Whirlpool Fridge Freezer - Bought 4/2/2020

[Jennifer_Banks]

Freezer working okay, fridge not functioning at all. Rang Whirlpool as they were the number given in the pack that we were given with the fridge. Was told that I had to ring Darty, Whirlpool have not repaired their own fridge freezers if they are bought from Darty for 2 years. Hung on for an hour and a half to get through to Darty. Was then transferred from technician to technician, final one said that there was nothing that he could do and he would have to come out and look at it. Guess when, June 11th! I said to him that that is nearly 2 weeks away, what does he suggest that I use in the intervening time? Am quite disgusted by the French After Sales Service, dare I say it, would not happen in Britain.

[Ken_Welsby]

Hate to tell you, it’s exactly what would happen in GB. Whirlpool has been overwhelmed by the probs of tumble driers with fire risk. And while some retailers are efficient with their after-sales service - John Lewis, for example – there are many who still think customers can wait for two weeks or even longer for a call. IIRC it took us three weeks to get the first call for a faulty oven – and then the techie had to make a return visit with the correct part. That was about six years ago, and soon afterwards we changed to British Gas home service, who have or had an excellent appliance servicing operation.

[Eddie]

There is a pandemic going on , you are very lucky to get someone to agree to come to your home at all

[graham]

Our experience with Darty aftersales is a good one (given that it was not influenced by a Covid-19 lock down).
Our new FF died a death and the engineer attended in good order and replaced a part or two. The FF functioned for a while then died again. Another call to Darty aftersales and their engineer again attended and declared the appliance dead as a dodo and order a replacement there and then. Problem: that make and model had been discontinued so they provided a brand new Samsung FF of similar value, installed it and took the old one away.
We were not without a FF for very long as I recall during these events and I think the new replacement was even delivered on a PH to boot!
So good customer satisfaction here with Darty, for sure.
I think the knack is not to bellow at them (not that I’m suggesting you did, I hasten to add) and they will respond adequately.
We have had similar experiences when returning faulty goods to emporia such as supermarkets despite some tales of dreadful attitudes to customer service. That has never been our experience with French purchases.
It’s surprising what a smile (even as you dial) can achieve!

[Mark]

I had something similar with a dishwasher bought from cdiscount, can’t remember the brand, but no matter what the manufacturer might say, they are the ones responsible for the warranty. It can be difficult to get the message across though. Seem to remember that the manufacturer sent someone out to replace the pump.

[anon88169868]

Googling this it seems to be a common issue - the underlying problem could be ice build up because of problems with the auto-defrost.

The following comment might give you something to work with as a temporary fix

Just dealt with this problem with my fridge in the garage. What happened is that massive amounts of frost built up on the evaporator in the freezer section. This ice built up to a point where airflow to the fridge section was almost completely cut off and the fridge section became quite warm. One quick test is to turn off the unit and open the freezer up after you remove the food and let it fully defrost. After the freezer is defrosted, turn the unit back on and if the fridge cools back to normal then you are looking at a problem with the defrost unit most likely. The defroster is a heating bar or heat lamp that keeps frost from building up on the evaporator. Usually this is a simple fix to repair, although the labor charges can push this into the $200-300 range quite easily.

It has to be something like this as normally fridge/freezers only have a single heat exchanger so it can’t be compressor or lack of coolant or anything like that if the freezer section is working.

[SuePJ]

Sorry, easy to be wise after the event, but in case you ever need to buy another one I REALLY recommend buying from your local white goods supplier. You may pay a bit more but the service will be brilliant. Our supplier always comes out the same day, into the evening if necessary.

[Jane_Williamson]

We have had excellent after sales service from Darty, in fact, that is why we buy from them if we have to.
As I type, I am looking at my Whirlpool Fridge/freezer bought when Whirlpool was Whirlpool over twenty years ago. It has moved house twice, once in UK and now lives happily in my French kitchen.
It is the stainless steel model, and because it has some scratches on the inside of the doors which are not visible from the exterior, I managed to buy it half price.
I do hope you manage to resolve your problem.