Small chest freezer

[Julian_P]

Hi, I have a small cheap chest freezer that stopped cooling properly when it was about 20 months old. The factory engineers paid a visit and said that it had an evaprator leak with gas. I thought that was the end of the line for it but now they say that a repair is possible.

Is this correct or not? To me it looks like the evaporator is contained within the steel outer shell and there is not a way to get to it without pulling the freezer to bits which doesn’t look possible given its unitary construction?

Any ideas? Thanks Julain

[SAMURI]

Re: Small chest freezer

If it has a leak on the evaporator then it would be non repairable.

If it is re-gassed without repairing the leak then it will fail again.

If the leak is small and not detectable then it will last just long enough for the warranty to run out.

Bob

[Martin]

Re: Small chest freezer

…….or it could just be a ruse to get you to pay their service charge only for them to then admit it cannot be repaired after all.

I wonder what make and who we refer to here?

[Julian_P]

Re: Small chest freezer

Thanks for the replies. It’s pretty much as I expected regarding the ”evaporator leak.”

I’d rather not say too much on a public forum as I’m working towards a Small Claims case with the (large) supplier and wouldn’t want to compromise my position. But basically my claim is based on the fact that the freezer failed after 20 months and should reasonably be expected to last about10 years and the cost of the home appliance engineer call-out who has basically produced a nonsense report which I have obtained from them. (with difficulty I might add)

I shall probably be looking for the services of a expert to produce written evidence at some stage (volunteers?) and will look to recover this cost too from the supplier.

Julian.

[iadom]

Re: Small chest freezer

Julian_P wrote: and should reasonably be expected to last about10 years

That would depend on what the make of appliance is, and stating the make and model should not compromise your claim.

If it is cheap, own brand Chinese made or other similar budget equipment then ten years is very, very optimistic. 😉

[Julian_P]

Re: Small chest freezer

Hi it’s a Lec CF200LW

Julian

[iadom]

Re: Small chest freezer

So probably now cheap Chinese.
LEC

[Julian_P]

Re: Small chest freezer

I’m not sure what you’re getting at here. You would have to have come over from the planet Zog to not realise that all of this stuff nowadays is cheaply made tat mainly from the far east.

However the adverts for these products don’t say ”Cheap Chinese, it won’t last a reasonable length of time” so I simply don’t accept whatever point it is that you’re trying to make. The internet is awash with data regarding what would be an acceptable life span for a chest freezer and this will form the basis of any argument.

But this really isn’t the point, my annoyance is with the poor and derisory offer I’ve been made and the disingenuous nature of the manufacturer’s report. I’m not sure if I will win the case or not, but I’m going to make sure that they will have to expend time and effort to defend themselves if they choose to do so.

Julian

[Martin]

Re: Small chest freezer

Julian_P wrote: The internet is awash with data regarding what would be an acceptable life span for a chest freezer and this will form the basis of any argument.

Could you perhaps enlighten us as to what then was the average “acceptable life” period for a device such as this from your Internet searching?

[Julian_P]

Re: Small chest freezer

In short Martin, No. I’m not here to educate people regarding reasonable life expectancy – you can do your own research. But I’ll say one thing, 20 months isn’t near good enough.

[SAMURI]

Re: Small chest freezer

All products have an expected life and 20 months is a lot less than expected.

The problem is you have to prove it is a manufacturing fault and as it is a mechanical item this is hard to prove and this could be put down to you being unlucky that the item failed.

It is sometimes better to take a more softer approach with the manufacture and say you and your family have always purchased Lec items and on this occasion you have been disappointed with the life of the product and the service you have received.

Ask them if they could look on it sympathetically to restore you and your family’s faith in Lec products but expect to make a contribution towards a replacement as you have had 20 Months of use.

If you get nowhere by being nice I would be surprised as most manufactures like to keep there good name if you go though there customer relations department.

If you take the legal route I do not hold up much hope of you winning your case as it is hard to prove unless you can obtain an indipendent report to prove it is a manufacturing fault.

Let us know how you get on as I have had customers who are lawyers and have still not got anywhere with the legal route.

On some occasions I have been to customers and phoned the manufacturer for them and said to them the appliance has not reached its expected life and I have explained to the customer they have been unlucky as this is rare for this manufacturer to have problems.

In most cases the customer care department have offered to replace the item based on the age of the appliance so if it is 20 months you would have to expect if the life of a small freezer is expected as approx 5 years then you would be expected to pay 40{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} towards the cost of a replacement.

If it would have been say 14 months then a lot of manufacturers then sometimes use there discretion if it has not been misused and replace free of charge.

If it is 20 Months then the only way is if you try to be nice to the manufacturer and hope they will try to keep the customer happy to get future custom from you your friends and family.

Bob

[Martin]

Re: Small chest freezer

Julian_P wrote:In short Martin, No. I’m not here to educate people regarding reasonable life expectancy – you can do your own research. But I’ll say one thing, 20 months isn’t near good enough.

OK Julian I won’t press you on the point as the relevance to the existing circumstances you are suffering with your freezer bears little or no relation to its overall “life expectancy”. The facts are that it has failed and (apparently) is repairable. That being the case its “life” isn’t exactly at an end.

Now I’m sure you will accept that electro-mechanical devices can, at some point in time, fail. Again you don’t have to come from the planet Zog to appreciate that. And that, as a consumer, your rights to ensure the product doesn’t fail are protected by an obligatory one year product guarantee. Beyond that period you have the option to protect the product further by paying for an extended warranty. And it is apparent from your statements that you didn’t take up that option, hence the predicament you are now faced with.

Fair wear and tear can also be a bone of contention when products like this fail in such a short period (I hasten to add that I agree with you in that 20 months isn’t very long and I too would be miffed about it if it were my freezer). Chest freezers can and often are subjected to the most adverse conditions in terms of location. Very often in the back of someone’s unheated garage or jammed into a poorly ventilated corner of a utility room or back porch. Freezing winter temperatures, unbearable summer heat, cobwebs and dust blocking the vents. All manner of overlooked abuse. That gleaming white box you paid 180 quid for could potentially have had a hard time of it this last 20 months.

But if the freezer failed to a point where is was unrepairable or that you could prove the cost of repair was disproportionate given its age. Somewhat contrary to my colleague Samuri’s refering to the manufacturer, you might have a case against the supplier. Though many before you have tried and failed in cases such as this. I don’t hold out much hope toward you succeeding. But wish you well and would love to hear from you the outcome. :tup:

[SAMURI]

Re: Small chest freezer

I know the first port of call is the retailer but the manufacturers like to keep there good name so this is an option.

Bob

[Julian_P]

Re: Small chest freezer

Just for those still interested, today I have been offered the retail price, engineer call-out and £25 court fee if I drop the case. It seems that the retailer came to the sane conclusion that a court would agree that a 20 month life-span would not be judged acceptable.
Martin, a pretty good attempt at the filibustering, common sense won the day eh?
Julian

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