Fault with fridge/freezer

joho

Hi. We bought a Beko American style fridge/freezer from Currys about June 2013 - but we can't find the receipt!

It's started collecting condensation in the bottom of the fridge side and we can't work out why. The condensate drain that we can find and get to is clear. There are no obvious holes inside the body of the fridge, so we are not sure where this condensation is actually supposed to drain to.

There is nothing in the manual of any help. There is nothing on the website of any help. The model number appears to be an unusual one - there is lots of info about all models except this one.

Beko won't reply to their contact us form or to emails or to tweets. We are not complaining - we just want to know what to do about this, how to fix it! So I don't understand their problem.

I am not very sure of our actual rights though with this being out of warranty and no proof of the purchase (grr). Can anyone help? I will phone them once I understand our position better.

Thanks
Joho

macman

You don't need a receipt, you need a proof of purchase. Banks statement, credit card statement?
But, since you are perhaps 18m out of manufacturers warranty, your rights are limited to those under SOGA. After 6m, you would need to prove a pre-existing fault in order to make a claim against the retailer, and that would require you to obtain and pay for an engineer's report.
That is unlikely to produce a result, so your best course of action is to phone Beko for advice,or get a white goods engineer in to fix it.
The condensate should drain through to a pan or tray that sits above the compressor, where the rising heat from the compressor evaporates it.

naedanger

joho wrote: »

Hi. We bought a Beko American style fridge/freezer from Currys about June 2013 - but we can't find the receipt!

It's started collecting condensation in the bottom of the fridge side and we can't work out why. The condensate drain that we can find and get to is clear. There are no obvious holes inside the body of the fridge, so we are not sure where this condensation is actually supposed to drain to.

There is nothing in the manual of any help. There is nothing on the website of any help. The model number appears to be an unusual one - there is lots of info about all models except this one.

Beko won't reply to their contact us form or to emails or to tweets. We are not complaining - we just want to know what to do about this, how to fix it! So I don't understand their problem.

I am not very sure of our actual rights though with this being out of warranty and no proof of the purchase (grr). Can anyone help? I will phone them once I understand our position better.

Thanks
Joho

Your rights are against the retailer rather than the manufacturer.

To be able to claim against the retailer you need to show, on the balance of probability, that the item was not of satisfactory quality when you purchased it. One element of being satisfactory is being sufficiently durable, which in turn will depend to some extent on its initial price (the more expensive an item the more durable it should be).

If the retailer maintains the item was of satisfactory quality when you purchased it then you will, in practice, need to get an independent report. If it concludes that on the balance of probability that the problem was with the item when you bought it (e.g. it was not sufficiently durable) then you should be able to get the retailer to settle or have a good case if make a claim in the small claims court. (Your claim would be for the repair cost or, if lower, the purchase price reduced to allow for the proportion of its lifetime you have already had. In addition you should claim for the cost of the report if the retailer would not settle without this report.)

Obviously you also need to be able to prove you actually purchased the item.

You need to consider whether the risk of paying for a report is worth the risk as it might not support your case. (I would be slightly concerned they would conclude there was no real fault or that there was a problem with the installation.)

I suggest you speak to Currys in the first instance.

joho

Thank you both. That helps a lot. I only want advice from Beko. I'm not trying to claim from them or Currys (yet?!).

Macman - We've found, and cleaned, the tray and compressor in the back but there are absolutely no holes or drain points inside the body of the fridge. So the condensation must somehow drain down the back of the inside panel - does that make sense? It is very odd.

macman

The condensate is the result of the defrost cycle, so it must come from inside the cabinet.
You say you can't find the hole, but 'the condensate drain we can find is clear' Eh?
Unless you can find proof of purchase, any claim against Currys will fall at the first hurdle. Did you not register the fridge for the manufacturer's warranty-if so, this should state the date and the retailer?

wealdroam

OP, it might help if you were to mention the model number.