Two years ago I purchased a Zanussi freezer from my local John Lewis. It is still working well, except the door handle recently developed a crack in the middle and has now broken completely.
I wrote to Zanussi hoping for a replacement because this appears to have been caused by a manufacturing fault. I was astonished to hear back that the handle is considered a “cosmetic” item. I had expected an excuse about “normal wear and tear” or it being just over the expiry of the two-year guarantee, but this is a new one on me.
I have never had this happen before and the only force ever used is ordinary hand pull. Should I as a consumer have been aware that fridge/freezer door handles are considered “cosmetic” and will not be replaced if faulty? Dr AM, Newcastle upon Tyne
This was a new one on us, too, even given the diverse range of complaints which land on the Consumer Champions’ desk. It would be pretty hard to use the machine without a handle so we think most people would agree that it is essential rather than cosmetic.
Zanussi is owned by Electrolux, and it told us that “based on the information received, we have reviewed the correspondence between the customer and our customer service representative, and can confirm that, unfortunately, incorrect information was provided. The door handle was wrongly described as ‘cosmetic’ and it should have been noted in our response that the freezer was purchased from John Lewis and therefore has a two-year warranty.
“We would like to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to the customer and will be contacting them to make arrangements for the replacement of the handle.
“An internal review is under way and we will be taking the necessary actions
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
