Advice on out of warranty fridge/freezer

welshgje

Morning all,

I'm hoping someone could give me a bit of advice. My wife and I bought a Kenwood Fridge/Freezer in Currys back in May 2019. It worked well until the end of June 2020 and then stopped freezing. It had failed - 14 months old, two months out of warranty. So naturally I've complained to Currys and they have told me because it is out of warranty that I would have to have an engineers report to show it is a defect and then they would decide what to do.

So we followed the advice, had the report and sent it to them. The engineer report said it was beyond economical repair - at 14 months old. He said it should not have failed like this (gas leak).

So Currys have now got back to us offering us (under Consumer Rights) a refund of around £250 - taking into account use and depreciation. I'm after advice on whether this is fair - or whether I should expect a replacement due to the device being only two months out of warranty. Am I right to expect a luxury American fridge freezer to last more than 14 months? They are quoting consumer law at me, but I have gone back to them with the European law that gives you a two year warranty. I have also researched on the internet about white goods and believe I have a point - with media reports saying white goods should last at least 5 years. Maybe others here will see it differently (which is why I ask for advice). Not sure where else to turn for help.

I'm waiting for Currys to get back to me now.

Thanks

G

Spank

How much was it new? What is the price if your model (14 months old) on eBay or other sites? this will give you an idea of how much much you should be getting?

welshgje

Spank said:

How much was it new? What is the price if your model (14 months old) on eBay or other sites? this will give you an idea of how much much you should be getting?

HI there - it was £800. So you think the offer of a partial refund is right? Am I in the wrong to expect something to last over 14 months?

G

baza52

what model is the luxury American fridge freezer and how much was it?

welshgje

baza52 said:

what model is the luxury American fridge freezer and how much was it?

Does it matter? The question is whether or not I should be able to expect a white goods item to last longer than 14 months.
Thanks for taking the time to reply though.
G

baza52

i was trying to judge if the partial refund was fair based on the purchase price.

baza52

the report you sent should of said that it was an inherent fault (present at purchase) not that its irreparable

welshgje

baza52 said:

the report you sent should of said that it was an inherent fault (present at purchase) not that its irreparable

That would have been impossible to prove. It's worked fine for 12/13 months.
Okay - well thanks everyone. 
G

DoaM

So what caused the gas leak? A puncture hole? Corroded pipework? The former could be a user-caused issue; the latter would more likely be an inherent fault.

If the purchase price was £800 and they're offering £250 then they're trying to take you for a fool. White goods such as this should be expected to last at least 6 years, especially at that price point. 6 years = 72 months, so £11.11 per month. Therefore at 14 months old your refund should be nearer £640. However, as depreciation is not linear then I'd suggest £600 should be the minimum you're looking for.

If you're willing to take the refund in store credit then you're more likely to get a higher refund ... they're not really losing the money - they're only loosing the cost price of the first item.

IvanOpinion

Hi welshigje, I think you may be misunderstanding why people are asking the questions they are.  The manufacturer can make a deduction for usage  Normally one may expect a fridge freezer (of reasonable quality) to last about 6 years therefore after 14 months of use I would have thought a fairer offer would be in the realms of 5/6 ths of 800 or about £600-650.  Personally I don't consider the £250 offer to be fair.

welshgje

Housewife2020 said:

Currys are paying your 250 to keep it because they feel sorry for you because who buys kenwood????

We did because they made a narrow American style unit.