AIBU to think a £1200 fridge should last longer than 5 years?

[ManyTimesMummy]

Sooooo, I spent A LOT of money (£1200) buying a Falcon fridge, was reno-ing the kitchen, really wanted to buy quality etc etc. After five years it looks like this, the ice-maker doesn't work, the display is stuck... and parent company AGA Rangemaster have offered to take it away and give me for £253.35... It's only five years old!!!!!! AIBU to think that's completely outrageous?? Surely you would expect a fridge from that company, at that price to last more than five years??? I don't need a new fridge, just want my super shabby one repaired and working. AIBU?

I would be pissed off at that.
Are you in England? In England your statutory rights cover expected life span up to six years so that's on top of guarantee.

YANBU. I have a 5 year old fancy Dualit toaster with a broken timer dial and which no longer toasts evenly anyway. I contacted Dualit and it was looking at about £80 just to fix the timer dial. I've probably got a 20-year old supermarket toaster from my student days in the loft that would still work.

Yes I'm in Kent... thanks for your message!! How do you know 6 years is the expected lifespan?

For large electrical appliances or furniture the expected reasonable life span is six years in England (only five in Scotland)

Have a Google at Which? Don't sign up the consumer stuff is all viewable and really useful for guides on how to word the letters.

In my opinion it's definitely worth a couple of formal letters because you only bought that particular fridge for the water dispenser (!) and now it's useless.
I love Which? I've been guided through a small claim by them, I felt like Kavannah QC

If you don't get anywhere with the useful information in previous posts, I was going to suggest try calling Domestic and General.

You won't be able to sign up for the regular, least expensive plan for working appliances, but they have a service where you can book a repair + set up plan.

If you work it out thats a really good offer. £253.35 x 5 equals £1266 so you've had 5 years use at that.
They wont offer a replacement or a full refund so to be perfectly honest I'd snap their hands off at that figure.

@TheQueef, and @jartastic thanks so much for your info!!

@Adobe Not sure that's good value... I bet if I went into an Aga/ Rangemaster showroom and was considering buying the equivalent, and asked them how long I could expect it to last, they would NOT "Oh a good 5 years!!!!" In fact, maybe that's what I'll do... AND the other bit that's a bit outrageous is that they're not giving me that money towards repair, THEY WANT THE FRIDGE BACK TOO! If they were giving me the money and I could use it to repair the existing fridge, that might be ok... All I want is my fridge to work... sigh...

Wtf.
I have my mum and dads old fridge which was only meant to be for a couple months after i bought my new house...
That was 3 years ago....they had it around 12 years before i did. The ice maker still works. The lights only just gone.

5 years is diabolical for an appliance costing so much! Id expect a minimum 10 years.

I feel like all modern appliances are just not built to last. Mum still has a tumble dryer thats nearly 30 years old and works perfectly. Her food processor is 25 years old.

Defo be writing some letters!

Built-in obsolescence I suspect! en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

@bunsofanarchy I AGREE! 5 years is ridiculous... no one expects to buy a new £1200 fridge every 5 years! I'd be outraged to buy a £300 fridge every 5 years! And going for a big name, trusted brand should be some protection shouldn't it??

@marythorne Do you really think? Could they intend them to die in 5 years? What and people just buy another one???

Can I suggest you ask your question on an actual consumer rights forum if you don't believe me that it's a decent offer.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173

My Siemens fridge is 19 years old, dishwasher 20, dualit toaster-not sure but at least 25.

To the person whose lights gave gone, have you changed the bulbs?

@adobe thanks, and that's a good suggestion. I did speak with the Citizen's Advice Agency who thought I had a good case based on no one expecting to buy a new fridge every 5 years... Aga seem to think it's reasonable too, though if you went into one of their showrooms I don't think they'd be saying you have to replace their products every 5 years...

@exploding My previous fridge lasted forever... only updated when renovating the kitchen and it didn't fit... wish I still had it. Silly me.

My Rangemaster cooker is nearly 5 and looks like crap. Would never buy from them again. It’s the only non German thing in my kitchen and it is obviously inferior!!!

My AEG fridge is 5yo also bought for a kitchen renovation and is immaculate, looks new apart from the shelves could do with a wipe and works perfectly.
I would be pissed if a key part of it wasn't working. I would say that's not the state I'd expect it to be in after 5 years. I would be expecting more than that and would be quoting sales of goods act

@MrsMWA It's really not what you expect when you buy something from a big name brand like Rangemaster, is it!!

@wonkylegs, yes, I think I might have to. They made me the £253.35 offer and I thought they were joking... asked them to email it to me so I have it in writing!!!

AIBU to think they'll just delete it from their Facebook page and not respond?

@MrsMWA if you have a photo of your Rangemaster cooker.... I'd love to see it! x

They probably hope you'll go away and are trying to fob you off, be persistent and you might well find they come back with a more reasonable offer

Difficult to see but silver has come off the buttons and they are cheap and plasticy. Not expecting super high quality at this price point but this is rubbish for just over four years’ light use.

@ManyTimesMummy potentially, certainly it's thought to be fairly common practice with manufacturers to ensure consumers replace old things with new www.forbes.com/sites/adamsarhan/2017/12/22/planned-obsolescence-apple-is-not-the-only-culprit/#7d70d65e3cf2