Unrepairable Fridge Freezer, less that 3 years old.

Davosp

I was wondering if anyone could help me.


Just under 3 years ago I spent almost £300 on a Zanussi Fridge Freezer. Having spent so much I thought it would ensure a certain degree of longevity. Now, having just paid a service man (recommended by Zanussi) £66 for the privilige of telling me that it is beyond repair due to a gas leak in the cooling system, I was wondering if I had any legal rights to demand a new Fridge freezer from either the retailer or the manufacturer. Surely a product costing so much money should not break down within 3 years ?

Can anyone advise me on this ?

Thanks

Dave

littlereddevil

I had the same problem with a diplomat bought from Howdens as part of kitchen package ( not by me or my choice) It gave up the ghost after 3 years and noone would do anything

cattie

£300 on a fridge freezer actually puts it at the lower end of the market I'm afraid, so no guarantee of an exceptional life. I'd say 3yrs is about the average life span of a fridge freezer going by my experience over the years.

You could try writing to Zanussi & perhaps they would give you a reduction on a new model, but can't see that you have any rights to a new appliance after so long. The initial guarantee would have been for 1yr & perhaps if after 18months it had given up the ghost you may have had grounds for complaint.

Davosp

I don't really consider £300 as cheap and for a white good you should expect at least ten years working service. Otherwise I may as well rent one out and pay 6 pund a month. They simply don't make them like they used to, my mum only recently got rid of a fridge freezer that she had bought 23 years ago...

I just think it is disgusting that something can just totally break like that after only 3 years.

I am taking legal advice regarding the 1979 Sale of Goods act. My solictor thinks I may have a valid case.

Will keep you posted.

lindens

there is another thread on here about samsung american type fridge freezers, and though most of it is not relevent here, i remember a few people posting quotes from OFT, and that the lifespan of fridge freezer is more like 5-6 years. try and find that thread and read it, some of it may help you

ianeverton

There is consumer law (sale of goods act) which says that the supplier not the manufacturer is legally responsible for up to six years to repair or replace items which have failed before a reasonable amount of time.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

IMO i would say a £300 fridge should last longer than three years. I have one that cost £120 and is still good after 7 years.

With the engineer saying that the problem is a gas leak, did he report that the gas circuit was punctured or that a soldered joint or similar problem that would indicate a manufacturing fault had failed ? it will make a big difference to your claim.

Best of luck.

greyteam1959

Davosp wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone could help me.


Just under 3 years ago I spent almost £300 on a Zanussi Fridge Freezer. Having spent so much I thought it would ensure a certain degree of longevity. Now, having just paid a service man (recommended by Zanussi) £66 for the privilige of telling me that it is beyond repair due to a gas leak in the cooling system, I was wondering if I had any legal rights to demand a new Fridge freezer from either the retailer or the manufacturer. Surely a product costing so much money should not break down within 3 years ?

Can anyone advise me on this ?

Thanks

Dave

Think you may have mis understood what the service man said.
All appliances are repairable BUT the cost of the repair might be more than a new fridge/freezer.
Thats the bottom line.......
Your wording 'demand a new....' is the wrong way to go.
People that demand in my experience never get the result that they expect/
If you take a more moderate attitude you would probably get something out of Zanussi
Dont take the above comments the wrong way !!!!!!

fairylights_2

You should be able to get a cheap (ish) replacement from Zanussi if you ask them - Sale of Goods Act is not altogether helpful to the consumer, and they will argue you have had three years' use, but might offer you a good price. Some manufacturers will, some won't.

I'm not sure it's worth going into legalities for £300. I know it's a lot of money, but the manufacturer is not obliged to give you a free machine if you've had one working fine for three years. They might also argue that since it has taken three years to appear, the fault cannot be due to the manufacturing process as it would have shown earlier than now.

Just playing devil's advocate. Our £249 fridge is stuffed too (seems to be suffering with some blockage, so only partly working) and it was included with our house sale, so we have nowhere to go but the shops ....

MarkyMarkD

I think the OP has a very good case. It's ridiculous to state that the expected life of a fridge freezer is something like 3 years. We have had two fridge freezers in our entire 16 years of married life and the second is still going strong - apart from problems with the door hinges, but that's a different story.

It very much sounds like a manufacturing fault - it doesn't sound like wear and tear has caused this. If something has a manufacturing fault, there's no limit on how long you can claim for compensation. But your claim is legally against the retailer, not the manufacturer. And the claim will be reduced by an estimate of the value you've had from the equipment. It would be reasonable IMHO to expect a maximum of 70% of the replacement cost based on a 10 year realistic life.

Don't even think of involving the manufacturer - legally they have nothing to do with it. It's the retailer you need to pursue.

shandypants5

I know how you feel.. new stuff just doesnt seem to be built to last nowadays.

this site has some good info on white goods.
It appears that you need to pay top price to get quality .

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=213

not sure how to do a link..hope it works..

(wow look at that, a link.. and it works too.)

pharris29

Did the engineer give any indication on were the leak was,

If its a joint then it should be economic to repair

If the evaporator has a hole then it may not be economic, although some are.

Did the Engineer diagnose it correctly or was he just after his callout fee.

Get a second oppinion.