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
Repairs
Fixed-price repairs, Pay monthly options, Repair & protect your whole appliance..
Save Money Now
Subscribe to Which? today and start saving money now. Subscription offers often available.
Spares
Spares4Appliances is a spares company run by repair engineers who understand all about spare parts for appliances.
My mother ordered a Beko Fridge Freezer on Saturday from Argos and its due to be delivered this Thursday (29th) and the model number is CDA539F. Should we cancel the order?
Beko have denied the recent tragic house fire reportedly caused by a fridge (or fridge freezer), which killed 6 people was a Beko, and the fire brigade have apparently retracted the implication that a fridge was the cause. I will update this as necessary.
Mat Batty: Only Beko fridges manufactured between January 2000 and October 2006 are affected by this specific issue.
Our fridge freezer is on the list what should we have contacted beko
Kate Willis, I think it’s disgusting the way you’ve been treated. They better watch themselves because this is not only their fault, but they’re messing with people’s lives! It sounds threatening, when I say they better watch themselves, it’s not meant to sound that way, but this is getting very annoying after reading a lot of your comments and how most of you have been treated.
Thank you Washerhelp for posting this and trying to help us all out because it is indeed a scary feeling, especially with people on here with tiny kids. Their non-chalant attitude will get them in a heap of trouble.
I’ve tried emailing them on their site with their ‘little’ form… no answer. I tried again and received an answer, if you can call it that, and the ‘rep’ says she wants my full information. DUH, I just gave it to her when I mailed the second time??? Are people really this thick?! We’ll see how long it takes them to send someone out.
Hannah Wade. All you have to do is read the article you commented on. All possible information you need is there including a link to check your appliance on Beko’s site. I’ve had half a dozen people or more now asking the same question, which completely puzzles me because the whole point of the article is to advise people what to do.
Unfortunately, due to trying to keep it updated it’s now become a fairly long article. I can only imagine some people are finding this a stressful and panicky situation and are only scanning the article. It just needs to be read properly. I’ve added a couple of extra headers which will hopefully help and I apologise if I seem a little rude :-)
I’ve also removed my long list of model numbers which shortens the article further as the models affected are all clearly visible on Beko’s site. Hope this helps make the article easier for people.
Latest information on the BBC news site is that the recent fire killing 6 people was “most likely” caused by a chest freezer Neasden fire deaths: Chest freezer ‘most likely cause. The brand is as yet still unknown.
I’m sure this has jolted all at Beko to make doubly sure they are doing everything they possibly can to track down and fix every single one of their fridge freezers with the potential to catch fire without delay.
Hi guys
Please read the above article with care. A lot of people are jumping from the article then to comments and getting completely confused.
My fridge freezer was bought in 2005 and is a beko CDA543FW with starting ref number of 05 and is a frost free. Now, i have kids and am worried that there is a potential risk but on the other hand my fridge is still operating fine and thats been 7 yrs running . Completely by chance did i discover this warning on the BBC website.
I went straight to the Beko website and clicked on the safety headline. The notice said if i identified the model number with one on the list then i needed to fill out the small online form and put in the ref number from inside the fridge and they would get back to me if there was a risk .
As soon as i sent the form it came back with possible risk but someone would get in touch. That was monday and i know they are extremely busy, and yes am in two minds as to keep it or buy another fridge. Its a personal decision. If you or anyone you know has a beko fridge then go online and check against the list of numbers and fill the small form in. The modification is free of charge.
I have an affected Beko Fridge freezer and the engineer was suppose to call two weeks ago but did not show up, I called again and rebooked. I then received a text to say the engineer was off sick and had to re schedule yet again!. taking time off work for nothing. Since then my fridge and freezer has stopped working and all the food had to be thrown away. I called beko again and they thought the engineer had done the job so they closed the case! I called yet again have been waiting over a week now and still waiting for an engineer. spoke to a lady in Beko who has now rescheduled an engineer for a couple of days time. That will be two weeks without a fridge or freezer.
I have a child and trying to keep food in the sink with water on it to keep it cool. spent more money on food every day for two weeks and this is getting very expensive and very frustrating. I want to claim for the food but also even if the engineer can fix the fridge I really dont want it as I am scared this will happen again and would prefer a new one as its Beko’s fault in the first place and do not want to run the risk of a fire starting in my home. can they really guarantee this WILL NOT happen again…..does anyone know where I stand ???
Omg, my brick so called frost free started making a loud noise months ago and started freezing in the fridge secession, even though it’s on the lowest setting.. When I got the no ice letter I called and was told that yes this was to do with the timer, once it has been changed it will defrost.. Ok two months on and still ice, another timer was fitted today by comet, the guy was a tv eng and had no idea about grieves? He had just been trained to fit the new timers.. What a crock of, I mean they are sending people who have no clue.. I asked him why the ice was still there, he said I’ve no idea but if I was you I would get it checked out as people have died in house fires… Rang beko they said all they can do is get another time on… 3rd one.. I’m so worried could ice in my fridge cause the timer to over heat.. Or should it be ok now???
Had my part fitted last week and today all my shopping has gone off because the freezer has stopped working, very mad and cant afford to buy any more, dont know what i am going to do now, this is terrible :(