a price thats between £10-£20 from the rough valuation and thats all they need to do to fulfil their SoGA end.

arcon5

If the fault is inherent and their remedy is to be a repair then they must do it at no charge to yourself. So if they are repairing it you shouldn't be paying the difference.

However, since they said you can use it towards a new fridge or repair it does sound like they are using the refund option. But yes it is the truth, quoting sales of goods act, Part 5A

(3)For the purposes of this Part, if the buyer rescinds the contract, any reimbursement to the buyer may be reduced to take account of the use he has had of the goods since they were delivered to him.

paddyrg

It is a fair offer, accept it

CoolHotCold

paddyrg wrote: »

It is a fair offer, accept it

Especially when a new Fridge/Freezer can be had for the same price.

arcon5

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Especially when a new Fridge/Freezer can be had for the same price.

We paid £30 for our fridge/freezer about 3 months ago. Although it was second hand it seems to be working okay and likes like new