This is a problem fridge that Samsung knows about but is reluctant to fix

Unbelievably poor product - only thing worse than this fridge is Samsung's customer service - fridge stopped working correctly 4 months ago and still no refund.... Samsung's authorised service agents wouldn't even call out to check the fridge because we live 8 kilmotres outside their call radius of 50k's. They even suggested we return it to the store for assessment - the store is not only an hour's drive away, they have NO service department of any description..... and when I asked if they'd pay for the transport of this 200 kilogram monster, of course they said they wouldn't.

I BROUGHT A SAMSUNG SRS757 SIDE BY SIDE IN APRIL 06 AND I HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS AS PENTIUM PETE.MY SERVICE AGENT HAS FIXED THE ICING UP OF THE FAN BUT THE FRIDGE TEMPERATURE DOES NOT GO BELOW 8 DEGREES.IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS WE HAD TO DEFROST THE WHOLE FRIDGE EVERY WEEK AS THE FRIDGE STOPS WORKING AND NEEDS TO DEFROST TO WORK AGAIN .IT IS TIME CONSUMING AND EXPENSIVE TO UNLOAD A 750 lt UNIT AND TURN BACK ON AFTER 8 HRS. ON THE 12 th MARCH,MY SERVICE AGENT HAS TOLD US THAT SAMSUNG WILL RING US TO DISCUSS A NEW FRIDGE.I WONDER HOW THEY WILL TAKE TO RING?IFF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AS BAD AS SA THEN WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS.

I bought a Samsung SRS758DP Side By Side Fridge just over a year ago and have had 4 service calls and about to ring up for the 5th service call. The main part of the fridge isn't cold enough. The freezer fan keeps freezing up causing a rattling noise and the freezer vent sget blocked with ice. The fridge does not work like a frost free fridge should. The service guys replace the fan that is covered in ice so the rattling noise goes away for a short time, but the evaporator coils continue to freeze up. Then you have to do a manual defrost. The fan is not the problem, I think the Defrost Element is the cause of the problems. The element is either not strong enough to do it's job or it's not programed to come on enough to defrost the coils. I am now starting wonder if there is a defrost element in the freezer.

We have had our Samsung for 3 years - it is just out of warranty and are experiencing the same problem. Samsung doesn't want to know about it and no one here will work on them. The Samsung authorised service agent is 45 minutes away and wants us to transport it to them! We ended up getting an air conditioning guy to look at ours because no one else would touch it. He discovered the problem with the fan icing up and is ordering a new fan but by the sounds of these posts this may not fix the problem. Is there some sort of board in them that controls the temperature? With this one the fridge temperature still reads 4 degrees even though it is sitting at about 18 degrees. Once the fridge is turned off and back on it registers the correct temp. We know of at least 3 other fridges in our area with this same problem (population of 2500 people)! Is it worth going to the Ombusman or Office of Fair Trading perhaps?

We had our fridge for 18 months before these problems kicked in. Quite innocently we called the service agent who replaced the brains (pcb) of the machine assuring us that he thought that would fix the problem. It did, for 10 days when the problem occurred again. On ringing the agent he said he would contact Samsung before sending a mechanic out. When he rang back he told us that Samsung was recalling the fridge and issuing a replacement. The agent collected the old fridge and we now await a replacement (He has loaned us an interim fridge to get us by) Our fingers are crossed.

I have to agree. Samsung does not know what customer service is.
I bought a Samsung fridge/freezer SRS757DW in January 2006 and have had nothing but trouble since. The unit had a 2 year Samsung warranty and I purchased an additional 3 year extended warranty with AIG. I first had to call Samsung in April 2006 due to the freezer fan icing up. Samsung service agents attended to fix the issue only to inform this was a known problem caused by a design fault. Something to do with the hardwired defrost time on an internal chip having been set up for too short a time. It was at this time I found out the unit had only been on the market in Melbourne for 4 months, from October 2005 to January 2006. I can only presume this was because Samsung became aware of this unfixable fault. Although I manually defrosted the fan on at least 4 other occasions by turning the unit off when the freezer was virtually empty, I have also called Samsung 5 more times to rectify the problem when the freezer was full. On each occasion the service agents, as well as defrosting the fan, also applied design changes, including fitting a newly designed internal rear plastic panel. Nothing has helped. Every 3-4 months the fan ices up and has to be defrosted.
The last time I called was in June 2008, this year, 6 months into the extended warranty period. AIG sent out a different service agent who immediately told me he had attended numerous called to this model fridge/freezer and AIG were negotiating with Samsung to have the units replaced. However I have since been told by AIG, that they, AIG, will no longer honour the extended warranty due to the fault having been known to Samsung prior to the extended warranty period commencing, i.e. there is a clause is the contract which allows them to do that.
On contacting Samsung I am now told it is not their problem as it is no longer under warranty. I am about to take the matter to Consumer Affairs, and may offer the story to the media to find other SRS757DW owners.
I realise this doesn’t help you but there are lots out there who have the same problem. I did read a comment from one owner who said she left the freezer door open for about 30 minutes every 6-8 weeks depending on how often the fan freezes up. I can also pass on that it only takes the unscrewing of 4 screws to remove the rear internal cover and a further 2 screws to be able to take out the fan. Once you have taken the fan out it can be defrosted, the ice removed, under running water and refitted.
MY ADVICE – DO NOT BUY ANY SAMSUNG PRODUCT BE IT A FRIDGE, FREEZER OR OTHER PRODUCT AS THEY HAVE NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE WORD WARRANTY MEANS.

i am so glad i am not alone!! i have had the exact same problem with my fridge!! every problem that has been said is exactly the same with my fridge/freezer!! i brought it november 2006 and have had it serviced 5 times since!
i wonted a replacement but they just kept fixing it, well trying,, i feel as though they are just waiting for my warranty to expire which is in 2 month!! so now i have been calling them every day for 3 and a half weeks and i agree SAMSUNG HAVE NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DONT KNOW THE MEANING OF A WARRANTY!! after being passed around and bad excuses made,, they now say they will replace it with a smaller fridge but i have to pay $1200. this fridge has a fault which samsung are aware of and they should have recalled it!! i advise anybody with this fridge to hand the matter over to consumer affairs and i to just like the above comment may have to go to the media unforunatly to help and find other srs757dp owners! i unfortunalty will never buy a samsung product again!!

I found this forum very interesting! I too purchased a SRS758DP model in November 2006. I have had the warming problem. That was fixed but the unbelievably noisy fan noise that occurs from icing up is almost too much to bear. I have had that problem attended to twice and now it is noisy again. I have rung the technicians again who have advised me this problem CAN NOT BE FIXED, so I am in negotiations with SAMSUNG for a replacement. They have offered me one, but it is for a 611 litre version which if you look on their website it states that they will replace the item with an equivalent item. A smaller fridge/freezer IS NOT EQUIVALENT!

I have contacted Business and Consumer Affairs in SA and they advised me to send a letter to them. If I do not hear back from them in that time then Business and Consumer Affairs will act on my behalf. I have faxed the letter to them so I know the date and time it was faxed and whether they have received it. I have also forwarded a copy of this letter to Business and Consumer Affairs in my state. If I do not hear back from them then I will get Business and Consumer Affairs involved.

I have had to wait up to 40 minutes on the phone before being able to speak with a consultant and not once have they contacted me back. I am always the person who contacts them. They have given all sorts of excuses that the paperwork was not faxed through to them and my file is empty, so I rang the technician on my mobile while I was on the phone to them and as they faxed the items through I confirmed with SAMSUNG that they had indeed received the paperwork. Only after this happened was I offered the smaller model replacement. I have not finished with them and I will not give up until I have a satisfactory outcome. Reader from SA.

Ok just got a call from the service agent tellimg me that my fridge is going to be replaced with a brand new one that has the faulty parts fixed. hopefully all goes well now... not sure when ill be getting my fridge but hopefully soon b4 i go crazy with the noise of mine. I cant even hear my TV over it!

This story rings a bell had service guy out on 3 occasions to fix fan icing up more reveiws at product reveiws if you need tnem finally had a report to samsung and have agreed to replace fridge have only offered a 610 ltr as replacement .Back to the drawing board see how long it takes to geta equivalent replacemment

Guys

Same issue here and yes the offer of a 610litre fridge didnt go down too well.. its not exactly an equivalent.. a bit like holden replacing a commodore with a better spec barina.. yes its got some nice features.. but not got the space. I have got an option to purchase an upgraded model but its gonna cost some.

i have been in contact with management on this and there IS NO FIX the only fix they hoped for will not legally be allowed as it causes the fridge to need rerating and certifying which samsung legal wont allow. im currently listening to mine buzz away and its 3 concrete walls and 2 closed doors away and we are still struggling to hear each other speak.

again its a story of me having to call them not them call me, even consumer affairs in WA arent interested. its taking months to get sorted and its still gonna cost me some good money, for something that is clearly a design flaw! i dont want to give up.. and i think we really need to push samsung hard on this one.. and consumer affairs. maybe even today tonight :O)

keep hassling them ... we'll get there in the end..

Same here. Offered the 610 litre, or my original purchase money back. Said i wanted an equivalent size and they said I would have to pay the difference. Equivalent to me also means equivalent size so a srs768dss is the closest they have to a 758. Would even settle for the srs752qdus. Next is consumer affairs.

Same here- Model number SR395NTS 2 breakdowns in 10 months. The company knows there is a problem because they come armed with a modification kit to make the freezer freeze. They don't want to know about food spoolage mpr do they have spare parts. We have to wait another 2 weeks. No more Samsung products for us.
Posted 20th September 2008- Australia

This is my second post regarding this model fridge was offered money back or 610 ltr told Samsung Liability policy states Equivelent fridge or full compensation for me to replace it Samsungs reply this is all we are going to offer Got a call back from Consumer affairs told me to take money didnt want to know about Samsungs own Liability policy useless as samsung themselves. Will contact my union solicitor see what they think about Liability policy etc .Emailme at ljdkas1@optusnet.com.au with your details if you would like to know outcome.

I have an srs757dw(also known as a big waste of space) and I put a complaint in with consumer affaires and got store credit back within 2 days of them contacting me. After being without a fridge since the start of Aug (fun with 2 sml children and trying to run family daycare!). We are putting extra money in to get one about the same size and with water and ice AND NOT SAMSUNG! I also know that there are 7 people having the same problem in my town. The money back is a raw deal for me but I am just over it! I know thats what they wont but I just wont it done with.

We have the same problem as stated by you all. The fridge is great in size but the customer service from Samsung has been absolutely pathetic. Offering us a smaller fridge or our money back. If we take the money back it takes 7-10 days to get a cheque. NEVER NEVER NEVER will I but Samsung and I will tell everyone I know not to purchase anyting Samsung. Pass the word people, pass the word.

Well, we're not alone after all! Have had warming probs from the start, techs kept telling us we didn;t know what cold was!!! Now we have one of our kids with vomiting and diarrhoea. Coincidence??? HHHMMM

I am still so upset and angry with Samsung about our fridge. Exactly as everyone above has described. I have hounded Samsung for 3 week to acknowledge the fridge needs to be replaced. Today they offered me a current model - SRS768DSS or a refund of my purchase price. I have just now faxed the paperwork for the refund which will take 7-10 days. Incidently (and I hope some of these tips will assist others) I called Fair Trading last week and there is no case until Samsung get back and advise what they are going to do. Then it takes 14 days for them to assess the case once lodged. I purchased my fridge in Dec 06 so am just inside the manufacture warranty ( I seem like a lucky one compared to some of you guys). I also took extended warranty and it seems that if i choose to have the item replaced you only get what ever remains of you original warranty BUT the extended warranty is no longer valid as it is not for the item you purchased !!!! I also found out Samsung will reimburse for lost food - up to $100 but better than nothing. This is my 3rd service call and it has taken 4 phone calls to get the forms sent to me. Now I have them and will be writing with a log of the calls, services and claims for lost food x3 once I have my new fridge. AND after making sure everyone I work with knew of my problem - one guy who was looking for a TV on the weekend said that further to my experience did not look at Samsung. My father in law had a camera that took 18mths to get fixed by Samsung. I only found this forum by accident when checking the dimentions of the samsung as I am about to start looking for a new fridge - I can assure you it will not be a Samsung. Due to the size I originally had to have my kitchen bench altered. Grrrrr. Has anyone got any suggestions for a replacement - brands/models etc. would like to hear from anyone - contact sonja@lunn-online.com

Wow....There seems to be a lot of issues with the Samsung fridges...I think someone should send this link to Samsung customer service guys so that they can take a look of what is happening to consumers. I was just in the process of buying a Samsung fridge for my house and the posts here have convinced that I should look at another brand. Since so many of you have a problem with the fridge, which one did you opt for as an alternative? There seems to be a really long list at www.myshopping.com.au/PT--263_Fridges_Freezers

We also have a similar problem, the fan gets iced and very noisy. I have found the easiest way to clear the ice is simply empty the freezer and remove the back panel (power off - I think this is a low voltage fan but better to be safe than sorry) then remove the ice maker and use a hair dryer to de-ice the entire area. Seems to work for about 2 to 3 months. Doesnt fix the problem but does help in the interim.

Samsung are now offerring the SRS768DSS plus 2 year warranty for replacement of the SRS757DW or a full refund. This is a much better offer than the 610 previously offered.

August 2008, we bought a Samsung French Door refrigerator. Now, in January 2009, there is a intermintent rattling sound. Could this be the fan freezing up?

de ja vu I have had all the same problems and have had mine repaired 4 times in the first year samsung has offered me a replacement and i guess i'm luckier than most they have offered me the 768 litre fridge it is the one that superseeded thie 758 model. Get onto Samsung and demand they offer you this fridge it has a rrp of $4,399 nearly doble what the other one cost me. I'm still awaiting delivery but will let you all know how the new model pans out.

We have the same problem with a side by side Samsung fridge.The Point is why the Fair Trading department did not do any thing to stop Samsung selling the BAD products due to the complains ??? Are we in Australia, Are we protected from the Bad productions ,from the bad company like Samsung ??? DO NOT BUY ANY OF THEIR PRODUCT ANY MORE, MAKE THEM BANKRUP

I also have a sumsung fridge that sounds just like the ones i am reading about my fridge is 4 months out of warranty they have told me that it is out of warranty and not interested in helping me, i have been told it will cost me $400.00 to fix but will this last ???

We have a srs 758dp too and with all the same problems, it was nice to buy our first large flash fridge, 4 months in our problems started, now we wait for repairs we use our 15 year old beer fridge with doggy seals, still does a better job and it only cost 120.00

I note some of you poor devils have been offered a 610-litre to replace your current problem fridge. This would be like jumping out of the frypan into the fire. I have an SRS617DW that has pretty similar symptoms. Two friends with the same fridge have had the same problems. We have all had disastrous warranty, service and customer support from Samsung. The problem is the auto-defrost doesn't cut-in, the backpanel ices-up and jams the fan. First it gets noisy, then the temp drops. Under warranty, Samsung told us to open the door overnight and if it persisted they would fix under warranty. We loogged a total f\5 service calls but they refused to come until it was out of warranty. Then charged $450. Two months later we had to get it repaired properly by an independent repairer at a further cost of $250 plus loss of the cost of food $350. Samsung refused to pay anything. At one stage we were emptying the fridge removing the bakcpanle and defrosting with a haridryer every 2 weeks for 5 months while trying to get Samsung to come. They apparently have a similar problem with plasma/lcd TVs and other products. Their customer service staff are agressive and abusive. We would never touch another Samsung product of any kind. - Ross

Since December of 2008 Samsung have promised to replace fridge. Now being June frustration is at max with just getting off the phone and them now pressuring me to give an answer as to whether I want a refund or wait a little longer for fridge. What a joke this company is. As in earlier pots the fridge also had icing problems etc prior to Dec. Would never even comtemplate Samsum again let alone steering business o them.

Same old problem lots of talk but no service. I must have spoken to every conflict resolution, every smooth talking shyster from Samsung but no fix. The only response is we will call you back. This has been to no avail since December 08. On the 11th of December frustration getting the better I made a call to the call centre every 5 or so minutes until I spoke with Imaani. She once again promised that a unit would be delivered immediately..Now 2 weeks on and back to square one as I called today, was unable to get any satisfactory answer and of course...YEP We'll get someone to call back. No-one in 6 months has ever called back. This should be a class action against Samsung. I certainly will be taking leagal action. Jim Zenner.

I bought a Samsung SR394NW refrizerator 10 months back. It stopped working within 2 months. A service rep from Samsung fixed after a week. But failed again in 9th months. Struggling hard with Samsung to get it fixed. Same Icing problem and choking of the drain line. The service personnel said it is the common problem with Samsung refrizerators. I am still waiting since 2 weeks to get it fixed.

Samsung promised me to send the food spoilage claim form through Email. When I called after a week they said it is being posted. Again after a week they said it would be posted today. Ridiculous.

Don't advice anymore Samsung products to anyone, family, friends, relatives.

Can anyone explaing Samsung what do they mean by warranty and Customer satisfaction?

Unfortunately I am reading these reviews now!! Had I seen these reviews 10 months back things would have been different.

Hi

We have a Samsung SRS584dp. Bought Feb 06 and just this past week the fridge failed (started making the helicopter noise and was useless in the space of two days) - obviously out of the two year warranty but have a look at the Samsung website - is a 5 year warranty for "Sealed unit of refrigerator with gross capacity of 200 litres or more (excluding other parts of the refrigerator) - - doesn't cover labour though. Having read numerous forums online and how bad the customer service is my husband decided we were going to take off the back panel of the fridge and defrost ourselves. The whole of the metal thingy (technical!) had frozen and the fan was catching on ice too. Defrosted the whole thing and is working - for now! Luckily we have an old beer fridge in the shed (still going strong after 15 years I might add) that I was able to put a load of stuff in. Bit concerned to read that the freezer can do that too as then I really will be b&ggered! Is this something that is just as common as the fridge freezing up?

Anyway, through my reading I found a 15 page forum in the UK (I'm originally from the UK so like to read bits from there still) about Samsung side by sides. Cut a long story short - was a particular model batch there (RS - not sure if that is a UK equivalent of the SRS). Same problems bla bla. The issue got onto Watchdog (a BBC program for consumers) and Samsung have admitted the problem and said anybody with this fridge can have replacement/fixed (one or the other - can't remember which). I've attached the link which has a Utube clip of the article too - sound familiar anyone?!? www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2088

Consequently this is the reason that Samsung have extended the warranty of sealed fridge parts to 5 years too - although in the UK this covers fixing the whole thing and not just the parts.

I'm wondering now how long it'll take our fridge to refreeze. We've decided if its ok to turn it off overnight once every 3 months (give it a good clean then too!) but seriously this is not what I expected from a $2000 fridge!!!