Noisy Fridgefreezer

bloomatnight

Hi! I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice. 

I bought a new fridge that was delivered a couple of days ago. It was switched off in the shop so I didn't hear the noise it made, I bought it over the phone from a shop that isn't a chain. 

It was plugged in straight away by the guy from the shop who delivered it and started making a loud rumbling noise like a motorbike straight away and never stopped for 48 hours. I unplugged it for a few hours after that based on some info online that said it should have been left to stand, and it now revs up for about 20 mins every time I open it and approx once an hour if I don't touch it. The noise can be heard throughout my house, not just the kitchen but the living room and upstairs too. It's 10x noisier than my old fridge and someone from customer services with the manufacturer said you shouldn't be able to hear it anywhere except the kitchen. My house is quite small and the doors don't get shut but I still feel like it's disruptive. 

The shop said it was just noisy because it's frost free and that's normal, and that if I want a refund/exchange have to get an engineer from the manufacturer to come out and say it's faulty so they can get an "uplift number". They say they are stuck in the middle and they want to help me but they can't. When I first called the manufacturer they said I should go back to the shop and insist because it's my right to get a refund within 30 days, but they just refused and wouldn't budge no matter what. 

It has a two year warranty with the manufacturer and they did agree they would send an engineer if the shop refused to help, but I'm worried they will charge me a "no fault" call out fee if it is like the shop says just really noisy!  In the manual it says "when the compressor is in operation you may hear a slight whirring sound or pulsating noise" and it says the max noise is 45db. I tried to measure it with my apple watch it said it was about 50db when it's in the noisy phase. 

I know my rights are with the shop and not the manufacturer, but do I have to prove that it is a faulty level of noise? I've got no idea any more what's normal level of noise, I just got so confused now! 

pinkshoes

I would start by getting a slightly more accurate noise level reading.

Not sure how accurate the 50 dB you measured on an apple watch is, but there are loads of really good apps for measuring noise. Try downloading one on your phone and see if you can get a more reliable reading. 

50 dB isn't massively above the 45 dB it states...

What fridge is it? Have you googled to see if other people have had the same problem?

MattMattMattUK

pinkshoes said:

I would start by getting a slightly more accurate noise level reading.

Not sure how accurate the 50 dB you measured on an apple watch is, but there are loads of really good apps for measuring noise. Try downloading one on your phone and see if you can get a more reliable reading. 

50 dB isn't massively above the 45 dB it states...

What fridge is it? Have you googled to see if other people have had the same problem?

To add to the above, for dB it is also important to measure at what distance, eg 1 meter, 5 meters. Also as an example, 50 should not be noticable throughout the whole house. In terms of loudness 50 decibels is twice as loud as 40 decibels, a motorbike would be 80dB or higher (up to 140dB, but that would cause hearing loss and pain). Most fridge freezers are normally in 40-45 dB range, quite models drop down to the low thirties.

NSG666

Won't someone from the shop at least come out and give their opinion on the noise level? You might still need to get the manufacturer to confirm it before it can be returned for a refund but don't let the 30 days slip by.

born_again

bloomatnight said:

Hi! I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice. 

I bought a new fridge that was delivered a couple of days ago. It was switched off in the shop so I didn't hear the noise it made, I bought it over the phone from a shop that isn't a chain. 

It was plugged in straight away by the guy from the shop who delivered it and started making a loud rumbling noise like a motorbike straight away and never stopped for 48 hours. I unplugged it for a few hours after that based on some info online that said it should have been left to stand, and it now revs up for about 20 mins every time I open it and approx once an hour if I don't touch it. The noise can be heard throughout my house, not just the kitchen but the living room and upstairs too. It's 10x noisier than my old fridge and someone from customer services with the manufacturer said you shouldn't be able to hear it anywhere except the kitchen. My house is quite small and the doors don't get shut but I still feel like it's disruptive. 

The shop said it was just noisy because it's frost free and that's normal, and that if I want a refund/exchange have to get an engineer from the manufacturer to come out and say it's faulty so they can get an "uplift number". They say they are stuck in the middle and they want to help me but they can't. When I first called the manufacturer they said I should go back to the shop and insist because it's my right to get a refund within 30 days, but they just refused and wouldn't budge no matter what. 

It has a two year warranty with the manufacturer and they did agree they would send an engineer if the shop refused to help, but I'm worried they will charge me a "no fault" call out fee if it is like the shop says just really noisy!  In the manual it says "when the compressor is in operation you may hear a slight whirring sound or pulsating noise" and it says the max noise is 45db. I tried to measure it with my apple watch it said it was about 50db when it's in the noisy phase. 

I know my rights are with the shop and not the manufacturer, but do I have to prove that it is a faulty level of noise? I've got no idea any more what's normal level of noise, I just got so confused now! 

I'm lost...
It was switched off in the shop, but you bought it over the phone? So how do you know it was switched off in the shop?

Have you checked that it is level and not vibrating on the floor as all the feet are not down correctly?

greyteam1959

Shops don't have fridges / freezers etc plugged in & running in their shops.
I don't know where you got that idea from 
The appliance should NOT have been switched on as soon as it was delivered.
Most if not all manufacturers state that a fridge or freezer should be left for a number of hours BEFORE being switched on.
That is probably the cause of the problem with the appliance.

sheramber

if you saw it in the shop and then bought it over the phone that does not count as distance selling.

bloomatnight

pinkshoes said:

I would start by getting a slightly more accurate noise level reading.

Not sure how accurate the 50 dB you measured on an apple watch is, but there are loads of really good apps for measuring noise. Try downloading one on your phone and see if you can get a more reliable reading. 

50 dB isn't massively above the 45 dB it states...

What fridge is it? Have you googled to see if other people have had the same problem?

Others who have reviewed this fridge online say it's very quiet and they never notice or hear it. 

greyteam1959 said:

Shops don't have fridges / freezers etc plugged in & running in their shops.
I don't know where you got that idea from 
The appliance should NOT have been switched on as soon as it was delivered.
Most if not all manufacturers state that a fridge or freezer should be left for a number of hours BEFORE being switched on.
That is probably the cause of the problem with the appliance.

Didn't mean to say that shops would normally have them turned on, just that I didn't have any reference for what it should sound like. I think you're right that it might be that it was turned on too quickly, I'm going to try turning it off for 24 hrs and see if it improves afterwards. 

born_again said:

I'm lost...

It was switched off in the shop, but you bought it over the phone? So how do you know it was switched off in the shop?

Have you checked that it is level and not vibrating on the floor as all the feet are not down correctly?

I saw it in the shop, then went home to think about it. I called them back to buy it on the phone a day or so later. 

The feet are all down and flat on the floor, I've checked it with a spirit level and it's level left-right and slightly tilted backwards which I think is what is recommended. 


It looks like my only way forward is to get an engineer out from the manufacturer to have a look at it and hopefully they can just fix it, or tell the shop that it's faulty and they can give me a refund. 

neilmcl

bloomatnight said:

Hi! I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of advice. 

I bought a new fridge that was delivered a couple of days ago. It was switched off in the shop so I didn't hear the noise it made, I bought it over the phone from a shop that isn't a chain. 

It was plugged in straight away by the guy from the shop who delivered it and started making a loud rumbling noise like a motorbike straight away and never stopped for 48 hours. I unplugged it for a few hours after that based on some info online that said it should have been left to stand, and it now revs up for about 20 mins every time I open it and approx once an hour if I don't touch it. The noise can be heard throughout my house, not just the kitchen but the living room and upstairs too. It's 10x noisier than my old fridge and someone from customer services with the manufacturer said you shouldn't be able to hear it anywhere except the kitchen. My house is quite small and the doors don't get shut but I still feel like it's disruptive. 

The shop said it was just noisy because it's frost free and that's normal, and that if I want a refund/exchange have to get an engineer from the manufacturer to come out and say it's faulty so they can get an "uplift number". They say they are stuck in the middle and they want to help me but they can't. When I first called the manufacturer they said I should go back to the shop and insist because it's my right to get a refund within 30 days, but they just refused and wouldn't budge no matter what. 

It has a two year warranty with the manufacturer and they did agree they would send an engineer if the shop refused to help, but I'm worried they will charge me a "no fault" call out fee if it is like the shop says just really noisy!  In the manual it says "when the compressor is in operation you may hear a slight whirring sound or pulsating noise" and it says the max noise is 45db. I tried to measure it with my apple watch it said it was about 50db when it's in the noisy phase. 

I know my rights are with the shop and not the manufacturer, but do I have to prove that it is a faulty level of noise? I've got no idea any more what's normal level of noise, I just got so confused now! 

If you want to exercise your short term right to reject the FF then yes the onus is on you to prove that it is indeed faulty.