reasonable life expectancy of goods and Very/Beko

ArbitraryRandom · 4 November 2019 at 10:23PM

I'm looking for advice/ a template letter/ list of important things to inc. in letter to Very/ Beko about the fridge/ freezer I bought about a year ago.

First off, do I have a case for a refund/replacement?
Should it be Very or Beko?
Can anyone help with the picking the 'good words'

?

Basically, within a few months of buying it I noticed the Freezer part was playing up, icing up into the fridge part at the back and when I turned the thermostat down not keeping things cold enough in the freezer part.

I phoned Very, who put me through to Beko, who sent an engineer out, who fitted a new thermostat... but the same problem came back a couple of months later when it was out of warranty.

It was by then out of the standard Very returns period so I called Beko who offered me insurance (which I paid) and sent back the same engineer. He said it was the same problem and couldn't be fixed so they'd send a replacement freezer.

A little later I got a letter saying it couldn't be fixed so they were cancelling my insurance and refunding the payment.

I phoned Beko and Very (who I bought it from) and they kept passing me to the other saying I should have gotten the extended warranty.

I want to write to someone because I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) the consumer rights act says goods should last a reasonable period of time and I expect a freezer to last more than 18 months and I think the freezer had a fault/bad part when it was made because the issue started shortly after receipt and it's the same fault that's meant it's now not reparable. The same part shouldn't go wrong twice if it's not a bad part of somethings wrong with the design.

So... do I have a case or am I wasting my time?

pinkshoes · 4 November 2019 at 10:52PM

Your contract is with Very.

As it is now more than 6 months old you need to get a report stating it has failed due to an inherent fault, rather than misuse. This should be straightforward as an engineer has already been twice!

Tell them the have had an opportunity to fix it already and it has failed again, so you are rejecting it under the consumer rights act for a refund.

The refund will be a partial one due to having had 18 months use. How long is reasonable? I would say 8 years for a fridge/freezer. I would be looking for 60 to 80% refund.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head · 4 November 2019 at 10:54PM

Letter before action to Very detailing events and requesting value of appliance minus 18 months use.

Was "within a few months" less than 6?

ArbitraryRandom · 4 November 2019 at 11:24PM

pinkshoes wrote: »

Your contract is with Very.

As it is now more than 6 months old you need to get a report stating it has failed due to an inherent fault, rather than misuse. This should be straightforward as an engineer has already been twice!

Tell them the have had an opportunity to fix it already and it has failed again, so you are rejecting it under the consumer rights act for a refund.

The refund will be a partial one due to having had 18 months use. How long is reasonable? I would say 8 years for a fridge/freezer. I would be looking for 60 to 80% refund.

Thank you.

How would you recommend I ask the engineer to do a report? Beko arranged it so should I go through them or contact him directly? Or should I be looking for someone independent? Can you estimate how much it might reasonably cost?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

Letter before action to Very detailing events and requesting value of appliance minus 18 months use.

Was "within a few months" less than 6?

Thank you. I would be happy with that outcome.

I'm checking the paperwork and will update asap as to the timeline.

ArbitraryRandom · 5 November 2019 at 7:29AM

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

Letter before action to Very detailing events and requesting value of appliance minus 18 months use.

Was "within a few months" less than 6?

I'm obviously really bad at remembering details unless I check my paperwork...

I placed the order in January 18, the first call to Beko was the following December, so not a few months. Sorry.

I'd noticed the issue from shortly after installation but figured it was the settings or whatever and kept putting off calling but I hadn't realised for how long

Second time I called was at the end of May/June (can't remember for sure) so the 'fix' lasted four months but because of my schedule and being passed between Very and Beko and arguing about having to take out the Beko insurance I didn't get the engineer out until the end of July.

That was when the engineer said it would need replacing but then I got the letter to say they weren't going to do anything because it was 18 months old and out of warranty.

Hope that's helpful (definitely was helpful for me to go through everything and get the dates straight).

I'd still appreciate some advice on how to get that engineers report and what would be a 'reasonable' fee.

zoob · 5 November 2019 at 7:53AM

Is the fridge freezer a freestanding or an integrated model with kitchen doors mounted on it?

BoGoF · 5 November 2019 at 7:56AM

How much did you pay for the goods?

Not sure how much an engineers report would be but this can be claimed back if engineer states it is an inherent fault. However if he does not say it is an inherent fault then you have knowhere else to go.

No disrespect (I have bought the brand myself) but I see Beko as a budget brand and I would say expecting 8 years us a tad optomistic.

ArbitraryRandom · 5 November 2019 at 11:12AM

zoob wrote: »

Is the fridge freezer a freestanding or an integrated model with kitchen doors mounted on it?

Freestanding 60cm with a water dispenser in the front.

BoGoF wrote: »

How much did you pay for the goods?

Not sure how much an engineers report would be but this can be claimed back if engineer states it is an inherent fault. However if he does not say it is an inherent fault then you have knowhere else to go.

No disrespect (I have bought the brand myself) but I see Beko as a budget brand and I would say expecting 8 years us a tad optomistic.

List price was c.£350 (in the January sale IIRC) but I bought it on account so more than that with the interest (I'm actually still paying it off...I know)

The engineer that came out was through Beko both times so I don't have his contact details.

Do I contact Beko again and ask for another visit/second opinion or just google 'freezer repair' (or does it have to be an authorised engineer/ special certifications/ qualifications)?

Thanks for answering the questions all. I guess you can tell I'm a bit hopeless at this kind of thing.

yorkshirecath · 5 November 2019 at 11:26AM

I had an American style Fridge freezer that failed after about 4yrs. I didn't think this was very good so contacted Beko who, whilst didn't offer me a refund or repair they did offer me a new fridge freezer at a discounted price.
A reasonable life expectancy of a fridge is 14-17 yrs

pulliptears · 5 November 2019 at 12:24PM

reasonable life expectancy of Beko for me would be a year. My late Mum used to buy their products and very few lasted much over a year. A washer failed at 14 months and a fridge freezer not long after that. I wanted to pursue it but Mum wanted a quiet life and new goods.

When I see Beko I think 'cheap, won't last' sadly.

lincroft1710 · 5 November 2019 at 5:17PM

So the appliance is now nearing 2 yrs old. Only the actual cash price can be used in any calculation, not the inflated credit price.

I have seen figures on these boards suggesting an engineer's report could be between £40 and £60, but don't quote me on this. Only refundable if there is an inherent fault.

reasonable life expectancy of goods and Very/Beko

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