Beko fridge freezer fires: should there be tougher penalties?

Companies occasionally have to recall products because they could be unsafe. The problem here is that Beko did not take prompt action when they were aware of faults.

The ‘Electrical Safety First’ website, allows you to search for recalled electrical products. Recalling a product can be very expensive and is bad for the reputation of the brand, so there may be other companies aware of faults but keeping quiet about them.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you have a smoke detector in every room, especially where electrical appliances are left on unattended.

Good find wavechange. Thanks for that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_Safety_First

Although manufacturers are sometimes helpful, they currently have no legal responsibility for goods that fail outside the warranty period. They should have referred you to the retailer, though the retailer could expect you to provide evidence that the product was faulty at the time of manufacture to qualify for free repair under the Sale of Goods Act.

The best solution is, I believe, to look for products with a free extended warranty.

Fridges and freezers are generally fairly reliable, irrespective of brand.

wavechange – I think your advice is wrong and to be honest I am a little surprised.

No compressor on a fridge should fail within two years and therefore the retailer is liable for the replacement. It is not a case of proving anything – compressors are built for years and years of work.

In this instance I would imagine for the retailer it would be a simple task of replacing the freezer and dedcuting the cost of a Beko invoice.

Dieseltaylor – To quote from the Trading Standards website:

“DAMAGES
You are entitled to claim damages from the trader to cover your losses if they were caused as a direct result of the goods being faulty . This is called consequential loss. For example, if your washing machine developed a fault and clothing was torn, you could claim for the cost of the clothing as well as seeking repair, replacement, full or partial refund from the trader.

Proving the fault
If you intend to reject the goods for a full refund because you have not accepted them, it is YOU, the consumer, who needs to prove that there has been a breach of contract in that the goods are not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or as described at the time of purchase. If you have accepted the goods and are seeking repair or replacement within the first six months after purchase, it is for THE TRADER to prove that the goods conformed to the contract (were not faulty) at the time they were sold to you. If you are claiming repair or replacement more than six months after purchase, the burden of proof is back to YOU, the consumer.

If you are in dispute with the trader, you may need to obtain an expert opinion to establish what the problem is, how it was caused, what it will take to sort out the problem and who is to blame. Please see our ‘Getting Evidence to Prove Your Claim’ leaflet for more information”

A similar interpretation can be found on the Which? website.

You and I know that the compressors of fridges and freezers can be very reliable. I disposed of a 25 year old fridge because of a faulty door seal and I have a 35 year old freezer. This is not always the case and I had some very unreliable ones in my research labs along with ones that belonged in a museum. The problem is that durability is not defined by the Sale of Goods Act, which is why it is so difficult to get support from retailers.

At one time it was fairly common to include a ten year compressor warranty on domestic refrigeration equipment, but I believe that these disappeared when selling expensive extended warranties became popular.

I would love you to prove me wrong by giving examples of how you or others have been supported by retailers when products have failed between the end of the warranty and the six year (five in Scotland) period covered by the Sale of Goods Act. My comments to P Chadwick were intended not to offer false hope. With one major exception, I have had better support from manufacturers, despite the fact that they have no legal responsibility for dealing with out-of-warranty problems.

RecallUK was closed because of lack of funding. The existing information remained accessible for a short time, but has now been withdrawn. Electrical Safety First has a searchable database that has improved greatly and is useful for electrical goods. VOSA has comprehensive information for cars.

The Rapex website maintains a comprehensive list of recalls within the EC, but I find it very difficult to use. I wish we still had RecallUK.

Firstly, thanks for posting more information. The first call-out then provides a reference point that all was not well. The requirement to prove something was faulty I think is a complete red herring where the failed item is already established – it is a compressor – compressors are not subject to some mythical lifespan they a known to be reliable longer lasting piece of kit.

I would spend some more time on this but have more important things currently to do. I would mention that bring consequential loss into the posting adds nothing to clarify durability/reliability apropos SoGA .

Andy Trigg is interesting as always:
http://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/faulty-appliances-sale-of-goods-act/

Citizens Advice Bureau I think agrees with me : )

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_common_problems_with_products_e/faulty_goods_e/what_is_meant_by_not_of_satisfactory_quality.htm

“Last for a reasonable length of time in a reasonable condition
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 doesn’t say exactly how long goods should last. The general rule is that goods should last for a reasonable time and in reasonable condition. For example, a new car should last for several years in a reasonable condition but you may need to replace some of its parts over time.
If goods don’t last as long as they should, they probably weren’t of satisfactory quality when you bought them. For example, if the sole on a shoe comes away after a few weeks of normal wear, this suggests that it was never of satisfactory quality.
You may need an expert’s opinion on how long a particular item can normally be expected to last.”

I would not expect to see the retailer wanting to pay for an expert witness fee on the length of life of a Compressor.

As Andy says on his website: “Retailers and manufacturers have always stubbornly refused to entertain most claims for free repairs or compensation after the 12 month period and most consumers have historically accepted this even if begrudgingly at times.”

When he contributed to our discussion on washing machines he suggested that the responsibility for repairs etc. out of warranty should pass from the retailer to the manufacturer. I believe there is a good case for this because the cheaper washing machines are built to a very poor standard and now made in a way whereby a relatively simple task such as bearing replacement requires replacement of the entire tub assembly. If manufacturers were responsible for footing the bill for repairs, they would have to go back to making machines that could be repaired economically.

Any refrigeration service engineer should be able to confirm that while compressors on fridges and freezers tend to be reliable and can last a very long time, not all of them do so. As I mentioned earlier, ten year warranties on compressors used to be quite common and I see no reason why we can’t have ten year warranties on all fridges and freezers, which would protect those who are unlucky enough to have a premature failure.

No problem Mr P . It is just a real life example to work through. It is interesting how despite much discussion some people are still bemused by SoGA.

As I often mention the Germans thing 9.5 years is where you test a washing machine to – and I go with them as what is acceptable. Afterall is there anyone else testing washing machines for 6 months solid?

There was a recent recall for Hotpoint and Indesit dishwashers and some time ago, a huge recall of Bosch dishwashers sold under their name and other brands. A huge number of owners have not responded and are probably not aware of the problem, and the same applies with the Beko fridge-freezers.

I don’t see why kitchen appliances are made with materials that can catch fire. Metals are not a problem and plastics that are self-extinguishing are available. No doubt profits are more important than safety.

I cannot find a recall of Beko dishwashers although an incident in Derbyshire is reported on various websites including whitegoodshelp.

There is a small risk of kitchen appliances catching fire, irrespective of make: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/09/tvs-more-likely-to-catch-fire-than-irons-332851/

Bosch should be making their own compressors I would have thought. Your recourse is to the retailer – perhaps you could name them and also advise the Bosch model number.

Your household insurance may cover you though making a claim and taking into account any excess I doubt it will make much sense to claim on your insurance.

As to the retailer I would hope that as they sold a manifestly faulty product they would make a gesture[politely] by paying a sum. Legally I am wondering about consequential loss and perhaps trawling the Web will find some information for you.

Do please post the info as if there is a common fault for that model number we may yet get a datebase that is useful.

The compressor may have a label showing the name of the manufacturer.

It is common for fridges and freezers to be fitted with compressors made by other manufacturers. Danfoss is an example of a large compressor manufacturer.