Whirlpool Frost Free Fridge.

[shoggi]

Hi Everyone ,
This is my 1st post here so i hope you may be able to advise me of the correct course of action.

Situation and Timeline;-

07-09-2006
Purchased a Whirlpool frost free fridge from CO-OP Electrical shop on 07-09-2006 ( Sum of £300 )

6-10-2006
This unit became faulty , would not maintain cold enough temperatures in Fridge or Freezer and so we had the whole thing replaced with a new replacement model on 6-10-2006.

Just recently over the festive season the fault has re-occurred in the new model, Fridge and Freezer not holding temperature ( or anywhere close. Food wasted/ ongoing hassle of not having a working fridge).

I have contacted CO-OP ,who have spoken to Whirlpool.

CO-OP although understanding were not willing to sort problem from thier own backs or pay for repair.
Whirlpool have said that as its out of its 12 month warranty i will have to pay for the full repair and service.

I feel this is vastly unfair as i would expect a fridge to last longer than 12 months and as its a re-occuring previous fault i would expect the repair to be done free of charge.
What is my best course of action and whom do i pursue and by what means??
From reading some similiar threads am i right in thinking i need to acctually take the CO-OP to a small claims court citing the Sale of Goods Act for the subsequent cost of repair??

At the moment i am waiting upon a Whirlpool engineer to come out and fix/diagnose the Fridge Freezer.

What i really need is some clear instructions on what I need to do and whom i need to pursue for what damages and cost of repair.

How much do i need to spend to take CO-OP to court and what timeframe do these things normally take???

Please Help/assist if possible.

Many Thanks in advance.

Ps I have contact details and names of ll persons spoken to ref this matter.

[GuidoT]

You claim will be against Co-Op Electrical Shop and not Whirlpool.

You need to write a letter before action summarising your claim and the losses you have incurred, this effectively gives Co-Op an opportunity to settle prior to commencing legal proceedings. You probably will not know the full extent of your losses until the Whirlpool engineer has been around.

See here for one relating to bank charges that you can use as a starting point.

There is a common misconception that once goods pass their guarantee period that the consumer has no recourse, you are right in that you expect a fridge freezer to last past a one year guarantee.

If you do not get a satisfactory result after the LBA then you need to complete a claim form as here.

It will take around 6 - 8 months from filing your claim form to trial. You should be able to handle the claim yourself with assistance from here, it will cost you around a hundred pounds in court fees that are recoverable from the other side if you are successful.

[Bookworm]

CO-OP although understanding were not willing to sort problem from thier own backs or pay for repair.
Whirlpool have said that as its out of its 12 month warranty i will have to pay for the full repair and service.

Co-op are not being very understanding at all, they are fobbing you off.

Whirlpool are only telling you what they would charge if you were to get them to do the work, as quite rightly, they're saying your issue is not with them.

Your contract is with Co-op, and it is very much their issue.

I notice you say you have "spoken" to people. If you haven't got anything in writing, I would strongly advise you to put the engineer on hold until you have something in writing from Co-op saying they won't deal with it. Once that is done, then get the engineer to fix the fridge, make sure that he gives you a written report naming the fault and in his opinion, what caused it, then send a copy of the report and the bill to Co-op, asking them to reimburse you. If they refuse, then yes, you might have to go to Small Claims.

One thing to note is that you may not get full reimbursement since you did get some use of the fridge (although I agree one year doesn't seem quite enough, a judge may disagree...).

BUT you must get something in writing from Co-op to confirm that you didn't just go ahead and bypass them and that you tried to get them to meet their legal obligations under SOGA before getting the fridge repaired, or they could try and say that you didn't give them the chance to set things right first.

Have a read of this for a useful summary of your basic rights:
Trading Standards Central - Trading Standards and Consumer Protection information for the UK

Let us know how you get on.