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My 3.5 year old Hotpoint FFA70 fridge freezer stopped working last week. The fridge appeared to continue working for a day or two after the freezer.
I had an engineer look at it today and he tested various things and advised me that the compressor has seized and requires replacement. However, it’s not a part he stocks, so he is going to find out the price for me so I can decide whether to go ahead and get him to replace it or simply buy a new fridge freezer.
Does anyone have experience of the same problem and, if so, did you have the part replaced or buy a new fridge freezer? Can anyone advise which option is likely to be the most cost effective?
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
FionaH wrote:My 3.5 year old Hotpoint FFA70 fridge freezer stopped working last week.
Hi FionaH
All Hotpoint appliances come with a five year parts guarantee. So as long as you still have your proof of purchase all you will pay is the labour charge which is about £90 IIRC. While the labour charge is quite high it does make the overall repair more pallatable 😉 It`s also a cheaper option than replacing the appliance.
HTHDon
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
Thanks for your help, Don. I was aware of the 5 year parts guarantee, but wasn’t sure if I had to have registered the appliance when I bought it for that to be valid. I also couldn’t find the proof of purchase!
The engineer who looked at the machine for me quoted £207.40 for the repair, but advised that I should look around as it may be more beneficial for me simply to replace the machine. He was from RJB Refrigeration in Shrewsbury and I would recommend him based on this experience to anyone in that area.
However, I have now found my proof of purchase and called Hotpoint, who are sending an engineer on Wednesday afternoon to repair my fridge freezer for the standard £89.98 fee. If the machine is unrepairable, I lose the £89.98. Assuming RJB’s diagnosis is correct, I don’t think this will be the case, but it does concern me that I will end up paying for a new fridge freezer anyway!
Thanks again, I have found this forum really useful and I will update after Wednesday.
ok, so if its under somekind of a warranty, and its unrepairable, there should be a contribution form the guarantor towards a replacement
im sure you wont be out of pocket
id be more inclined to scrap it… it is a merloni machine after all
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
The Hotpoint engineer called to see my appliance last Wedesday and confirmed that it needed a new compressor. However, he didn’t have the required parts with him, so is returning this Thursday morning (i.e. one week later). So it looks as though I will get my fridge freezer fixed for Hotpoint’s standard £90 charge, but I am less than impressed with their customer service in sending out an engineer without the required part when I had informed the telephone operator of the problem. I am sure this is the same in many large companies though. Overall I am much more impressed with the service I received from my local independent engineer – the fact that I had a 5 year parts guarantee being the overriding factor for using Hotpoint in the end.
to be fair (and please dont take this the wrong way ) theyre hardly going to send an engineer with a compressor, because you say its gone, its usually the case, and quite often, customers, misdiagnose faults
and secondly, there will be multiples of compressors fitted depending on the model/serial number, so maybe he just didnt have the right one
and its another typical example of merloni cornering an already declining market, no way could your local guy touch that price…
sad, but a common occurence im afraid
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
it is also a little unfair to praise the first guy you called (who did not stock the part) and then criticise the hotpoint engineer because he doesnt carry the part either, i think a lot of people dont realise that the employed engineers only have the stock that is on their van, there is nowhere to go and pick one up, also the stock that is carried is not even decided by the engineer but by people sitting in offices
anyway, hopefully you will be back up and running in a few daysRe: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
hotpnt, I am not criticising the engineer for not having the part in stock, but suggesting that it is a flaw in Hotpoint’s systems that information given to customer services is not passed on to the engineers. I gave the model number of my appliance and had my serial number to hand had it been requested, so I would have liked Hotpoint to have arranged an appointment for a time when they could send an engineer with the relevant part. However, I appreciate helo_75’s point that customers may mis-diagnose faults themselves, resulting in unnecessary stock being acquired if the problem then proves to be something different, so it is probably standard practice not to do this. In my case, it was frustrating for me, as I knew I had not self-diagnosed but called in an engineer.
Anyway, the Hotpoint engineer called this morning and my fridge freezer is now fully operational again. My recommendation for the local business is purely based on the fact that I was able to communicate direct with the engineer and receive advice from him – and he was very helpful – rather than having to go through a call centre. Not really a criticism of Hotpoint any more than of any other large business these days and certainly not a criticism of the engineer who visited, who was friendly and efficient!
Once again, thank you to everyone on this forum who has helped. I will definitely visit the site again for assistance with any further problems, although I hope not to have any (perhaps helo_75 would say this is doubtful as I am now reliant on a repaired Merloni appliance!).
hey, you never know… dont take my comments too much to heart, im only trying to help
the most important thing is the fact that your up and running, lets not forget that
incidentally, i do work for one of the big companies you mentioned, and its always a difficult job to be in, constant pressure to keep costs down, whilst still maintaining a high performance ratio, and i dont know any engineer who actually carries a compressor as stock
you can always refer back to us if you need anymore advice… i just hope you found this site helpful
good luck
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
It seems I spoke too soon! More than 24 hours since the engineer visited to replace the compressor and neither fridge nor freezer is cold. I can hear sounds of water gurgling when I open the fridge door. I’ve just arranged for the engineer to visit again on Monday …
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
would agree with helo here, ‘water gurgling’ noises usually means low gas levels,
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
Hi
Turn your fridge freezer off…
If you leave it on then you have the possibility of damaging that new compressor,it would appear that the engineer has left a leak on one of the lockring connections they use.
Bryan
Re: Hotpoint FFA70 compressor
Well, the verdict last night was that … the compressor doesn’t work! So the engineer is returning next Wednesday to replace it again.
In light of Bryan’s advice, I wonder if there is another problem, which caused the compressor to fail again. I turned the fridge freezer off, but it had been on for around 30 hours while I hoped it was just taking its time to cool!
Once the engineer has replaced the compressor again, will he be able to tell straight away whether it is working and if there is another problem? I can see this as a viscious circle of new compressors otherwise … ending in a new appliance!
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