Legal help regarding a fridge/freezer

[pompeyfan]

Hi,

My hotpoint fridge freezer packed up during the week, hotpoint want £180 to fix/replace it, even though it's only 18 months old. obviously it doesn't fall within their 1 year warranty. As you can well imagine I'm annoyed because it was full in the run up to Christmas and it's all had to be binned. no one expects their fridge/freezer to pack up after only 18 months.

Does anyone know where i stand legally, if there's another layer of consumer protection or any suggestions?

A few people have said that I should email the CEO of hotpoint and I plan to contact citizens advice about consumer rights.

Any help would be great. Thanks and merry Christmas and a happy new year.

 

[anme]

Check your home insurance - you may be covered for the contents of the fridge/freezer.

 

[DaleCooper]

I thought EU law required a 2 year warranty on such items.

 

[ainsworth74]

Try this page from CABs AdviceGuide (it's titled 'Return' but it also covers repairs) it should prove helpful at least to some extent. Plus there is the Consumer Helpline as well.

 

[Sebastian O]

Don't bother with your home insurance - it will bite you when it comes to renewal.

Contact their customer services and highlight the fact this has happened. As it has destroyed your food close to Christmas you will have some traction with the complaint already.


It is worth reminding all that electrical items are expected to 'last as long as reasonably expected' - I.e 4-5 years. This is under EU Consumer Protection laws.

 

[DarloRich]

As Ainsworth suggests: Speak to your local CAB: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-we-provide-advice/advice/

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I agree don't try it on your home insurance; they'll bump up the renewal premiums for making a claim and your excess will mean you won't get a lot back anyway.

As others have said, consumer laws over-ride the manufacturer's one year guarantee.

When you replace it, get a different brand - we used to have a Hotpoint washing machine. It blew. Bought another one; it blew about 8 or 9 months later. Then bought a Siemens and it's proved very reliable. For fridges / freezers both ours are currently Zanussi and they are working very well indeed.

 

[flymo]

What is actually wrong with it. ?

Does it work at all, does the back get warm when it is on, does the fridge bit freeze up?

Having repaired more than a few fridges in my time, it could be that replacing a small part may fix the big problem.

Trouble is, nobody wants to do this sort of thing as there is more money in selling a new one. The disposable society indeed

On my fridge I replaced the thermostat for £15 rather than the fridge at £250. Another time the power supply cable had came off the motor temperature sensor at the rear...and that was Christmas Eve years ago...

Fridges are easy. Power, thermostat and motor and that is it.

Good luck.

 

[Quakkerillo]

The "x months/years" guarantee means nothing. When you use it in a normal way, you have the right to expect it to last much longer, according with EU regulation.
Only if you buy an article very cheap, or second-hand, you can expect it may be of second-grade quality, and then the guarantee may be longer than the 'life expectancy' of the product.
That's why it's often also not advisable to buy a prolonged guarantee period with most products, because the actual 'guarantee' from (EU) consumer rights often covers this period anyway.

 

[pompeyfan]

What is actually wrong with it. ?

Does it work at all, does the back get warm when it is on, does the fridge bit freeze up?

Having repaired more than a few fridges in my time, it could be that replacing a small part may fix the big problem.

Trouble is, nobody wants to do this sort of thing as there is more money in selling a new one. The disposable society indeed

On my fridge I replaced the thermostat for £15 rather than the fridge at £250. Another time the power supply cable had came off the motor temperature sensor at the rear...and that was Christmas Eve years ago...

Fridges are easy. Power, thermostat and motor and that is it.

Good luck.

On Thursday afternoon we noticed that the light in the fridge was flashing steadily, as if it was trying to tell us something. Eventually the fridge got warm and all fresh had to be binned. We did try the obvious thing of turning it off and on again, which would work briefly, for about 5 minutes before reverting to a steady flash with no cold air. Friday morning we noticed that the freezer was also struggling and that frozen food had started to thaw. At this point we decided to just try and salvage the very few last things, switch it off for 24hours and leave it to defrost. Went back to it Saturday lunchtime to see if it had resolved itself, and when turning it on there is no noise at all, and once again the fridge light starts flashing after a couple of minutes.

I'll certainly try and get onto CAB etc and see what they can do. I've had to agree to the repairs under duress to circumstances. With Christmas coming and a 2 year old in the house we really can't do without a fridge.

Thanks for all advice so far.

 

[Butts]

Try looking on The Which Website, they are pretty hot on the consumer front.

 

[Strat-tastic]

Consider contacting BBC Three Counties Radio JVS Show

He does a consumer hour from 11-12 weekdays. He's pretty good on consumer advice and getting things sorted.

 

[Zamracene749]

http://howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=140964

As flymo stated, fridges can be quite easy to fix.
Had a Hotpoint FFU00p break down on me a while ago. Three different hotpoint engineers said it was beyond repair, two couldn't identify the fault and the last one said he would order all the listed parts and replace them one by one. 12 weeks later he stated they were no longer available, so condemned it and we received a replacement under an extended warranty.

Curious, I opened it up before I called the council. Under the cover of the mainboard (one screw to remove) was a full list of fault codes. Circulation fan fault.
The old fan had cracked a blade on ice build up (due to the missus leaving the door open for ages at a time) making the long shaft unbalanced, which damaged the motor bearings.

Contacted hotpoint for spares, they wanted 200 quid and an 8 week wait for the part.

Bought one from UKWhitegoods forums for 18 quid complete with new impellor, 3 day delivery.

Still going strong 10 years later......moral of the story- Hotpoint aftersales make the Chuckle Brothers look like nuclear scientists.......

 

[Clip]

I thought EU law required a 2 year warranty on such items.

There is no such thing as this EU law.

However, you should really go to the retailer who you bought it from first under the Consumer rights act(formally SOGA) and ask them for a remedy your first port of call is and should be the retailer as your contract is actually with them- not hotpoint. This is basically to see if the fault was inherent with the machine in the first place but you may need an independent report to prove it was then they have to either repair replace or refund it as the previous mentioned acts about 6 years from buying (5 from discovery in Scotland).

But all of that has to take into account how much use you have had out of it - as things need to last for a reasonable amount of time(tho a £10 toaster isn't expected to last as long as a £100 one if you get my drift) so depending on how much you bought yours for would depend on how the retailer would treat you.

But then again if its easy to fix just do that.

 

[DaleCooper]

There is no such thing as this EU law.

There is certainly an EU directive but apparently the Sale of Goods Act exceeds its requirements.

 

[Clip]

There is certainly an EU directive but apparently the Sale of Goods Act exceeds its requirements.

Theres a bit more to it than just blanky stating theres A '2 year eu law' that you read about on this is money

 

[pompeyfan]

Hi guys thanks for all your feedback.

AO, who we bought it from, said it was nothing to do with them, and as we had already arranged a manufacturers repair I pretty much shot myself in the foot. Had we had more time and the ability to do without a fridge I'd have fought it, but unfortunately it was costing too much not having a fridge.

Technically i could try and claim damages but I'm not sure it'll be worth it, I wish I had more tooth in me sometimes against these big companies

Anyway the hotpoint guy came yesterday and said there was a defective magnet in the door, this meant that the fan and motor thought the door was being left open and so to protect itself went into hibernate mode.

So a dodgy magnet cost me £185 for a repair/1 year protect package as well as the contents of the fridge freezer.

Merry Christmas guys and girls.

 

[Quakkerillo]

If you have any insurance for juridical costs, I'd drop them a message and try to get a lawyer to get these costs refunded. Their refusal to help you, despite your rights, caused you these extra costs, so there may be a (small) chance that you can salvage some of the damage back. But this is no guarantee, as you might have had to give them (extra) chances to save it, and mention any further steps.