Currys/PC World don't want to give me a refund for a broken fridge

Hsfgdfdg653 · 12 July 2018 at 10:55AM

Hi,

I bought a new fridge from Currys/PC world last Monday & it was delivered on Wednesday.

Over the hot weekend up until around this Monday, the fridge didn't get below 8 degrees despite being set to 3 degrees. I was away for the weekend so the door wasn't opened for 3 days.

I called Currys, who told me I must speak to Samsung, who refused to speak to me. I went into the store I purchases it from and the Know How staff rang Samsung to organise for a 'Samsung accredited fridge engineer' (a third party) to visit my home to investigate the issue.

The Samsung engineer visited but as the weather outside has cooled slightly the fridge is now 4/5 degrees (still too hot). The Samsung engineer said he couldn't find a problem and the raised temperature of the fridge is because it's warm outside and I open the door. I explained I was away for 3 days and checked the thermometer I placed inside on my return, and it was showing 7 degrees but he didn't believe me. He therefore won't sign off on a return. Curry's therefore won't accept it as a return.

As far as I'm concerned, if the fridge doesn't reach 3 degrees when I set it to 3 degrees, it is broken. Curry's directed me to their returns policy which says they 'reserve the right to test products before they are returned'. I told them they can test the fridge in a controlled condition the issue will likely present itself.

I am stuck in a web of incompetent staff who have no interest in helping me and an 'engineer' who doesn't seem to understand the basic concept of food safety and called me a liar.

Short of transporting the fridge back into the store myself and causing a scene until they refund me, what are my more amicable options?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Sam

p00hsticks · 12 July 2018 at 11:12AM

How confident are you that your thermometer's accurate ?

neilmcl · 12 July 2018 at 11:28AM

4 to 5 degrees is not "too hot", it's about what it should be set to. Did you leave the fridge to stand for 24 hrs before switching it on. TBH, since you only got it last Wednesday I would guess that it's taken a while to fully settle and get up (or rather down) to temperature. Also, as above, how accurate would be your thermometer and where have you placed it?

JJ_Egan · 12 July 2018 at 12:27PM

Fairly common outside heat to hot for fridge to work properly .Its not a fault but a fact of heat exchange mechanics .

Fosterdog · 12 July 2018 at 3:10PM

For the first time it was turned on it would have had to work overtime to cool down because if the ambient temperature, unless you have a really good thermometer, professional level, then I would always expect a degree or two of inaccuracy, then you can only read the thermometer by opening the door, which lets in warm external air and raises the internal temp, the only ways to accurately read it would be a transparent door, or a probe type thermometer with the sensor inside and the reading outside.

As the fridge was so new and you were going away for the weekend I'm assuming you had very little in there, the less that's in a fridge the quicker it the temp will rise when the door is opened. A full fridge that's been allowed to fully cool will gain very little if left open for even quite a few minutes, while an almost empty one will gain temperature very quickly when the door is open.

You haven't said what part of the fridge you are testing, the back of the bottom shelf should be the coldest spot while the front of the top shelf will be the warmest. On top of all that a fridge works by cooling to a set temperature then it idles, it won't kick in to cool again until the temperature gradually creeps up a couple of degrees above the ideal setting when it kicks in again to cool it down. The same as a thermostat for heating, once the correct temperature is reached it's goes off and only kicks back in when the temp drops. Maybe you've just happened to check just before its triggered the thermostat to cool again, the best time to check is just after you hear it go into idle after cooling for a while, most fridges (even quiet ones) are loud enough for you to know when it's running and when it's not.

shaun_from_Africa · 12 July 2018 at 6:38PM

Fosterdog wrote: »

then you can only read the thermometer by opening the door, which lets in warm external air and raises the internal temp, the only ways to accurately read it would be a transparent door, or a probe type thermometer with the sensor inside and the reading outside.

Without using a professional remote reading unit, one of the best ways to measure the temp inside of a refrigerator is to use a thermometer that can be put into liquid.
Fill a cup or glass with water, and put the thermometer in this and place it in the fridge overnight.
That way, opening the door won't have any immediate effect on the temperature of the water.

waamo · 12 July 2018 at 6:48PM

A fridge should be at 4-5c so I'm not surprised they aren't keen to help you.

It sounds as though the thing is operating normally within its acceptable range.

Peter999_2 · 12 July 2018 at 8:36PM

waamo wrote: »

A fridge should be at 4-5c so I'm not surprised they aren't keen to help you.

It sounds as though the thing is operating normally within its acceptable range.

Really?, I always have my fridge set at 2 degrees which I understood to be close to the optimum temperature.

waamo · 12 July 2018 at 9:18PM

Peter999 wrote: »

Really?, I always have my fridge set at 2 degrees which I understood to be close to the optimum temperature.

From the Food Standards Agency website

The 'Danger Zone'
Bacteria will grow at temperatures above 8°C and below 63°C – this is known as the ‘Danger Zone’ for microbial growth. That’s why we advise that the safest way to defrost food is in the fridge overnight. By defrosting in the fridge, your food should never enter the ‘Danger Zone’. Your fridge should be at 5°C or below as some bacteria can grow at lower temperatures than 8°C.

Currys/PC World don't want to give me a refund for a broken fridge

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