Smeg Fridge/Freezer - landfill after six years!

reprs

Bought for £1600 in 2015 and at a new cost of £2000 our Smeg fridge freezer has a faulty defrost heater which is apparently obsolete so the fridge/freezer is landfill or we can manually defrost every two weeks or so! It has therefore cost us £333 per year!

Smeg have offered us 30% off a new one but why would I do that and run the high risk of having to scrap it again in a few years?  I read that the average life of a fridge is 20-25 years and in my business I must ensure that the security systems we install can be maintained for at least 10 years.  The "Right to Repair" Act is in now but that means nothing to Smeg. Their Environmental Policy on their website is also entirely contradictory to their "real-life" policy.

Shocking and to be avoided in future.

 

tacpot12

I agree that it is shocking.

I expect that the problem with the Right to Repair legislation is that it isn't retrospective. Only items that went on sale after the regulation came in in 2021 will have to have parts made available. At least the need for legislation is proven by Smeg's woeful attitude to product longevity. 

theonlywayisup

reprs said:

Bought for £1600 in 2015 and at a new cost of £2000 our Smeg fridge freezer has a faulty defrost heater which is apparently obsolete so the fridge/freezer is landfill or we can manually defrost every two weeks or so! It has therefore cost us £333 per year!

Smeg have offered us 30% off a new one but why would I do that and run the high risk of having to scrap it again in a few years?  I read that the average life of a fridge is 20-25 years and in my business I must ensure that the security systems we install can be maintained for at least 10 years.  The "Right to Repair" Act is in now but that means nothing to Smeg. Their Environmental Policy on their website is also entirely contradictory to their "real-life" policy.

Shocking and to be avoided in future.

 

Right to Repair is not retrospectively applied therefore your 2015 fridge freezer wouldn't fall under it. 

Over 6 years or under 6 years would be a magical question as 6 years is how long you have to bring a claim. Your Consumer Rights would (had you proven the ff inherently faulty) have allowed for a deduction for use for the years you have used it.  

If you had wanted another Smeg perhaps you could have negotiated a bigger discount. 

Vote with your feet.  Buy a better brand. 

MoneySavingNovice

If you have the part number it might be worthwhile doing a search on ID Spares and similar other retailers,  including ebay.   It's surprising what you can find sometimes,  but sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs

reprs

theonlywayisup said:

reprs said:

Bought for £1600 in 2015 and at a new cost of £2000 our Smeg fridge freezer has a faulty defrost heater which is apparently obsolete so the fridge/freezer is landfill or we can manually defrost every two weeks or so! It has therefore cost us £333 per year!

Smeg have offered us 30% off a new one but why would I do that and run the high risk of having to scrap it again in a few years?  I read that the average life of a fridge is 20-25 years and in my business I must ensure that the security systems we install can be maintained for at least 10 years.  The "Right to Repair" Act is in now but that means nothing to Smeg. Their Environmental Policy on their website is also entirely contradictory to their "real-life" policy.

Shocking and to be avoided in future.

 

Right to Repair is not retrospectively applied therefore your 2015 fridge freezer wouldn't fall under it. 

Over 6 years or under 6 years would be a magical question as 6 years is how long you have to bring a claim. Your Consumer Rights would (had you proven the ff inherently faulty) have allowed for a deduction for use for the years you have used it.  

If you had wanted another Smeg perhaps you could have negotiated a bigger discount. 

Vote with your feet.  Buy a better brand. 

Love to find a UK manufactured fridge freezer....seen Montpellier Appliances which sounds French but says Independent British Brand.  Will check them out.

DCFC79

Im sure there's another brand thats produced here in the UK.

coffeehound

Definitely poor product support from Smeg, but having to manualy defrost isn't a death sentence for a freezer, surely?

reprs

coffeehound said:

Definitely poor product support from Smeg, but having to manualy defrost isn't a death sentence for a freezer, surely?

No it isn't a death sentence, never suggested it was! Been doing it with my wife's hairdryer for six months! Still not happy that I paid for an auto defrost fridge and now haven't got one! Thanks anyway for the inciteful comment.

reprs

reprs said:

coffeehound said:

Definitely poor product support from Smeg, but having to manualy defrost isn't a death sentence for a freezer, surely?

No it isn't a death sentence, never suggested it was! Been doing it with my wife's hairdryer for six months! Still not happy that I paid for an auto defrost fridge and now haven't got one! Thanks anyway for the inciteful comment.

Or should I say insightful?  Probably both.

Norman_Castle

          

I still use an old Lec fridge which belonged to my grandad and was given to me after an impatient defrosting incident and a knife. I've had it at least 25 years. A few weeks ago I figured out I could save about £20 per year by replacing it so breaking even after about 8 years. Based on the lifespan of friends fridges I've decided I'm better off keeping the one I've got.

If I'd paid £1600 for a fridge which has failed irreparably after 6 years I'd be camping outside their head office.

knightstyle

LEC fridges fridgefreezers etc. were made for many years in Bognor Regis but the site is now a Sainsburys! 
Lec appliances are still, I think, made on Merseyside by Glen Dimplex but the compressors are imported.