Beko issued an important safety notice regarding some of its frost free fridge freezers. Beko have said that, “in a very small number of cases it could result in overheating”.
The defrost timer is the problem, whose job it is to trigger a heating element to defrost.
However, within several weeks of posting this warning things have escalated to such a serious degree that this safety warning is on the National news. The phrase, “could result in overheating” should now be read as, “could result in a serious fire producing an enormous amount of toxic smoke.” According to one newspaper these fridges have so far caused at least 20 fires in London alone and one death.
There is a free modification to the defrost timer, which any owners of the fridges should definitely get sorted out asap.
Use this link to check with Beko Please check your Beko Fridge Freezer Now
What Beko advise
Currently, they say over 500,000 of these appliances have been sold and only a very small fraction have been affected. They are assuring their customers that if the appliance is working ok, with no symptoms of any faults then it is safe to keep using until they can get to it.
What if you don’t believe them?
This is a decision only you can make. If your model is on the list – contact Beko asap using the link above. If you decide to unplug the fridge freezer – especially if it’s been playing up recently. Food will be wasted if you have nowhere to transfer it to, but if you genuinely believe it poses a serious risk to you and your family there isn’t much choice and how could anyone morally deny that?
If you did unplug it you might be able to contact Beko before the food defrosts (don’t open the door) and plug it back in if that’s what they advise and can convince you it’s safe to do so.
You have a responsibility to try and mitigate any food loss though. You shouldn’t just deliberately let it go off if you can salvage some, use some of it before it goes off, or transfer some to another freezer if possible.
If you do have to let the food go off take a note of all items, photograph them or save the packaging too and add up the cost. You can then try to claim compensation from the manufacturer or the retailer as “consequential loss”.
However, don’t be surprised to meet resistance from Beko or the retailer to the idea of compensating anyone for food loss or even time off work.
That doesn’t mean you have no right to compensation, but unless they comply you will have to fight for it and maybe even have to take them to the small claims court. Get official consumer advice.
What did London fire brigade advise?
Having said all that, a representative of London Fire brigade on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine programme has said there’s no need to stop using one because he believes people who’s fridge freezers have caught fire suffered some intermittent fault prior to the fire. Therefore if your Beko fridge freezer is apparently working perfectly ok he doesn’t think there’s a risk of imminent fire.
Beko says the risk to consumers is extremely low and it is advising customers with the affected fridges to continue using them unless they notice anything unusual ”
My personal thoughts on this are as follows – It seems that Beko are insisting that unless anything unusual is happening with an affected fridge freezer it’s impossible for one to catch fire. Presumably one can’t catch fire until it’s been doing something unusual for some unspecified time as the spokesman for the London fire brigade also advised on radio 2. I hope for everyone’s sake that is the case!
If you do unplug it and lose food the retailer may try to claim you didn’t need to and the loss was avoidable therefore denying your claim for consequential loss.
I think a small claims court judge may well accept that having heard on the news of 1 death, and 20 fires, and then finding out your fridge freezer has the same fault, that it was reasonable for people to immediately unplug the appliance rather than risk leaving it plugged in until something was resolved.
Especially if despite your best efforts you could not get through to Beko, which I know many have experienced. That’s only my opinion though. However, you have a responsibility to mitigate the risk. That is you can’t just unplug it and let the food spoil expecting to get compensation. You would need to try everything you can to save the food or use it up before it goes off.
Always register any white goods appliance you buy. Send off the registration card or go online to do it. If ever a serious safety issue arises the first thing a manufacturer needs to do is to contact all the people registered on its database.
These people are the first to get their appliance modified. If you haven’t registered you may not find out about it and could suffer a serious incident or tragedy.
Check if your fridge freezer is affected with Beko’s web site tool
Please check your Beko Fridge Freezer Now
UPDATE:
I just read this news article –
Some faulty Beko fridge-freezers began catching fire as long ago as 2007, the BBC has learned
Several Which? Trial Offers available to allow you to research all future purchases and see expert reviews and recommendations. Easily save a lot more money than it costs. I know I do.
carly says
hi i have a beko fridge freezer model number CDA 659 FS which is on the list i have been trying to call beko helpline but have had no joy getting through to them im very concerned as i have two small children and i have noticed that there has been a puddle of water on the floor by my freezer this has been happening a lot lately what can we do if we ant get hold of them?
Washerhelp says
Carly: I would contact the people you bought it from instead. They should hopefully be informed enough to be able to advise you. If you can’t get any help you can only use the option of unplugging it if you are concerned about the safety of yourself and your family.
Please read carefully my main article above if you haven’t already where I talk about the dilemma of whether to stop using the appliance or not and discuss consequential damages, which mean you may well be able to claim for any genuine loss of food if you feel you have no option but to stop using the appliance straight away.
Your claim for compensation would be based on the following –
carly says
hi
i have phoned the retailer and they just give u beko helpline number they r not willing to help, i think im going to have to unplug it as im putting my family at risk and my house contents etc its a nightmare iv came home from work today to find a puddle of water on the floor by the fridge freezer so it must be defrosting itself and this is a concern as it could catch fire, i still keep phoning beko and have sent them an email telling them but they havent phoned back and probably wont for ages, would i be covered for the loss of my food etc thanks you for your advise :)
carly
Washerhelp says
Carly: I’ve already answered your question about claiming compensation for the loss of food in detail, both in my last comment, and where I advised to read the main article (that we are commenting on) as I have advice about the subject there too.
Different retailers may be approaching it in different ways. I’m not surprised they only advised you to contact Beko but by contacting them you’ve now taken all reasonable steps to get advice about whether it is safe to leave plugged in or not. Please re-read my previous answer and the main article where I’ve discussed the dilemma of whether to stop using it or not in detail.
rose stringer says
i have a beko fridge freezer model number CDA653FW and is in recall list i call someone a beko got the number of directory enquries told her the numbers and whats its been doing since i got it and she say its not on the recall list the problems i have been having is its defrosted it self twice and now the fridge has ice in it my milk was frozen this morning and again my fridge freezer has now been emtyed had 2 chuck everything out for the 3rd time
rose stringer says
can someone please tell me who to call becouse whoever that was is wrong number i have is just a message saying its busy
Washerhelp says
rose: When you put your details in on Beko’s site what do they tell you to do? Do they not give you a telephone number?
Check if your appliance is affected
sharon says
my fridge freezer is on the list and we have had trouble with it in the past with overheating and have had to turn it off for a day to reset it i have tried ringing Beko today and they cut me off , i have gone on the website and it keeps coming up with there is an error. how the hell am i meant to get help if i can,t get through to anyone !!!
sharon says
when i put my details in on website message came up that an error had occured , have tried numerous times to no avail, have phoned numerous times and had a recorded message telling me to use the website then they disconnect you !!!
Washerhelp says
According to the news up to half a million appliances could be affected, add to this the probability that virtually everyone who has a Beko refrigeration appliance is likely to be ringing them or going on their web site to check theirs isn’t affected and you have a typical meltdown situation – web site crashes, call centre overloaded etc.
I will always update this article and add comments if anything new comes to light but for now, the best advice I can give is to only contact Beko if your appliance is one of the model numbers displayed on my article and you’ve preferably double checked it on Beko’s check if your appliance is affected tool.
If it is, then apart from continually trying to get in touch, and if Beko are unavailable, I would ring up the retailer I bought it from to see if they can advise if Beko have told them it is definitely safe to leave the fridge running or not. Carefully read my entire article (which is often updated and changed) and all the comments. After that you will be much better informed to make a decision as to whether you should continue using the appliance or not.
If you bought it from Comet, I think their own engineers will be sent out as Comet commonly have arrangements to service many of the appliances they sell themselves – even under guarantee. On Beko’s check if your appliance is affected tool they specifically ask if you bought it from Comet and I suspect if so they may just tell you to ring Comet NOTE: Comet have since ceased trading!).