Consumer rights-Fridge Freezer

Blades-man

Purchased a new American fridge freezer (Kenwood) just over 15 months ago which packed up this weekend. It became unbelievably noisy on Saturday as if a fan or something was catching then got so loud we made the decision turn off, dare not leave it like that for work (Like a constant drilling noise). Have a service repair scheduled for the morning but am feeling increasingly seen off that a £600 appliance has only lasted 15 months!

A friend suggested going back to the store and going down the "You have sold me an item not fit for purpose" (faulty goods route). Anyone know if this is worth a punt or have I dipped because the 12m warranty has expired?

I did not take out extra warranty cover but feel justifiable in expecting this item to have lasted longer than 15 months.

Help please fellow money savers!

Regards
Paul

Aylesbury_Duck

I think Kenwood is quite a budget brand stuck on cheap models, so don't have high expectations of the products. Saying that, 15 months is pathetic for an appliance as passive as a fridge-freezer. It sounds like the pump is failing, perhaps a broken blade or bearing. It's the only moving part in a fridge-freezer.

Who's the service engineer? If they diagnose the problem as being a fault inherent at manufacture then you're in a position to argue the case with the retailer. One thing to check is how you've installed and used it. Have you adhered to the recommended clearance around the unit, for example? If there is a recommended defrost cycle or similar, have you done it? Have you kept the drain plugs in the fridge clear?

shaun_from_Africa

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

It sounds like the pump is failing, perhaps a broken blade or bearing. It's the only moving part in a fridge-freezer.

There may well be a fan at the back of the fridge section and if one of the blades has come loose or is catching on the casing, this can also make a very loud noise.
A build up of ice around this fan can also lead to a lot of noise.

LilElvis

Wait until the engineer has a chance to diagnose the issue first! If it sounds like a fan catching then that may very well be the problem. Same happened to my FF and it was due to a build up of ice stopping the fan from rotating - caused by the freezer door being left ajar. Defrosted freezer, ice melted and the fan was working again - still working half a dozen years later.

zoob

LilElvis wrote: »

Wait until the engineer has a chance to diagnose the issue first! If it sounds like a fan catching then that may very well be the problem. Same happened to my FF and it was due to a build up of ice stopping the fan from rotating - caused by the freezer door being left ajar. Defrosted freezer, ice melted and the fan was working again - still working half a dozen years later.

I agree with this and hopefully it’s the issue in this case
If so it’s a user issue as stated above rather than a fault, it’s a common with fan cooled fridge and freezers but seldom a fault