Fort Smith, AR: Lawyers are looking into a possible class action lawsuit against Whirlpool regarding their side-by-side refrigerators. Complaints against the fridge involve leaking water which causes freezing in the drip pan resulting in either ruined food or water damage to the floor.Further complaints allege that the freezer's temperature gauge malfunctions and that the Extended Warranty is not honored. The refrigerators in question were sold under the brand Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Roper.
Among the complaints at consumeraffairs.com:
- That the freezer ran almost non-stop and the temperature gauge showed that the freezer was up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, when in fact it was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit;
- That the icemaker quit working repeatedly (mentioned several times) and in some cases Whirlpool would not replace the defective part;
- That the compressor broke;
- That the fridge floods, causing damage to customers' floors; and
- That Whirlpool's customer service is poor.
In Arkansas, a federal lawsuit was filed against Whirlpool Corp., claiming that the appliance maker did nothing to fix or warn customers of problems in their icemakers. The lawsuit was filed by Paula Rush and Diane Perry and is seeking class-action status to represent anyone in the United States who bought a Whirlpool-manufactured side-by-side refrigerator since 2000. Plaintiffs are seeking at least $5 million.
According to the plaintiffs, their Whirlpool problems led to damage in their homes even though Whirlpool sent repairmen out to fix the appliances. They also claim that they notified Whirlpool about the problems, but the company has neither recalled the fridges nor reimbursed owners for costs incurred as a result of fridge defects.
Court documents, filed March 5, 2007, argue that "WHIRLPOOL knew or should have known that the Refrigerators were defective in design, were not fit for their ordinary and intended use, and did not perform in accordance with the advertisements, marketing materials and warranties disseminated by WHIRLPOOL nor with the reasonable expectations of ordinary consumers." The papers go on to say that "At the time of sale the Refrigerators contained a defect, the effect of which is that the icemakers in the Refrigerators do not work and the temperature controls fluctuate, which leads to flooding and water and property damage to the home. The defect reduces the effectiveness and performance of the Refrigerators and renders them unable to perform the ordinary purposes for which they are used."
The plaintiffs argue that Whirlpool knew that the refrigerators were defectively designed but has not instituted a program to either repair or replace those refrigerators.
Whirlpool recently found itself issuing warnings to customers after the company's dishwashers posed a fire hazard. Dishwashers sold under the brand Maytag and Jenn-Air were voluntarily recalled after reports that liquid rinse-aid could leak from the dispenser and come into contact with internal wiring in the dishwasher, possibly causing a fire. There were 135 reports of dishwasher fires that resulted in product and/or property damage, as well as four injuries including one serious hand laceration.
Although Whirlpool did not own Maytag when the dishwashers were produced, Whirlpool has since purchased Maytag Corp.
READER COMMENTS
Ken W
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Chris
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Lynn Johnson
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Ralph J. Pellizzi, Sr.
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Maytag customer service was of no use....unless I agreed to speaking with a service man to arrange a service appointment. This repair, once and if discovered, would have easily cost several hundred dollars.
Maytag refuses to acknowledge this flaw.
Charles Brooks
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Valerie Hopkins
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ROBERT TORRES
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and it also began to not cool. we purchased it at Lowes and purchased extended warranty. we paid 3000.00 dollars for refrigerator it broke within 6 months. we called for service and Flamingo appliance came out to look at it and said it was a temperature sensor and some parts needed to be ordered to resolve issue. that was 10 days ago we have lost all our food. our kids are all homeschooled and the inconvenience has been a nightmare. we have to go to the store daily to purchase our meals. what a scam between Lowes and Whirlpool. I thought made in America what a mistake. they give America a bad reputation. I have sold all my Stocks in Lowes. I will not shop there ever again. I will not purchase whirlpool products ever again. this was my first and last. I am currently looking at Legal recourse. I am tired of these big companies ripping us off. Beware of Lowes and Whirlpool.
M B
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So...after 12 days of living out of coolers we have the replacement. I hope this one is OK. I feel bad that what is touted as MADE IN AMERICA can be so poor. Spending huge amounts of money and then having to go through all we have gone through Is not fair. We even had to call a plumber to cap off the water line behind the fridge to the tune of $165.00.
Good luck to everyone. If the new one fails I might look into the small claims court route.
Buyers beware!
David Downing
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Steve
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It appears Whirlpool will only admit there is a problem with this refrigerator if your repairman contacts them.
Best of luck to everyone.
Steve
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I had it repaired for $300. The repairman said the design of the filter plumbing was prone to failure...I think he was telling me to be prepared to spend another $300 in the future.
Then last monday we had a major storm here in NY, lost power for a day and half, and ever since the freezer has not worked. Not sure if the storm caused the freezer issue, but the refrigerator is still running.
Repairman coming in a couple of days, but I am prepared to junk this PoS if the estimate is too high.
Bill Knichel
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Kris
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The second is that the cooling line going through the fridge to the ice maker had icing, condensation, mold growth issues. No fix known.
A third and fourth and strike were discovered this year when the food in our freezer thawed. We wanted to empty and shut down the freezer but continue to use the fridge while we waited on getting it repaired, but discovered that there is NO WAY to independently turn off the freezer.
Fourth problem (relatively minor) was that the right roller on the roller/leveling part was broken in half, making it very difficult to move the fridge. The part plus shipping is $40.
The BIGGEST issue is that the extra evaporator in the fridge is leaking coolant, and this is apparently an issue that Whirlpool knows about and has decided not to inform their customers about.
They were at least proactive enough to arrange a one-year warranty through AIG that the customer can purchase (for about $400) in order to get their refrigerator fixed.
About the only thing they really got right was using metal for the icemaker gears, but I'd rather have a working fridge and freezer than ice-through-the-door.
I don't know how long this evaporator will last, but I do know that I won't be buying a Whirlpool refrigerator again.
Hackman
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Huseyin Polat
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stay away from this brand
Cyndi
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Whirlpool custom services only wanted to sell me an extended warranty .
Kim Robertson
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Shelia
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maker because the times it would make ice, the ice would thaw and refreeze into a lump in the freezer. Sometimes ice would stay in the freezing tray for days before it would dump the cubes into the holding bin. It has a mind of its own. So, we have never been able to get ice from the door. The water coming from the door was never cold anyway. Water drips from the bottom of the ice maker. The refrigerator is always cool, not cold, or either it is hot. Therefore, the food spoils. The freezer was poorly designed and I guess it was meant for the owners to never remove the freezer bins to clean them because they won't come out. So, this refrigerator is useless and a huge waste of money. But, it was so expensive that I feel that I can't take it to the landfill, but that is the place it needs to be. If anyone has any suggestions on how they convinced Whirlpool to replace this terrible refrigerator, please let me know.
Dana bowne
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elizabeth nelson
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Robert F.
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Wes Lum
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Mitchell Brooks
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Marc Tafarella
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WRONG, I have owned this Pretty looking Box, with very expensive crap components for just over 2 Years.
First thing I noticed, the damn thing would Run, Run and Run.
Rarely would it shut off, now this is an energy saver frig, right!
Next to the Major Issues.
1. This refrigerator is the loudest running I have ever heard!
2. Compressor started making loud rattle noise then we lost
cooling.
3. Called Whirlpool for assistance they said they would offer an extended warranty thru a Service Co. called A&E for $360. I said ok. Long story short, the people they send to your home are a joke. STAY AWAY FROM THE WHIRLPOOL SERVICE!
The so called TECH was terrible, did not want to really do ANYTHING, He stated right out of the gate, UNREPAIRABLE!
Whirlpool and or A&E service Co. don't pay me enough to really get into this type of repair. WHAT the HELL I'm thinking, I just paid $360 for WHAT? The tech did next to nothing so I called A&E for a refund for the $360.00 and got the biggest runaround. They stated oh, it takes up to 30 days to process the refund. I said that's Bull- Sh++ so I called my credit card to dispute the charges. OK so now I'm thinking who do I call for a second opinion? So, I called Sears for service, the Sears Tech came out very professional and said we lost the refrigerant in the sealed system. Come to find out Whirlpool has a bulletin on a problem with evaporator leaks. Just great I'm thinking, this thing is only 2 years old, what next!
So evaporator and access valves were sent to my home, he came back and installed new parts. OK, now were ready to put Freon back in the system, but wait, now the frig. wont even start up. Frustrated tech said it appears the control circuit board has now failed causing the no function problem.
Just great I'm thinking, these circuit boards they are using are very expensive. Folks just let me say The new Refrigerators
may look nice but believe me, they are of poor quality and full of very expensive controls that are unreliable. They are not meant to last like the refrigerators of past decades. WOE to the consumer, we are backed into this bleak and dark corner by big corporate entities that build CHEAP product's. They charge big bucks for a very poor quality, substandard, and DESPICABLE product and then pawn them off on the unsuspecting consumer. The have us over a Barrel don't they!
SHAME ON WHIRLPOOL, they have become a cheap, unreliable, and disreputable company. Research the product before you buy anything from Whirlpool.
Hannah Giles
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Ryan Swart
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Galo Bustamante
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The Service Agent, mentioned that he is replacing these drain parts weekly on several brands including KitchenAid. This is a prime example of a socially irresponsible company using a very low cost part to increase their profits, at the expense/damage of others.
If there is a class-action lawsuit, please advise.
Susan B
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Betsy Wolfe
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My Kitchenaid Microwave died and now I'm worried about the Kitchenaid dishwasher too. I did not expect to have to replace all my appliances already!
Stephanie
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Crusader
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From the get-go, it has been creaking loudly whenever the door is opened, closed, or even someone just touches the fridge. The issue has escalated over the months and now the fridge MOVES toward the person opening the door and yesterday my mother nearly severely injured herself when leaning slightly on the unit, because the unit flew backwards and she's lucky she didn't fall on the floor!
THREE so-called "Whirlpool-certified" technicians have come to the house; none of them really wanted to do anything (and actually did little). They blame the cheapness of the fridge, the poor design, the type of tile floor we have, but not one of them really cares. The last one said "Whirlpool will never replace this unit under warranty." He also said "Put some rubber pieces underneath the wheels," and crap like that! He said the wheels should really come off and be replaced with legs, but Whirlpool would never authorize him to do that!
Numerous calls to Whirlpool and me shaming them on Twitter and Facebook about the issues makes no difference.
I told our utility company today either they resolve this ASAP or I file complaints with all governmental agencies, consumer agencies, contact the media, and also contact an attorney!
This fridge is DEFECTIVE, no question about it and the utility company that arranged for the installation and Whirlpool need to stop hiding in a corner regarding the problem!
fred snowman
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At the 2 year mark. crapped out. Service man said needs new compressor and dryer, would cost around 1200 to 1500 .
Why am I not surprised. The big corp will rip off the public as long as they can get away with it. The service man also said these ref. are cheaply built , only having a single evaporator.
So I guess I buy another ref. or maybe one thats really built. maybe from the 60's
By the way It's a whirlpool.. which build most of ref worldwide.
Eleanor/Dawn
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Walter Bracamonte
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I have 10 year old frig (garage). It is basic, medium size and fits well in a 1950 budget film. Never had to have it serviced.
Shame on you Whirlpool!
Jean Zastrow
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Stopped making ice and all the food in the freezer thawed out. The compressor is "under" performing, and running constantly, but will not freeze food. My electric bill is thru the roof because of the constant running frige. Repair man gave me the highest repair estimate he has ever presented to a customer. $1400. to replace the compressor. I will NOT be fixing this POS. There should be class action law suits against this company and also Lowes for promoting them. I wonder if they are screening the bad reviews so people are not aware of what a load of crap Whirlpool appliances have become. And now they own Maytag and Jenn aire too? I am going out to buy the simplest cheapest frige I can find, if I am going to have to replace it every two years. The one year warranty should have been a wake up call.
Amy
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Joan Hanely
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Mark F
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kenny hall
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Jolene Summers
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Loretta Versaci
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Robyn Brannon
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I have contacted whirlpool 6 times and this last time I was told that I needed to find a service provider for my fridge and they would reimburse up to 150 in parts in labor.
I was highly ticked off! I researched whirlpool and wanted to buy from and American made products but I didn't realize how horrible their warranty would be. If I has known spending 3,000 dollars on a fridge and I would still be cracking ice trays I would have laughed and called you crazy but that is exactly what I am doing and I feel utterly dupped!
Jackie Matney
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Kearcy Suzanne Hahn
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lee haskell
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MY old GE refrigerator bought in 1990 ran for 20 years with moves to 10 different houses until I retired it for getting louder. Gosh darn it how I miss that old GE.
Terry Merritt
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ALL you have to do is go to your local courthouse and file a Small Claim against KitchenAid/Whirlpool and have the claim mailed by the Courthouse to KitchenAid/Whirlpool Corp, 553 Benson Road, BentonHarbor, MI 49022. They MUST appear in court at THIER expense and THEY must bring thier attorney at THIER expense and 99.9% of the time they rather shut you up than pay this expense becuause 99.9% of the time they are going to LOOSE the case in small calims. Keep good records of the problems you have had with the defective appliance, file the small claims law suit and it will cost less than $100 for file it. You DO NOT have to have an attorney as you can be your own representative becuase you have all the facts. Trust me, they more than likely will never show up and if they don't you can get a default judgement against thier company and they have to pay the judgement or you can place a lein against their company and they have to pay all the leins. This is the BEST way to get your money back from their defective crappy apppliances without all the hassle. You can fill out the small claims form at the courthouse and you do not have to write all the problems you have had just a shirt brief summary and then they have to appear in court or pay you. And if they do not show up, you have won anyway. So it is worth the time and effort becuase it is more cost effective for KitchenAid to replace your defective application than it is for them to prepare for a case, pay an attorney to represent them and pay his travelling expenses to your local district court where the case MUST be heard. The case is filed in the district where YOU live NOT where the appliance was manufactured or where the company headquarters is located. This is the biggest misconception people have about suing these large companies. THey have to come to YOU and your hometown and trust me they won't do it, cost them way too much in the end. So go to your local courthouse and ask for a small claims form and pay the filing fee whcih is between $50-$100 depending on your state and this will get thier attention for sure. Trust me it works and your local judge has very little sympathy for these big mega companies who refuse to repair, replace or refund defective appliances becuase most of these judges have been in the same boat as you are in. So use your local district court to your advantage and get the attention you need from teh big boys and make them PAY UP or else put a lien on their company and they cannot sell the company with any leins, they can't borrow money, they are in a bind even with the smallest lein and trust me the shareholders do not want leins against the companies they have investmented in. So it is definately YOUR way of winning pretty much everytime. I've done it many times and will continue to do it and have never lost a case yet. This is a legal priviledge many Americans forget they have is small claims court so USE IT! Good Luck!
Jake
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Harvey Konsella
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Brian E Snyder
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ben galatz
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Chandra Hall
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Hank
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Russ Locascio
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Chris FW, TX
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waited 10 minutes online for live chat which told me to call 800-253-1301 which also had a 10 minute voice mail recording which lasted almost an hour & I had other things to do, couldn't wait any longer on their voice mail.
Tammy A
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Just had a repairman out for the 1.5 yo fridge, said it was a default in the engineering design, and the 2500$ fridge is worthless and cant be repaired. He said hopefully they will replace it with a new one as they know about the issue.
NO more Whirlpools for me.....
ellen
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Carol A. Bajus
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French Door Refrigerator. The first one I purchased on 4-1-2013 and the ice been kept spilling water down the ice bin and water dripping off the ceiling of refrigerator on same side of ice been. After 8 or 9 service calls over a period of 10 months I demanded that
Whirlpool replace it. On January 31, 2014 my refrigerator was replaced with the same model with the same problems.
Whirlpool wants to continue with the same program of sending out servicemen which will never be resolved because it is a defective model with a poor design. The parts come from Mexico and China and Whirlpool attempts to put it together in the USA. (??????)
zb chen
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Kidd
on
Guess whirlpool goes on my list of companies to never do business.....
Mr. Dong
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John Ervin
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Compressor is 250 VOLT unit NOT 115 volt unit. so burned up... bad product, bad parts = bad frig
Mr Reynolds
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Rebecca Yurkanin
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Allen
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Aaron Beal
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