Faulty Fridge Freezer

grudz1980

We bought a Hisense Fridge-Freezer in Aug 23 from B&Q online. Had a warranty issue fixed in Oct 24 although they claimed that was a seal/door fitting issue. It's now broken in December 2025. We got a local engineer out who says the evaporator is faulty and it's not economical to repair. We've tried approaching B&Q - they say it's out of warranty therefore nothing they can do. We've tried emailing Hisense but no response. And trying our credit card but having issues getting details as account is now closed. (Just submitted a SAR today) Can we try anything else with B&Q as thoughts are it should last longer than 2 years 4 months.

When we emailed B&Q we did quote the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Rights act and mentioned goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and durable.

Where do we stand?

Woodstok2000

You're on the right track - just keep following the B&Q complaints procedure as far as you can ( up to mediation or 3rd party resolution). Keep going with the s75 card refund too. If those get nowhere, trading standards and small claims court.

How much was the fridge? They seem to range from £200-3000, and where it sits in that range will say a lot about expected useful life, although I would definitely argue even the cheapest model should last more than 2-3  years.

grudz1980

Thanks Woodstok2000 - it was £444 so as you say not the cheapest but we had hoped for a bit longer than just past 2 years!

Woodstok2000

grudz1980 said:

Thanks Woodstok2000 - it was £444 so as you say not the cheapest but we had hoped for a bit longer than just past 2 years!

Yep, me too!!

This is a helpful guide to raising a complaint: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-product-aTTEK2g0YuEy

Just bear in mind, if you end up with a refund the retailer can reduce it for fair usage, so you may end up with a relatively small amount.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Letter before action and small claims against the bank and/or B&Q.

Supply info from inspection noting evaporator isn’t a part the consumer interacts with and thus it is apparent the goods do not conform to the contract. 

Highly unlikely either will to go court for reduced refund of £250-£300.

You might need to file the claim online before they do fold, I can’t see either going all the way to a hearing over this.