Faulty fridge freezer

[erinneo]

Purchased Beko fridge freezer in 2005, it had faults from the beginning basically freezing fresh food and a build up of ice at the back. It was 'repaired' by Argos 3/4 times in its first year under warranty. When that ran out they did not want to know. I insured it with British Gas and they have been out a further twice and fitted a new thermostat both times, neither of which has helped. They have now said it is unrepairable and is due to a separation fault within the Fridge freezer. I have written to Argos with a copy of this report and asking for a full refund of the price paid plus consequential damages for the food wasted and the insurance costs. I gave them 14 days to respond however despite me having sent it recorded and have proof of delivery they say it is not on their system. So what to do now, it is totally useless it even freezes milk!!! I really need to get them moving so does anyone have any advice on what to do now?

[rosiecotton]

You won't get a full refund of the purchase price as you have had a reasonable use of the product. You may however be able to claim consequential losses for any ruined food if you can back this up with receipts, proof of what was lost etc. You won't be able to claim back insurance costs, as it was your choice to take this out - and this may, in fact, have a negative effect on your statutory rights.

 

 

I would suggest that you write to Argos stating that the fridge freezer is irreparable as per previous letter, you would not expect this sort of fault after this length of time and therefore it is not of satisfactory quality and does not comply with the terms of the Sale of Goods Act. State that you are claiming rescission of the contract (which is a partial refund to allow for the wear and tear you have had from the goods) plus consequential losses for the food that was ruined as a direct result of this fault.

 

Argos may argue that you have taken action privately with British Gas and therefore they are no longer liable for the machine - ultimately it would be down to a judge in the small claims court to decide whether you were reasonable in getting another party to carry out repairs or whether this has had an effect on your rights against Argos. Hopefully it won't come to this.

 

But do, please, bear in mind that you HAVE had a fair bit of use from this product and therefore you need to be prepared to negotiate a reasonable sum as a partial refund. You will NOT be entitled to a full refund in law.

[erinneo]

Hi thank you for your response, however my argument is that the FF was faulty from the outset. I allowed them to try and repair it 4 times after the warranty expired I insured with BG and only because despite several letters I was ignored by the company concerned. I have not had a fair bit of use from it as virtually everthing that went into it was ruined. However after I obtained an independant engineers report which stated that the appliance had a manufacturing fault did i get anywhere. Today I got a FULL refund of the purchase price and compensation to the tune of £60. They are also delivering new FF AND removing old one free of charge.

[rosiecotton]

That's very good of them, nice to know some companies do well by their customers.

 

I assumed you'd had some use from it as it was over a year old, apologies for that - it just seemed amazing that it had taken so long to get sorted and you were stuck with a non working fridge freezer for all that time.