Getting Rid Of An Old Fridge

[megan34]

A friend of mine bough a new fridge from a very big department store and has been quoted £15 by the local council to remove and dispose of the old one, but I thought the new ruling on this in July meant that if you buy a new appliance then the shop is obliged by law to offer top take away the old one free of charge? If this is so can he ring them up after he has now had delivery of the new one and demand that they remove the old one free of charge because they forgot to mention it to him at the time?

[Sidewinder]

Originally Posted by megan34

A friend of mine bough a new fridge from a very big department store and has been quoted £15 by the local council to remove and dispose of the old one, but I thought the new ruling on this in July meant that if you buy a new appliance then the shop is obliged by law to offer top take away the old one free of charge? If this is so can he ring them up after he has now had delivery of the new one and demand that they remove the old one free of charge because they forgot to mention it to him at the time?

Although I stand to be corrected, I don't think that anybody is obliged to take the old one away FOC. Comet for example will take the old one away at the time of delivery of a new fridge, but will make a charge for this service. To be honest £15 sounds quite reasonable (our local authority charge about £30!) or would it be an option to find a vehicle big enough to take it to the local recycling centre? They are obliged to take it in for nothing.

[megan34]

Im sure there wa sa law passed in april something to do withe new WEEE legislation that means shops are obliged to take your old appliance away free of charge - anyone know of this?

[gyzmo]

Haven't looked at the legislation, but a BBC news item (not that they are always 100% accurate) here BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Q&A: WEEE Directive seems to be that facilities should indeed be free of charge. How this operates however, I am not sure. someone will post with better details.

[patdavies]

The regulations took effect on 2nd January and details may be found here.

The relevant part for private households is Section 31

Take back

31. A distributor who supplies new EEE to a person shall ensure that WEEE from private households can be returned to him free of charge and on a one-to-one basis by that person, provided that any such WEEE—
(a) is of equivalent type to, and
(b) has fulfilled the same function as,
the supplied equipment.

The only exemption that I can see for not collecting like-for-like goods is for H&S reasons.

[Bookworm]

Well, I just saw an ad for Currys (I think) where they were saying their brand new idea was to take away the old appliance for free. Cheeky monkeys to say they're doing customer a favour if they are obliged to do so anyway.

[Sidewinder]

Stands corrected........

It would appear though that Comet have yet to update their website.

"Refrigeration Scrap Collection - We want to help you dispose of your old fridge or freezer in a legal and environmentally friendly way. So with this option, when we deliver your new appliance we’ll take away the old one if it’s the same size or smaller (conditions apply). There’s a small, non–profit making charge for this service to cover our costs"

[borisbeaver]

There is no charge at my local amenity tip if you get it there yourself.

[megan34]

Originally Posted by patdavies

The regulations took effect on 2nd January and details may be found here.

The relevant part for private households is Section 31


The only exemption that I can see for not collecting like-for-like goods is for H&S reasons.

My friend rang the store today armed with this information and was told that they donated to the re-cycling fund do they were therefore not obliged to take any olde appliances away - my friend sais under the new law they have to and the lady said - no I have a plaque on the wall here telling me WE dont have to because I donate! is she right? there seems to be much confusion over this law - some say they are obliged to do it and some say they are not , if they are then people are wasting their money paying their council to do it - I think we need some clarity on this - any experts in here can advise please?

[ArthurP]

Originally Posted by borisbeaver

There is no charge at my local amenity tip if you get it there yourself.

Same here. And I can even phone the council to collect for nowt too.

[fbnts]

Hi,

Our local Council, Chesterfield Borough collect free of charge.

Last summer we had a large fridge and sofa to get rid of. They quote £15 for up to 3 items (the sofa and 2 chairs) but the fridge would be free because of the way it has to be disposed of.

Tom