Samsung Refrigerator issues

We are on our second Samsung fridge and no problems with either of them. I would definitely buy Samsung again.

That soumds like a very smart move. Their reviews on Product Review sum them up nicely.

Perhaps post one yourself.

Also check the reviews, if any, for your fridge model.

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Welcome to the Community @Reed,

There should be more to this story because even budget fridges should last upwards of 6 years

Without comment on the Harvey Norman franchise you dealt with, it could be so simple as a broken defrost fan or clogged drainway. Regardless they should have taken care of it.

How did you complain to your consumer affairs? Did you go through the formal processes described in the Australian Consumer Law, or just have informal emails and phone calls?

Considering your rights under the ACL (search on the Community as well as the internet) it seems there may be more to the problem, be it process and procedure or something else. Your first need is to collect evidence regarding the fridge history, each call out and repair, the dates and times of everything, and regardless of your past experience with ‘consumer affairs’ deliver a formal Letter of Complaint to your HN manager as well as to Samsung as you may be served better to contact them again after submitting more ‘documentation’.

Samsung may or may not help directly, and under the ACL the HN franchise ‘owns’ and is responsible for your problem and delivering or facilitating an outcome, although that does not suggest ‘the customer is always right’ in each case, and as a distant observer can make no conclusion based on a post.

If he/they fobs you off you should be aware numerous HN franchises have been fined $100,000s for misrepresenting your rights. Unfortunately each consumer has to assert them on their own, especially with those HN franchises that seem to operate over the edge of them when they can. As a minimum your HN manager should have become your proponent to Samsung.

A caveat is that even if one goes through all the proper processes and procedures, ‘Consumer Affairs’ sometimes can seem like a business protection unit and an unhappy customer needs to go to the xCAT tribunal, costly in time, preparation, and a process many consumers would not be comfortable embarking on, and the businesses know this. Consider if one goes to a consumer affairs without evidence and already having already followed and documented the process and procedure, they will ask the business their side and if the business has even the most basic evidence to support themselves in response to a ‘hard evidence’ free claim they can prevail. Think of it as a court where you have to explain every aspect to a magistrate who knows nothing about any of it and decides based on what is put in front of him, not just what is said to him, hoping that distinction makes sense.

Search the Community using the Community search tool for Australian Consumer Law, Letter of Complaint, and you should find useful guidance on how to proceed.

If you are a Choice member you can also get personal guidance via the Choice Help service. If you are and do, they are often busy so might take a few days to reply.

Let us know how you go; regardless it seems you have a dodgy fridge.

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Welcome to the Community @Reed

My relative who is a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning mechanic is currently dealing with a Samsung fridge that is forming a block of ice that has frozen the fans in place. No answer yet as to why this has happened.

A noisy fan is often due to ice build up around the blades, this can happen if the water that is produced is not able to drain away. A reason to suspect it is not draining properly is build up of water in the interior of the fridge such as on the bottom. The water usually drains to a tray that sits atop the compressor and evaporates as the compressor heats up while running. So if your fridge can be defrosted it may be worthwhile checking that the drainage tube has not become blocked, to do so I usually use a piece of whipper snipper line to feed up the the tube from where it exits near the compressor. The line needs to be about a metre in length to ensure there is enough to reach up far enough in the tube. The tube becoming blocked may not be considered a problem covered by ACL rights as it is can just be mould growing naturally in the tube because it can be a very moist environment if you live in a very humid climate and so lots of ice forming during cooling cycles so lots of water running off during the defrost cycles.

Regardless of this being said, it is still a problem that should be investigated but it may end up being at your cost to rectify. Among other reasons for ice build up can be a heater element not working, so de-icing does not occur during the system’s defrosting cycle, or a failed thermostat so the fridge becomes too cold, there may be other reasons but I have experienced those problems I have noted.

@PhilT has covered this well regarding what can/should be done regarding your rights.

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Others will give you better advice about your rights as a consumer than I can. I may be able to help though.

A common reason why modern fridges produce water is the auto-defrost system is not working properly. There are various things that go wrong but a common one is the drain is blocked. The system varies with model but it is fairly common to find a tray or channel under the cooling coils that collects the water during the defrost cycle and leads to a drain which takes the water down to an evaporation tray at the bottom, often on top of the motor.

Look at your fridge and find such a tray or channel, they are not always exposed, if hidden you may be out of luck. If you can see it check where the drain hole is, it may be blocked with gunk. Try to clean it out with a wooden skewer or similar, if the blockage is down the pipe you may be able to clear it with a stiff but flexible wire or cord. Something like line-trimmer cord or thin wire.

The second thing is check the temperature. It is not normal for ice to form inside except on the cooling coils. You may have it set too cold. Use a thermometer and let it equilibrate in various parts of the fridge and take note of the temperature. It should be about 3-4C, if it is down at zero turn up the thermostat to a higher temperature.

Thirdly, check the door seals. Poor seals will lead to moist air getting in which leads to excess water and ice inside. If you open and then close the door try to open it again a few seconds after it closes. If you get resistance (due to air pressure) to the second opening the seal is good. If you suspect it is not good try using a spatula or blunt flat knife around the edge. Open the door and put the blade across the seal then shut the door. The seal ought to grip the blade somewhat. Try this at (say) 10 cm intervals all the way round, it ought to give you a good idea where the seal is holding and where not. Replacing the seal may not be something you can do yourself but you will be in front if you call a repairman. You may also be able to improve the seals yourself by washing them (including in cracks and crevices) with warm soapy water. They work better and harbour less germs when clean. Once warm you may be able to stretch the seal, expand it if you like, in flat spots to improve its fit.

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We have had a Samsung fridge for some 20 years. Apart from having to have the thermostats replaced twice it has worked well. As you will be aware performance can vary between models and even within models for any brand. So don’t write the Samsung brand off completely.

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Hi, I also have a Samsung French Door fridge of around 8 years old and had the same problem with water. As others have said it was a blocked drain tube (behind a panel at the back of the fridge inside).

See Fixing Samsung Fridge Ice Buildup and Leaking Water under Crisper Tray - YouTube for video of how to fix it.

I did the same and have had no trouble with water in the bottom of my fridge since!

Defrosting alone may not work…get a hairdryer on it (but not on the highest heat setting).

Good luck,
Jim

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Welcome to the Community @jim3,

Thanks for that helpful first post. I hope @Reed is still following along to see it. If she still has her fridge and the problem, even if she cannot try this herself she might have a friend who can help.

If this is ‘The Resolution’ it would be a bad look on Samsung that their organisation and repair techs are not only oblivious, but also don’t use youtube (or google) to find solutions.

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Here is my correspondence with Samsung about a fridge we bought from the Good Guys. There were many phone calls with the continuing escalation of our problem ending with a completely crazy solution.

16 Nov 21

Dear Samsung,

Please see my email sent on 11 Nov 2021. We paid, out of our own pocket, for the recommended Samsung technician (Camtec) to look at the fridge. In their report, which was attached to the email, they state that the fridge is unrepairable. I also remark that every Samsung employee that I have had to speak to over the last week or so thinks that it is unreasonable for a fridge to be unrepairable after only a few years of use. I would appreciate it if you could provide me with the recordings of our conversations to support this.

I find your recent email below disturbing. The only solution you recommend is to contact Camtec to service the fridge. This is a ludicrous suggestion as they have already stated that the fridge is unrepairable. Can you please replace the product with a similar model or provide us with a refund.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,
Ben.


16 Nov 21

Dear Ben,

Your claim has been received by Samsung’s Voice of Customer team in Head Office.

We have thoroughly reviewed your claim and unfortunately Samsung is not prepared to offer you a free of charge remedy at this time.

We have considered the particular circumstances of your claim including the age of your product , the price you have paid ,your service history and the nature of the fault.

Samsung believes customer satisfaction is extremely important and invites you to contact our authorised repair agent to arrange an repair at a reasonable price should you wish to do so.

We note that your postcode is 5063, therefore we recommend you contact our service center on CAMTEC SA on [08 7099 0122].

Kind Regards,

Soheil | Voice Of Customer (VOC) Case Manager – CE


11 Nov 21

Dear Samsung (and The Good Guys, Marion),

I am writing with regard to a Samsung fridge we purchased through the Australian retailer, The Good Guys, 4/03/2017, (see attached, invoice.jeg). A fault with the fridge was identified within the warranty period and the Samsung recommended servicer/repairer (Camtec) came to our house to assess the problem. Since this time the fault with the fridge has worsened and we asked Samsung if they would be willing to send the technician to our house again to see if they could repair the fridge. Much to our disappointment, Samsung refused to pay for the technician to look at the fridge stating that the product was no longer covered by the warranty.

We decided to pay for the Samsung recommended repairer to look at the fridge again, Nov 2021. The report is attached to this email (INVOICE 2644.pdf). As you will see in his report, the fridge is unrepairable.

As of the date of this email, I have spoken again with Samsung about the problem and was very disappointed to hear that they are still not willing to replace the fridge, or offer a refund. We think this is completely unacceptable as a high-end fridge purchased new from a reputable retailer and manufacturer should still be in good working order.

According to Australian Consumer Law (ACL):

Warranties are separate from your automatic consumer guarantees. The consumer guarantees which apply regardless of any warranties suppliers sell or give to you, apply for a reasonable time depending on the nature of the goods or services. This means consumer guarantees may continue to apply after the time period for the warranty has expired.

In any case, we believe the fault occurred within the warranty period and it was not properly identified when the Samsung recommended technician first looked at the product.

We very much look forward to a positive response to this correspondence and are prepared to exercise our rights under ACL if the outcome is an unsatisfactory one. We also expect to be reimbursed for the cost of the most recent report of the Samsung recommend technician.

Best wishes,

Ben.


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Hi @benjamin , welcome to the community and for your first contribution.

Have you approached the Good Guys? They are responsible under the ACL and also have the following information as a guide they use (see MINIMUM VOLUNTARY WARRANTY POLICY GUIDE):

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Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your sad tale with Samsung.

I suggest that you have a look at other tales of woe relating to Samsung’s (lack of) customer service:
https://choice.community/t/samsung-fridge-bought-from-harvey-norman/25355

and there’s more.

If you have a read them you will see what has been recommended for consumers to do.

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Thanks, I will contact them

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The retailer owns the problem under the ACL so you need to send them a formal letter of complaint. There are formalities to writing one, search the Community for advice and links to Choice advice and the ACCC (legislation).

Anything less is idle chit chat. Let us know if you need further guidance, and how you go.

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I’m very disappointed with Samsung’s attitude about their poor quality repair/replacement. I will keep this in mind next time I am shopping.

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I’ll second that.

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Sorry to hear your experience.
I have also had a similar experience with a Samsung washing machine which failed while under warranty. We followed their warranty process, however Samsung was unable to supply a repair person for at least 6 weeks, my requests to escalate were refused, a letter of complaint was not even acknowledged, and we ended up paying a private repairer ourselves. I vowed never again to purchase any Samsung product and to share my experience as widely as possible. Once bitten, twice shy…
Good luck with your next steps (this wasn’t an option for me since the retailer had closed shop).

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Thanks, I have spoken / written to the Good Guys. Haven’t heard anything yet, and will start pestering them next week.

B

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I won’t be buying anything from Samsung. Maybe add Samsung to the shonky list wouldn’t be bad.

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If you wrote a formal letter of complaint it should have included a reasonable date for their response. Calling them is only idle chit chat unless they have agreed to help you.

In that vein I had a retailer step up on the last day specified in my letter of complaint, who assured they would help but needed another few days. I was very happy with the outcome they provided.

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PLEASE NOTE
A number of different threads, all to do with Samsung Refrigerators, has been combined into this one. As a consequence the posts are not in strict chronological order, but it will help people to be able to quickly find what others have written in regard to their issues with Samsung Refrigerators.

There are many other threads to do with other Samsung products, so please search for an existing thread relating to your product before starting a new one. Thanks.

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Five years and one month old $3000 at Harvey Norman. I rang Samsung told them exactly what was wrong. Twin cooler, cooling vents in fridge icing over resulting in early spoilage. Not good as I need to keep medication in the fridge, the temp gauge on the door showed no problem. Samsung could not tell me what might be wrong so or the cost so I went elsewhere. The repairman (ex-Samsung) has fixed 100’s of these.
Samsung told me that I did not qualify for any extended warranty but to ring back if I was not happy.
New cooling unit total over $600, now fixed. I can ring Samsung as they suggested, I can ring consumer affairs I can wear it.
Any suggestions please?

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