Samsung have had to organise a “home-visit & repair programme” to deal with a potential fire risk in their RS21 and RS60 range fridge freezers. Their own announcement on their web site said that “in very rare cases, there is the potential for internal sparking to occur and in consequence, damage to the appliance.”
However, some press articles used more dramatic phrases (Which have since been removed from their web sites)
Latest update
As of March 2014 Samsung have extended this safety notice to include ALL RS21 and RS60 fridge freezers no matter when it was made. Initially it was only for models made within a certain date range, this was extended to include more models later and now Which? are reporting it’s all of these models regardless of purchase date plus the models listed below. You may also want to try this telephone number 0800 988 0123
These are the models either affected directly, or as Samsung say, use a similar defrost system so should also be checked –
- RS21
- RS60
- RSE8
- RSH1
- RSJ1
- SN62
If you have a Samsung fridge freezer
To be sure if your model is affected you should check the model number (where is the model or serial number on a fridge or freezer?). According to Which? the Electrical safety council have advised anyone with one of these model which hasn’t been modified by Samsung should stop using it immediately and contact Samsung.
Unfortunately all my links to help on the Samsung site have had to be removed. This is because it seems all manufacturers take these pages down as soon as they think they can get away with it. This is understandable to a point but it’s disgraceful.
Only today (Feb 2017) I’ve had an email from a consumer who has one of these affected fridge freezers. She was shocked to find this page whilst researching a different fault – especially as she registered the appliance with Samsung.
This shows that many people can slip through the net and continue to use a dangerous appliance. Manufacturers should be obliged by law to leave (and not move) notices about potentially dangerous appliances for at least 10 years.
excomet says
please if you purchased your ff off comet call them or samsung and book a repair i have been doing this mod on behalf of comet for 4 months (approx 9-11 calls per day) but have now been laid off due to people not bothering to get in contact, this mod takes approx. 10 mins to fit (20 mins for paperwork), hope this helps
ROB says
fridge was around 5 years old, have agreed to accept a new fridge, H series side by side. The only other option given was the drepiacted value and they needed proof of purchase
Paul Coates says
I contacted Samsung via the online form with my model/serial numbers and they called me back a couple of days later to tell me that it had been passed to a local agency who would contact me. A very helpful and friendly local company contacted me and the engineer visited this morning. All affected parts replaced free of charge. Thank you to the local company and Samsung for resolving this issue. There you go – a positive story for a change.
David says
I bought my RS21 in 2003 and it lasted until mid 2008 when the well documented fault occurred. I called Samsung, their engineering dept called me back and arranged for a local company to repair – all within a couple of days and free of charge. All very good, left me feeling that Samsung is the brand to buy.
The repaired unit has now failed (June 2010) with the same fault, Samsung sent the engineer who said the charge would be £190 or £300 if the fan motor had failed. Recontacted Samsung since it is a similar failure in their replacement unit – they’re not interested.
I will repair myself, replacement unit c. £80. Annoyed that they seem content the replacement unit should last less than two years, but appreciate their position that the fridge is now approaching seven years old. Mind you ‘in the old days’ they lasted a fair bit longer than that!
I suspect that I’ve been lucky it’s lasted this long, so if I have to replace it, I probably won’t buy another Samsung.
Pam says
Comet visited to complete modification, when they had finished and gone I went to wash the top and found it broken, Comet called out again, they could not gain part and taped it, called out again as the fridge now not getting cold and wanted the rehousing changed. Comet now say that they can do nothing as they can not get a replacement, I will have to phone Samsung and guess what they say not their problem phone comet, any ideas.
Washerhelp says
Of course it isn’t Samsung’s problem Pam, you shouldn’t have to ring anyone. Regarding the damage, if it can’t be put right obviously whoever caused it is responsible for compensation. Regarding any fault on the appliance it’s only Comet who are responsible under the sale of goods act. Even if it is a design fault the manufacture isn’t responsible it’s the people you bought it from. It sounds unfair and it is to a point but that’s how it is. It’s up to them to counter claim from who they bought it from.
Anonymous says
I too have the above problem with my Samsung RS21nCSV fridge freezer and have never been informed by Samsung about this very real danger of a possible fire hazard. I only found out about it because my fridge developed the problem mentioned above. I phoned samsung and they are in the process of fixing the problem. As the fix may only last two years would it be better to try and get a replacement?
Neil Jones says
I have a Samsung RSE8DZAS purchased about 2.5 yrs ago. I’ve just found out about this recall which applies to my model (though just as a precautionary as it’s not an RS21/RS60), and I wondered if this is likely to be the cause of the problem that the FF has developed over the last few days.
About a week ago, despite the fridge showing 3 degrees, lots of the food in the fridge had frozen. After a couple of days, it seemed to sort itself out but then yesterday I noticed that the fridge was now 10 degrees. After a couple of hours it had returned to normal, but this morning it’s back at 10 degrees. I’ve not noticed anything abnormal about the FF; there’s not been any notable increase in fan noise that I’ve noticed.
Should I just wait for Samsung to get back in touch with my to arrange their visit (which I will obviously still do anyway), or is this likely to be an unrelated problem that I need to go ahead and get repaired myself? If it’s not related to the RS21 fault has anyone any suggestions what the problem is likely to be?
emily says
i too have this fridge and the fuse keeps blowing every month any one know where i can get it fixed
Washerhelp says
emily: There are some repairers on my repairs page here – Appliance Repairs