Manufacturing fault Fridge and consumer rights

LNC2018

We bought a Kenwood Fridge from Curry’s 30 months ago it doesn’t have any cover on it and stopped working so we asked a Fridge engineer to look at it and he said it was a manufacturing fault that couldn’t be fixed that had been there since we first bought it. ( gas has slowly leaked out over last 30 mths). I contacted Curry’s and quoted under consumer rights it should have lasted 5-6 years and they said they would get back to me. They have come back and offered £132 when it originally cost £399 is this all I am entitled to seems bad to me as it’s a faulty product and I need a new fridge. Hope someone can help me 😊

TadleyBaggie

Presumably it worked OK for the best part of 30 months? Curry's are entitled to offer a partial refund, expecting a full refund is unrealistic. Whether £132 is sufficient is debatable, but certainly not outrageously low.

neilmcl

As above, the seller is entitled to base any refund on the usage you've already had from the FF (if it's over 6 months old). Having said that I think £132 is too low and I'd be pushing form something nearer £200.

DiddyDavies

Did the engineer give you a quote for repairing the fridge?
If it's only the coolant gas that has leaked out and providing that the leak isn't from the compressor, (as these can be quite costly)  it shouldn't be too expensive to repair the faulty section of pipe providing it's not right in the middle of the condenser or evaporator (they are the coiled bits of pipe at the back of the appliance).
It's often a crack in one of the fine copper pipes that runs from the compressor that causes a leak and these aren't generally too much of a problem to repair or replace (providing that spares are still available).

Sandtree

DiddyDavies said:

Did the engineer give you a quote for repairing the fridge?

The OP said the engineer stated it was “unfixable”... with our crappy Samsung fridge there isnt the normal radiator thingy at the back but its allegedly build into the walls of the appliance (and random spots of the walls do get very warm)... its the modern way of doing things they say. Means fixing is a major issue though.

To the OP - it certainly seems a low offer but unfortunately the law doesnt say what the way to calculate it should be. For our fridge and freezer JL basically did refunded using the formula of...

Purchase price x ( (72 - age in months)/72) 

Which basically assumes the item will last 6 years and you get equal values use out of it for each month. This is no more or less valid than however Currys has calculated their valuation but would mean it would be around £230 that they’d owe you.

I’d certainly put a counter offer to them and ask that if they don’t accept your offer that they explain how they have arrived at their valuation.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Currys will offer you the lowest possible figure they can, the higher you can escalate the matter with them the more they will offer. 

Agree with Neil that something closer to £200 is a fairer figure. 

LNC2018

Thank you for all the advice I will put in a counter offer £199 as I think that would be fairer. The leak wasn’t fixable it was in the compressor 😊