If you didn't buy a BBY PSP then don't call them. They outsource repairs to you local guy and I can't imagine they'd care if you have a lemon. Call the Manufacturer like Meg suggests.

Just my $.02

This raises an important question: How will someone manage to blame the victim for this one?

Exactly, you're fridge breaking is not Best Buy's fault, you should be beating down Samsung's door about swapping the fridge, since it is a manufacturer's warranty you possess.

In before "breeder," "crotchfruit," and/or "snowflake."

"Reader and Flickr Pool member Steve has 6 kids and no fridge thanks to Best Buy."

I'd be shocked if Best Buy stuck me wtih 6 kids!

Yeah, I think that title could use a little work.

You could probably just trade one of your kids for a good fridge on Craigslist and save the $300.

You'd actually wanting to be dropping the fridge off at 105 Challenger Road (The Samsung North American HQ) Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660, it's off the NJ Turnpike exit 18E, and fairly tricky to get to if you haven't been through that complex before. ;)

@Ariah:

Let me take a crack at that Ariah...LOL
There's one sentence that sticks out in my mind why he is having this issue: "Last April 6th we purchased a new Samsung refrigerator from Best Buy."

Problem 1: Samsung Fridge
-Buying a fridge from people whose core competency is entertainment...not a good purchase.

Problem 2: Best Buy
-Anyone who reads this blog knows that Best Buy isn't exactly known for their customer service.

I'd dump it..the personal satisfaction would be great..too bad he told them he was going to do it.

It's not BB's fault. Talk to your manufacturer.

@AlteredBeast:

The title says "for the fourth time"...so he actually has 24 kids.

I may be able to help if this is a Best Buy CANADA purchase. I hear the US agents for bestbuy are terrible but we usually point out the no lemons policy in Canada when it hits the 4th repair and all we need from the tech that we contract out is if a part needs to be replaced. If it does we setup for the customer to go to the store of there choosing (after telling us) and they'll exchange it.

@laserjobs:

Trade in all the kids. That will save thousands of $$$$

Depending on where you are, you could just put your food in the garage...it'd stay plenty cold, at least here in Ohio.

@ironchef: But the tax deductions are marvelous!

As I am in a bad mood today - thanks to some Helpdesk retard at work, I will go ahead and REALLY say what I mean. BestBuy is clueless about processing, provisioning and managing service calls. Why - because the person who used to manage it well faced so many bottlenecks and bereaucratic nonsense that he quit. The other guy who came on board knew jack shit about this stuff - it was an internal "promotion" and he was the one who signed off on RFP's of vendors (hint hint). So from the s/w they use to the practice they manatin to the way they handle complaints - it incredbly mindnumbingly bad.

To see an example - if you think I am kidding - next time you go to BestBuy, just look at the POS computer terminal they are using. It's something out of a 1983's middle-school classroom in Tokea, Kansas.

SIX KIDS?!?!

/better than 5 cable boxes

@milty45654: Actually Samsung branded appliances are manufactured by Maytag. Which is also Whirlpool, Kenmore (Sears only), and Frigidaire. Small world, isn't it?

Sounds like it's EECB time for both Best Buy and Samsung-BBY for failing to honor their own lemon policy, and Samsung for having a craptacular refrigerator. It's in Samsung's best interest to resovle this; if this kind of issue keep happening with their major appliances Best Buy may think twice about selling Samsung appliances if it keeps getting in the way of selling a product that's causing lots of grief for them post-sale.

Anybody know what Sammy's appliance repair history is like? Better/worse than Whirlpool, GE and Electrolux?

@ironchef:
lol

Its not Best Buy's fault that hes a breeder! ;-p

@Ariah:

Maybe - just maybe - because a broken defrost element does not SPOIL food - it just keeps the freezer from defrosting, like they never did for ages before.

OK - Now I suppose the broken element is shorting out the system so fridge won't run at all, but it's not mentioned.

Sounds rather like some part of the fridge is wired for the wrong voltage and that is burning out the element/controls. Or maybe a 110v element in a 220v fridge?

Are there 220v units for homes? She did describe it as a 'behemoth'.

@winstonthorne: Interesting: I knew that Electrolux sourced a ton of the low-end front loaders (Kenmoore and GE), but I didn't think that for as big as Electrolux is that they'd source their fridges to Maytag/Whirlpool. Hell, what's left of any of the Maytag production lines post-merger anyway?

BEST BUY SUCKETH

.

See, milk going bad shouldn't be a problem with six kids. They should be drinking it by the gallon as you bring it home.

"When I called Best Buy they told me that the policy is that when an appliance is repaired 4 times they replace it, but they refuse to replace this one."

1. New fridge from Costco.

2. Take Best Buy to small claims court, show judge your contract highlighting the lemon clause, collect money.

3. Tell everyone you know your story.

4. Never shop at Best Buy again.

First of all, great photographs. Second of all, I would go directly to Samsung and bypass the Best Buy jerks. My guess is that under Samsung's warranty, they'll stick you with a refurb replacement fridge, or maybe you can ask for one; that way you'll have a working fridge.

ok, here is the confusing parts. why is bestbuy responsible for the 6 kids?

secondly, why doesn't anyone review the product they are planning on buying? the web does have it's useful features.

third, and the fun one, why is this guy who is obviously a daily consumerist reader buying something at bestbuy knowing he is gonna have problems if something goes wrong?

as for the fridge, sell it while it still works craigslist, ebay, kijiji, whatever! just dump it off cut your losses and RESEARCH your next fridge! a good source is the baby boomer staple "Consumers Reports" failing that try epinions.com or cnet

Call the manufacturer before the warranty expires. You will get a factory authorized tech to come out and fix your fridge, instead of a low bid sub-contractor sent by Best Buy.

I don't enjoy saying this, but people need to shop locally. Support your independent dealers, more so if they also do service. I'm aware of a lot of independent dealers not offering LGs and Samsungs due to their repair rates, and the availability of parts. For a good reason, as shown here.

Support your independent appliance dealers and service techs!

Next time, have less kids.

@winstonthorne:
You couldn't be wronger if your name was Wrongy Wronginstein. Whirlpool Corporation consists of: Whirlpool, Kitchenaid, Maytag, Jennair, Magic Chef, Amana, Roper and Inglis. Frigidaire is made by Electrolux. Kenmore is made by everyone, including GE, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and LG. It all depends on the model you are looking at. Samsung used to have Maytag manufacture other items like washers/dryers, dishwashers and ranges for them, but it is all now manufactured by Samsung themselves.

And as far as all this crap goes about a bad fridge, I agree with a few people above that mentioned this is a MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY. YOU NEED TO SPEAK TO THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT THESE REPEAT PROBLEMS. Unless you buy an extended warranty, you should not be biatching that Best Buy won't replace it. It's not their problem. It's Samsung's. Last I knew, with the exception of Dynex and Insignia products, Best Buy doesn't have little elves putting together fridges in their warehouse.

A word of caution: If your refrigerator is on a surge protector that basically means you're running the fridge through an extension cord. Make sure the surge protector is rated to handle the draw from the appliance, which can be anywhere from 6A to 15A depending on the type and size of fridge you have.

Alright, I don't have any kids. I'm not going to have any. I don't want any. I still think it's ridiculous for people to say that the problem is that Steve has 6 kids. I have nice food in my refrigerator, and if it stopped working I'd be pissed if I had to wait a week to have someone even come and look at it. If it happened multiple times for the same product I'd be REALLY pissed. There's a reason these are categorized as "durable goods," they're supposed to LAST a while.

What difference does it make if he's got 6 kids or 6 beautiful 10-oz filets? He bought a product that should work, they seem unable to make it work properly, it's not unreasonable to want it replaced with one that works after the 4th instance of the same failure in less than a year.

If you don't like kids, move into a retirement community with a minimum age limit. Don't use kids as a reason to blame the buyer of a product for the product's shoddy quality.

@alhypo: Next time, have less kids.

"We have a combined family of 8 (4 kids under the age of 9 and two 13 year olds)."

I know you're kidding, but everyone is assuming this guy personally had six kids. "Combined" indicates a few possibilities here:

- OP is widowed or divorced with kids and remarries, spouse has previous kids. (e.g. Brady Bunch)
- Adoption or foster kids (especially of multiple siblings).
- Or any combination thereof.

With eight in the house, the family could probably use a second refrigerator (provided they have the space) in case one should fail.

DeliBoy

@MustyBuckets:
Seconded. We were fridge shopping a couple of years ago, heading to the "big box" stores, and noticed a tiny 'lil Maytag franchise less than a mile from home that we'd never even considered prior. Honestly, from the road it looked like a dump, but we thought "WTF, let's see what's up..."

We received informative, personalized service, got a competitive price, 2-day, on-time delivery, and we also were able to arrange to have them take not only the old fridge, but also a dead fridge and a dead chest-freezer out of my garage in the bargain (I did duke them an extra 20$ for that, as pre-arranged; my local Waste Management wants 35$ just to come out for major appliances, and about that much again per item...).

I would assume this guy does have the Best Buy warranty, since without said warranty they would never come out to fix it in the first place.

"Reader and Flickr Pool member Steve has 6 kids and no fridge thanks to Best Buy."

Seriously? BB hooked him up with 6 kids? I didn't realize they engaged in human trafficking, too.

Obviously however many kids someone has is of no consequence to Best Buy. If you have six kids, perhaps it might be a good idea to have an inexpensive second refrigerator in the basement or garage. This will enable you to buy bulk.

Regardless, Best Buy is required to properly support the products they sell. In spite of Samsung's recent move upmarket, they're still fairly low end products and the internal componentry is generally quite chintzy. I'll bet that Best Buy is overwhelmed with what appears to be a systemic failure. This is probably why they're pushing back.

First, check with your credit card. Many will handle this type of stuff on your behalf.

Then, if that doesn't work. Send a firm but friendly letter explaining the problem to Best Buy's Customer Service Department. Make sure to CC the President of Samsung America, Dong-Jin Oh. Also CC the president of Best Buy, Brian Dunn. Add fluff that compliments Samsung and Best Buy and that this experience is clearly an exception. Also say that you expect a response by email or letter as to how they plan to resolve this. Give them a time limit by when they need to respond.

If that doesn't work, consider it a cheap price to pay to know what brands to avoid going forward.

@Roadkill: Maybe they should start trafficking all the employees who stand around when someone needs help. That'd help clear up the store.

As an appliance salesman I have to say that Best Buy is not responsible. All appliances these days come with a one year parts and labor warranty from the manufacturer. What that translates to is that it's not Best Buy's fault or problem.

Usually a good firm call to the company's customer service will result in the replacement of the refrigerator at no cost to the customer, especially when you have it documented with service records that it is a manufacturer defect and has broken 4 times in a row.

"Butbutbut...I always use my lack of proper birth control and family planning as an appeal to emotion when problems arise!"

/BB is still teh deevil!

Hey all. I'm guessing since best buy is doing the service on his refrigerator he purchased their service plan. If so then he qualifies for the lemon clause of the plan (not a state law but in the contract of the plan). More information can be found on this page - [www.bestbuy.com]

Here is the relevant quote
"No Lemon Policy
If your product requires 4 qualifying repairs, we will provide a replacement of comparable performance. Technological advances may result in a replacement product with a lower selling price than the original product."

Awww... I liked the original title better--it was funny. Remember what I told you before, Meg: middle school english teachers trapped in consumerist bodies.

[consumerist.com]

:)

We are sort of in the market for a new fridge. Ours is getting old and were socking away the money for a new one.
Whatever I end up getting either needs to be from a local place that does their own repairs or one that ALL of the warranty and complaints go direct to the manufacturer. There are just too many horror stories about people trying to get appliances repair from Sears, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes etc.

In looking it seems like the price of a fridge has gone through the roof. Almost all the ones at Lowes were $2500 unless you wanted an old style white apartment fridge. We did see a side by side at Menards for $999.

@Areric: That's what I understand too. But there are some details missing from the story. Why is Best Buy refusing to replace it? Does he have a service plan from Best Buy?

It doesn't sound like he does, since he purchased it "last April 6" and is afraid of the warranty expiring on April 6 of this year. There's no 1 year service plan from Best Buy.

If he doesn't have a service plan from Best Buy, then it's not Best Buy's problem and he should take it up with Samsung.

Lemon laws take effect in this case. BBY has little recourse but to work with you in this case to resolve it.

Failing this, a call to your local magistrate or gov't rep can put a burr under their saddle.

Oh, and a EECB never hurt matters any either.

cant you get a fridge directly from maytag, dont they have a good track record? best thing to do is check out BBB and see who ranks lowest I guess.

@MustyBuckets:

True, shop locally unless, of course, Best Buy used predatory pricing to drive their competition out of business. In our area, BB opened a new store several years ago just a block from a very popular locally owned discount appliance/electronics store. BB's prices were fantastically low (to say the least) when the store opened -- far lower prices than anywhere else. Needless to say the local store's customer base went away and it closed. Guess what happened to those fantastic prices when that happened.