Will try to keep this short. I purchased a fridge freezer. After 6 months the refrigerator was not keeping food cool. After 3 repairs over the following months for the same problem which the company insisted I have and would not refund I felt 'bullied' to taking out an extended warrant at further cost. Note that clearly none of these repairs ever rectified the problem. The fridge then failed a further two times in the next 2 months and finally the manufacturer agreed to provide a replacement. Received this on 17th Jan 2014. They did however charge me for delivery of the new unit which I now believe they were not legally entitled to do (can anyone advise?) On 12th June I called to report the exact same fault occurring on the replacement. Engineer visited on 20th to undertake the same repair that had been attempted with the previous model. One week later fridge is no longer cold and at highest setting is struggling to maintain less than 10 degrees (which is not acceptable refrigerator temperature). Manufacturer are not dealing with this. Have been fobbed off with legal stuff copied and pasted see below which does not address my complaint in which I requested a refund. See response below:
*Whilst we understand the previous faults on the appliance we can see the warranty provided replaced the appliance for you.
All materials used in the manufacture of our appliances are selected for their durability and suitability for the part in question. Before any appliance is placed on the market, it undergoes exhaustive testing, as do the component parts.
Once production of an appliance begins we constantly review its performance.
Unfortunately, even with all our quality control measures in place, there will occasionally be times when a failure occurs. It is often difficult to determine whether this is due to a problem with the materials used, the manufacturing or indeed some external factor.
Indesit is committed to producing good quality products satisfactory for normal domestic use. We should clarify, however well made, some product may, after a period of time, need servicing or repair. When this happens we will always use our best endeavours to restore the product to full working order as quickly as possible.
As the product in question is an mechanical and electrical appliance it is susceptible to faults and breakdowns during its lifetime irrespective of price tier.
As an manufacturer we retain the right to attempt repairs on the appliance until successfully restored to original specification.
The Sale of Goods Act does not require that goods should remain fault free for any specific period or hold the seller/manufacturer responsible if goods develop faults that were not present at the time of purchase. Goods can break down through normal use, and a component failure does not mean that the product is not fit for purpose, not durable or has failed as a result of a manufacturers defect. There needs to be a fault that was present on the day of sale, even if it only becomes apparent later.*
I believe that I am still entitled to a refund for the faulty fridge (they are clearly unable to repair and legally I know I do not need to accept any further attempts at repair) and that I should also received the delivery charge back. Can anyone please help. I just want a fridge that works! They seem to be insinuating that I have already had a replacement under the extended warranty and am therefore not entitled to anything further however my belief is that this is effectively a new 'contract' and therefore there is still much more to be done.
Any advice would be gratefully received