Raw Deal: Mum of two feels the chill as freezers keep breaking down

Moira Redmond’s bad mood is finally beginning to thaw after Raw Deal helped resolve a long-running dispute over her faulty freezer.

The mum of two was at her wits’ end with the Hotpoint cooler she bought online from Appliances Direct two years ago.

Within eight months it had broken down so was replaced with the same model. However, the same fault developed with the new freezer and Moira was advised to submit a claim for spoiled goods resulting from both incidents.

“I had countless visits from engineers,” said Moira, 45, from Burnside, Glasgow. “It was a real pain having to take time off work or having to arrange for someone to be in every time this happened.

“Hotpoint tried to repair the second freezer but the appliance failed again last October. Seven drawers full of food were ruined and I was without a freezer for more than two months until a new part was fitted.

“I kept being asked for photos of the ruined food or receipts for it in order to make a claim, but I didn’t have either.”

When Moira’s claim for the food was declined, she turned to Raw Deal for assistance and we helped her get a payment of £120 from Hotpoint.

This was in January but the saga didn’t end there. In June, the replacement freezer that had been fixed broke down yet again.

“It was infuriating,” said Moira. “The appliance started making a strange noise and it failed again due to the same fault. “Once more we had to pay for an engineer to come out but he said that there was no point in trying to repair the same recurring problem.”

However, this time Moira ran into difficulties trying to get a replacement from the domestic appliance specialists. The company informed her the cold-storage box was out of warranty.

“I felt that this wasn’t fair as the replacement appliance was not even six months old when it broke down,” said Moira.

“It was a ridiculous situation because there was clearly an issue with this particular model of freezer and I felt that it wasn’t fit for purpose. The hassle caused by the whole saga was unreal. It was exhausting.”

In frustration Moira once again turned to Raw Deal for help. The good news is that after investigating the issue, Hotpoint’s parent company, US-based Whirlpool, had a change of heart.

The firm has now given Moira a different model of freezer worth £500 as a replacement for the faulty appliance and has also agreed to reimburse her a further £120 for food that previously had to be binned.

Whirlpool said: “We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience with their freezer. We have contacted the customer and arranged for a replacement model to be delivered as soon as possible, as well as reimbursing them for food they lost.”

Moira was happy with the new model which came with a two-year warranty and said she was grateful to the Raw Deal for stepping in to help resolve the dispute. She added: “Once again, Raw Deal has come to the rescue. Keep up the good work.”

Your rights

If something has gone wrong with an item you’ve bought, you may be entitled to a refund, repair or replacement. It doesn’t matter whether you bought the item new or secondhand, you’ll still have rights.

Citizen’s Advice Scotland advises that you will have legal rights if the item you bought is: