The tale of the broken fridge and super slow letting agent

ConfusedAgain

LONG VERSION:

Our fridge-freezer, which was provided by our landlord in our rented property, has given up. Well, to be more precise, the freezer gave up on Monday morning and now the fridge looks like it is following suit.

We emailed the letting agent on Monday to let them know about the freezer. They got back to us today to ask a few somewhat patronising but probably necessary questions (why, yes, we have shut the freezer door correctly! What are the odds! ::headdesk:: ) before saying they'd ask for an engineer to get in touch. Only, the engineer hasn't got in touch.

On the face of it, I wouldn't be that concerned. However, our letting agent has, in the past, been absolutely awful at getting things done. For example, it took them three months to fix the extractor fan in our bathroom - all while warning us of the dangers of damp environments causing mould, of course! - and didn't do anything until I said I'd be speaking to a lawyer if they didn't.

The value of the lost food isn't hugely important - I mean, we have already lost £20 worth and could easily lose another £40 or so, should they drag their heels on it - but, technically, we're insured anyway and it's well below our excess so I'm prepared to eat that cost (pardon the pun).

What DOES worry me is that we've got a food delivery booked for Sunday and potentially nowhere to put our food. We're both extremely busy for the next fortnight so shopping day-to-day and sticking within our budget is not really on the cards. I'm worried that if our letting agent repeats their past performance, we'd be left seriously out of pocket.

We've emailed the letting agent again to express disappointment about lack of contact from the engineer and to point out that the fridge is now breaking too but is there anything else we can do? My partner has pointed out that, had we been the owners of the flat, a new fridge/freezer would already be on order. I personally think he's setting the bar too high but, at the same time, don't want to be taken advantage of because they can't be bothered to deal with this in a timely manner. How can we give them a figurative kick up the bum without getting ourselves in trouble?

TL;DR version

Fridge-freezer has packed up and letting agent is giving off signs of dragging their feet to get it sorted, potentially leaving us out of pocket. Help!

Pixie5740

Their not your letting agent, they work for the landlord. It's the landlord you have a contract with and if you're in England or Wales then then unless your TA says your landlord is responsible for repairing or replacing the fridge freezer then legally your landlord doesn't have to.

The letting agency can only act on the landlord's say so. If your landlord doesn't want to replace the fridge freezer there's nothing the agent can do about it.

ConfusedAgain

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Their not your letting agent, they work for the landlord. It's the landlord you have a contract with and if you're in England or Wales then then unless your TA says your landlord is responsible for repairing or replacing the fridge freezer then legally your landlord doesn't have to.

The letting agency can only act on the landlord's say so. If your landlord doesn't want to replace the fridge freezer there's nothing the agent can do about it.

Possibly should be a bit clearer - Our landlord does not seem to be the problem (and, as side note, I'm about 95% certain is responsible for the upkeep and provision of the white goods under our tenancy agreement). It's the letting agent being a rubbish middleman, and saying they'll get things sorted on the landlord's behalf and then not doing it. I suspect this because the letting agent has no problem promising us that things will be repaired/replaced/looked into (so I think the landlord's signing off on it) but, then, when it actual comes to getting the work done, that's when stuff doesn't happen.

Edited to add: On the 5% chance that I am wrong on the white goods - and, to be fair, I do need to recheck the contract - chances are the letting agent wouldn't let us know the landlord wasn't planning to do anything about it until ages down the line anyway.

Pixie5740

Check your tenancy agreement then and if it says that your landlord is responsible for repairing or replacing the white goods then contact your landlord directly instead of via the letting agent. If you don't have your landlord's contact details then ask (WRITE; ink, paper, stamp) to the letting agency to request them. The letting agency has to, by law, supply your landlord's contact details under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 (I think it is).

As for what to do about your food delivery in the meantime, either cancel it or find somewhere else to store your food. A cheap fridge freezer from Gumtree, Freecycle or British Heart Foundation,

Thrugelmir

ConfusedAgain wrote: »

Only, the engineer hasn't got in touch.

Not every company offers a response time in less than a working day .

Cakeguts

Even if the landlord had ordered a new one it probably wouldn't have been delivered by now.

Generali

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Their not your letting agent, they work for the landlord. It's the landlord you have a contract with and if you're in England or Wales then then unless your TA says your landlord is responsible for repairing or replacing the fridge freezer then legally your landlord doesn't have to.

The letting agency can only act on the landlord's say so. If your landlord doesn't want to replace the fridge freezer there's nothing the agent can do about it.

The LL is responsible for the upkeep and replacement (if necessary) of any white goods supplied with a furnished rental place.

[Deleted User]

I know you aren't going to like this, but I bought a brilliant fridge freezer (not ancient and with water dispenser) for £46 on ebay, looks brand new. If you can't collect, there are man and a van outfits who will collect and won't be too expensive if close.

Or buy a new one - a lot of places do next day delivery (like AO.com and MarksElectrical).

HeartFoundation shops do second hand fridges at some of their shops - and deliver.

Or cancel the home delivery.

Or you can put yourself through the faff of having no fridge freezer, waiting for a repairman who may or may not repair said fridge, or say it needs parts he doesn't have on him, in between consultations with the LL and LA to see if they are prepared to pay for the repair.., and then you need to wait again for the repair person to turn up and actually fix the fridge.

Your choice. Speed or insisting on your rights (which you aren't sure of and will probably be disputed by the LA)? Do you want to 'waste' money on a fridge freezer or food?

My previous place had an ancient huge American Fridge freezer. Must have been one of the first ones sold in the UK. When it broke, I replaced it (gladly I have to say).., my electricity bills have now dropped (I did get a new heat pump dryer too, which helped the electricity bill drop, then got the fridge freezer and the electricity bill dropped further).

franklee

deannatrois wrote: »

I know you aren't going to like this, but I bought a brilliant fridge freezer (not ancient and with water dispenser) for £46 on ebay, looks brand new. If you can't collect, there are man and a van outfits who will collect and won't be too expensive if close.

Or buy a new one - a lot of places do next day delivery (like AO.com and MarksElectrical).

HeartFoundation shops do second hand fridges at some of their shops - and deliver.

Or cancel the home delivery.

Or you can put yourself through the faff of having no fridge freezer, waiting for a repairman who may or may not repair said fridge, or say it needs parts he doesn't have on him, in between consultations with the LL and LA to see if they are prepared to pay for the repair.., and then you need to wait again for the repair person to turn up and actually fix the fridge.

Your choice. Speed or insisting on your rights (which you aren't sure of and will probably be disputed by the LA)? Do you want to 'waste' money on a fridge freezer or food?

My previous place had an ancient huge American Fridge freezer. Must have been one of the first ones sold in the UK. When it broke, I replaced it (gladly I have to say).., my electricity bills have now dropped (I did get a new heat pump dryer too, which helped the electricity bill drop, then got the fridge freezer and the electricity bill dropped further).

The problem with the OP buying his own new appliance is finding somewhere to store the landlord's one or getting the landlord's permission to dispose of it. The OP cannot throw the landlord's goods away without permission and if the landlord hasn't checked it's broken beyond repair there is the risk he will want the OP to pay for the missing item (which will likely be described a far superior to the OP's new one). If permission is given to dispose who pays for that? Also if the OP buys his own fridge he'll need to take it away when he leaves or get permission to leave it.

[Deleted User]

Not a problem the OP needs to solve as urgently as having a working fridge freezer.

But I do agree that any arrangement made re disposal or pick up of the fridge freezer must be in writing from the LL. Not just a phone conversation.

My council will pick up a fridge freezer for a small charge if its decided to dispose of it. Most councils will do this. But yes, will have to sort out who pays for what.

Not sure I'd want to wait weeks for a safe way to store fresh food for the sake of £25 though. I had to manage without a fridge for nearly three months.., never again.

I personally have all my own white goods because then I know they are good quality and efficient. No way on earth I'd want to put up with a LL's cheapo expensive to run white goods unless no choice. They go with me to the new place.

franklee

deannatrois wrote: »

Not a problem the OP needs to solve as urgently as having a working fridge freezer.

But I do agree that any arrangement made re disposal or pick up of the fridge freezer must be in writing from the LL. Not just a phone conversation.

My council will pick up a fridge freezer for a small charge if its decided to dispose of it. Most councils will do this. But yes, will have to sort out who pays for what.

Not sure I'd want to wait weeks for a safe way to store fresh food for the sake of £25 though. I had to manage without a fridge for nearly three months.., never again.

I personally have all my own white goods because then I know they are good quality and efficient. No way on earth I'd want to put up with a LL's cheapo expensive to run white goods unless no choice. They go with me to the new place.

Yes I can see the advantages of having your own white goods although it may be they don't always fit in the slots available when moving (and if on an AST a tenant may have to move a lot).

I've rented with a side by side fridge freezer which was one unit inset under the counter, with a freestanding FF with fridge on top of freezer and with a single fridge inset under the counter and no freezer (I guess it was probably kept in the garage). So I was wary to buy my own as inset appliances need any replacement to be the same size so would not have fitted from one property to the other. Also inset tend to be more expensive than freestanding (almost double when I was looking). Plus they need to be fitted into the kitchen moving kick boards (which always seem to be a tight fit) and kitchen doors.

Personally I don't like inset appliances however it seems so many kitchens even in rental properties have them round here. If there's plenty of room for freestanding appliances then it's much easier and more flexible.