Faulty Samsung ice maker

marksman_m

Hello, this is my very first post and apologies if I make a few mistakes!

A few years ago, I bought a Samsung fridge model:RF24HSESBSR. The fridge worked great for the first 2 years, but then the ice maker stopped working. I have tried to defrost the machine via the auto defrost mode (3- 4 times in a row) and I have no luck being able to open or drive the ice maker.

I am out of warranty, but after checking some posts and looking online, I noticed that it may be a manufacturers fault. 

I called Samsung and they suggested their repair company to deal with said issue but in the process we will be charged for parts and labour.

My question is: despite the product not having warranty, if there is a known manufacturing fault that affects the ice maker long term, are Samsung obliged to take some of the cost, knowing it’s a wide scale issue (at least in the states it is, made headline news but UK I am not sure!)

I do not mind paying the engineer to do what he needs to do to fix the ice maker, but I feel a bit let down of the costs involved in fixing a problem that existed on Samsung’s side and only after warranty is out of date (since sep last year) has the problems started to arise.

Please help as then I will act accordingly. I honestly don’t know what to do. 

From what the engineer who came to visit advised, a new motherboard and ice maker would need to be replaced at a cost. They suggested to call back Samsung but they stuck firm with not taking responsibility. What should I do?

(The cost of parts alone arise to about £400-£500).

Thanks for your time and responses, and again, sorry if I made mistakes in posting here, it’s my very first post!

Martin

marksman_m

(Btw, where I typed ‘drive’- it was meant to be ‘de-ice!’)

powerful_Rogue

marksman_m said:

Hello, this is my very first post and apologies if I make a few mistakes!

A few years ago, I bought a Samsung fridge model:RF24HSESBSR. The fridge worked great for the first 2 years, but then the ice maker stopped working. I have tried to defrost the machine via the auto defrost mode (3- 4 times in a row) and I have no luck being able to open or drive the ice maker.

I am out of warranty, but after checking some posts and looking online, I noticed that it may be a manufacturers fault. 

I called Samsung and they suggested their repair company to deal with said issue but in the process we will be charged for parts and labour.

My question is: despite the product not having warranty, if there is a known manufacturing fault that affects the ice maker long term, are Samsung obliged to take some of the cost, knowing it’s a wide scale issue (at least in the states it is, made headline news but UK I am not sure!)

I do not mind paying the engineer to do what he needs to do to fix the ice maker, but I feel a bit let down of the costs involved in fixing a problem that existed on Samsung’s side and only after warranty is out of date (since sep last year) has the problems started to arise.

Please help as then I will act accordingly. I honestly don’t know what to do. 

From what the engineer who came to visit advised, a new motherboard and ice maker would need to be replaced at a cost. They suggested to call back Samsung but they stuck firm with not taking responsibility. What should I do?

(The cost of parts alone arise to about £400-£500).

Thanks for your time and responses, and again, sorry if I made mistakes in posting here, it’s my very first post!

Martin

Who did you purchase from, was it direct from Samsung or another retailer?

marksman_m

I think it was John Lewis but would need to look for receipt if I have it

marksman_m

AHHH YES ITS JOHN LEWIS AND I HAVE ‘5 YEARS ADDED CARE FOR YOUR HOME APPLIANCE!’

Does this mean I take this up with John Lewis?

powerful_Rogue

marksman_m said:

I think it was John Lewis but would need to look for receipt if I have it

In which case what Samsung are offering is absoutely fine. You have no comeback with Samsung.

However you do against the retailer.As the item is over 6 months old, you would have to get an independent report which states the fault is an inherent one. With this the retailer must refund, repair or replace. The choice is theirs and if they do refund, they can make a deduction for the two years use you have had. They will also have to refund the cost of the report.

If it is John Lewis, give them a call and have a chat. Sometimes they go above and beyond - you might get lucky with who you speak with.

walesdave

If it's a plumbed in model with an in-line filter.....change the filter!
We had exactly the same problem with our Samsung ice maker a few months back, got a new in-line filter online for a few pound, changed it myself (easy to do as long as you can access the waterline) and the ice maker started working straight away - the dispenser pressure also got a lot better.

powerful_Rogue

marksman_m said:

AHHH YES ITS JOHN LEWIS AND I HAVE ‘5 YEARS ADDED CARE FOR YOUR HOME APPLIANCE!’

Does this mean I take this up with John Lewis?

Yup! Sorted!

marksman_m

Ok so after further chat with John Lewis, our 5 year added care was apparently cancelled so it would of ran out in September last year...based on what I said above...does this mean despite manufacturing fault we would need to go ahead with private repair?

Sandtree

Is the auto-defrost sufficient to deal with the ice-maker? Before our Samsung freezer turned into a mild oven the auto-defrost never melted the ice-cubes it had created at all which may suggest the brief rise in temperature may be sufficient to deal with frost (hence the name) but not a tube of ice.

Do you use the ice-maker regularly? I've been looking at replacements I note that several say that if you aren't going to be having make ice every few days to weekly you should turn it off and drain it to prevent ice forming in the pipework.

You may be charged a call out fee if they come to look at it and find its a user error (though our local Samsung appointed engineer says in practice its rare that they actually do)

marksman_m

I’ve also read that despite warranty ending, if the appliance is faulty etc, you could escalate repairs to small claims court as product is not fit for purpose. Is my situation viable?