Broken fridge

stevec1968

Morning all, in February 2021 my BEKO fridge freezer broke down. It was purchased from Currys 3 years ago and we didnt buy the extended warranty. BEKO engineers were  called out to fix it but they said there was a problem with the wiring and that it could not be fixed. As it was outside the warranty we thought there was nothing to be done and so bought another fridge freezer from Currys, who took away the broken one. I was talking to a friend who told me that I could still claim that a refund from Currys under Consumer laws as we could expect the fridge to last more than 3 years. I explained this to Currys and sent them the report from BEKO (the manufacturer) saying that it was not repairable and Currys are refusing to do anything on the basis that the fridge has already been disposed of and they cannot inspect it - that doesnt sound right as they have the evidence from the actual manufacturer ! They are refusing to enter into any further discussion and say I must consult a lawyer. Any thoughts would be much appreciated ! Thanks Steve

[Deleted User]

stevec1968 said:

 Currys are refusing to do anything on the basis that the fridge has already been disposed of and they cannot inspect it - that doesnt sound right as they have the evidence from the actual manufacturer !

It's right - they can't inspect it if they don't have it.

You would have needed to have it inspected to prove an inherent fault, but you can't do that either as it no longer exists.

stevec1968

Thanks for your comment - I did get the fridge inspected by the manufacturer BEKO, and they said in the report that it could not be repaired. Currys have had the BEKO report so shouldnt they accept that ?

[Deleted User]

They did accept the report, but the report only said it couldn't be repaired.

Did you have a report that says that it was inherently faulty?  That's the bit you need to send to Currys.

Aylesbury_Duck

Even if Currys accepted the report as evidence of an inherent defect (assuming that's what the report says, not just that it's broken and can't be repaired), they have the option to repair, replace or refund.  They can't repair it because it's gone.  If they wanted to replace or refund you, they are entitled to deduct something for the three years' use you had of the fridge, and more for the fact they won't get the old one back.  What did it cost new?  You might find that the amount in question is negligible, even if you convinced them you are right.

stevec1968

Yes, the BEKO report saying it was irrepairable was sent to Currys so surely they should accept that and not refuse the claim as it has been disposed of already ?

[Deleted User]

stevec1968 said:

Yes, the BEKO report saying it was irrepairable was sent to Currys so surely they should accept that and not refuse the claim as it has been disposed of already ?

As above.  They've accepted the report but the report doesn't appear to say what you think it says.

Caz3121

stevec1968 said:

Yes, the BEKO report saying it was irrepairable was sent to Currys so surely they should accept that and not refuse the claim as it has been disposed of already ?

does the report state that the issue was due to an inherent fault that was present at time of manufacture?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Deleted_User said:

They did accept the report, but the report only said it couldn't be repaired.

Did you have a report that says that it was inherently faulty?  That's the bit you need to send to Currys.

After 6 months if requested the consumer is to demonstrate that the goods didn't conform to the contract when they were delivered.

There are a range of aspects to which the goods must conform and with an appliance if something inside that isn't typically accessed has failed, unless user error or user damage is cited, the goods haven't conformed in terms of durability, assuming they aren't passed a reasonable life. 

It may effectively be the same but the term is often taken to mean more than it does, small claims is decided on the balance of probability so OP's report may well suffice, the issue is they've disposed of the fridge which really should be returned to Currys in the event of rejection.

Possible avenue for a price reduction (as the goods can not be repaired and a replacement after this time may be considered disproportionate) which would allow the consumer to retain the goods but after 3 years it's likely such an amount would be very small and perhaps not worth pursuing.

OP how much did you pay for the fridge?  

mattyprice4004

You have your answer as requested, the advice given is correct. 

You’re entitled to nothing if you don’t have the fridge to give them back - you could have forged the report, fixed it yourself and then sold it (just because Beko say it’s unrepairable doesn’t mean a proper technician couldn’t fix it, I could probably fix damaged wiring within the hour). 

Sorry, but you’ve got no chance. 

Grumpy_chap

A cheap fridge went wrong after 3 years - I would not consider that exceptionally short.

There is a report saying the fridge is irreparable.  Does that report say the fault was inherent from new?