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Fridge freezer broke

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  • 03-03-2013 4:16pm
    #1
    RED PASSION
    Registered Users Posts: 280 ✭✭


    Hiya I live in a rented house the fridge freezer broke last week and I have lost €40 worth of food, is the landlord entitled to reimburse me for my loss as he owns the fride freezer or could he make a contribution as a good will gesture for my loss of food. I have little money to replace it until pay day.


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    #2
    Barracuda1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 89 ✭✭Barracuda1


    RED PASSION wrote: »
    Hiya I live in a rented house the fridge freezer broke last week and I have lost €40 worth of food, is the landlord entitled to reimburse me for my loss as he owns the fride freezer or could he make a contribution as a good will gesture for my loss of food. I have little money to replace it until pay day.

    I'd say try getting a new fridge first. Was the appliance on the blink and did you contact the Landlord about it.


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    #3
    djimi
    Registered Users Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    I dont believe that the landlord is responsible for your loss of food, no. I could be wrong though.


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    #4
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    Your right Djimi the landlord is not responsible.

    you could claim on your contents insurance but as the excess will be greater than 40 yoyo and your premium would take a hit it would be pointless to do so.


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    #5
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    D3PO wrote: »
    Your right Djimi the landlord is not responsible.

    you could claim on your contents insurance but as the excess will be greater than 40 yoyo and your premium would take a hit it would be pointless to do so.

    Again you should try and avoid giving definitive answers.
    The tenant might have a case if the fridge freezer was old and in poor condition particularly if they had previously mentioned it to the landlord.


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    #6
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,022 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    Oh God. We're now reduced to tenants expecting their landlords to pay for the food inside a failed freezer? The LL (ridiculously IMO but anyway) can be expected to replace or repair the broken freezer but that's where his liability stops if the unit failed suddenly and without warning (as they often do).

    I dare say most tenants don't even bother taking out contents insurance...probably think the landlord will cover their losses in a fire/burglary!

    OP: maybe the landlord also has little money, have you considered that??!


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    #7
    heffoo
    Registered Users Posts: 261 ✭✭heffoo


    murphaph wrote: »
    Oh God. We're now reduced to tenants expecting their landlords to pay for the food inside a failed freezer? The LL (ridiculously IMO but anyway) can be expected to replace or repair the broken freezer but that's where his liability stops if the unit failed suddenly and without warning (as they often do).

    I dare say most tenants don't even bother taking out contents insurance...probably think the landlord will cover their losses in a fire/burglary!

    OP: maybe the landlord also has little money, have you considered that??!

    Well your obviously an ass of a landlord god help your tenant if you have them, the op asked a simple question in sure they don't want replies from sour smart ass people like yourself


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    #8
    murphaph
    Registered Users Posts: 19,022 ✭✭✭✭murphaph


    heffoo wrote: »
    Well your obviously an ass of a landlord god help your tenant if you have them, the op asked a simple question in sure they don't want replies from sour smart ass people like yourself
    The OP wants to see if he can offload his bad luck onto someone else. No more and no less.


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    #9
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    murphaph wrote: »
    The OP wants to see if he can offload his bad luck onto someone else. No more and no less.

    It's not his bad luck. It is not his fridge freezer. The landlord might have cut corners and bought a far cheaper and less reliable fridge freezer than they would have themselves in their own home. This has caused the tenant a loss.


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    #10
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    Again you should try and avoid giving definitive answers.
    The tenant might have a case if the fridge freezer was old and in poor condition particularly if they had previously mentioned it to the landlord.

    your wrong again. but its ok come on here and contradict everybody. If you weren't so cocky you would be funny :rolleyes:

    again show me a PRTB ruling in favour of the tennant whos food has been spoilt by a faulty fridge. You cant you just come out with spurious opinion.


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    #11
    djimi
    Registered Users Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    It's not his bad luck. It is not his fridge freezer. The landlord might have cut corners and bought a far cheaper and less reliable fridge freezer than they would have themselves in their own home. This has caused the tenant a loss.

    Appliances break down; its a fact of life. Theres nothing in law to say that the landlord has to buy state of the art. So long as the landlord is not supplying appliances that are faulty then I dont see how they can be held accountable for the appliance breaking down. In reality its in the landlords best interest to put in half decent appliances so that they are not having to repair/replace them every year.


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    #12
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    djimi wrote: »
    Appliances break down; its a fact of life. Theres nothing in law to say that the landlord has to buy state of the art. So long as the landlord is not supplying appliances that are faulty then I dont see how they can be held accountable for the appliance breaking down. In reality its in the landlords best interest to put in half decent appliances so that they are not having to repair/replace them every year.

    dont you know Djimi this newbie is the judge and jury of all things irish rental related. sure he wrote the book on it :rolleyes:


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    #13
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    I had a piece of crap washing machine stain my clothes and ruin some of them. I mentioned the issue to the landlord and he had it repaired. If he didn't then I would have sued him for the costs of new clothes for any subsequent stainings. The OP has a case if he can prove any kind of meanness from the landlord.


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    #14
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    I had a piece of crap washing machine stain my clothes and ruin some of them. I mentioned the issue to the landlord and he had it repaired. If he didn't then I would have sued him for the costs of new clothes for any subsequent stainings. The OP has a case if he can prove any kind of meanness from the landlord.

    he had it repaired because he legally had to. He didnt have a legal obligation to replace your clothes though.


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    #15
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    D3PO wrote: »
    he had it repaired because he legally had to. He didnt have a legal obligation to replace your clothes though.

    I know that. If he didn't have it repaired then I would have a case for any future loss.


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    #16
    djimi
    Registered Users Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    I had a piece of crap washing machine stain my clothes and ruin some of them. I mentioned the issue to the landlord and he had it repaired. If he didn't then I would have sued him for the costs of new clothes for any subsequent stainings. The OP has a case if he can prove any kind of meanness from the landlord.

    Something tells me you wouldnt have gotten very far trying to take legal action against the landlord for damage you caused to your clothes by putting them through an appliance that you knew to have a fault (especially if the landlord has it in writing that you knew the appliance had the fault).


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    #17
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    djimi wrote: »
    Something tells me you wouldnt have gotten very far trying to take legal action against the landlord for damage you caused to your clothes by putting them through an appliance that you knew to have a fault (especially if the landlord has it in writing that you knew the appliance had the fault).

    I could bill him for dry cleaning, you get the point. There is definitely a liability to damages for faulty appliances if there is any kind of inaction on the landlords part.


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    #18
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    I could bill him for dry cleaning, you get the point. There is definitely a liability to damages for faulty appliances if there is any kind of inaction on the landlords part.

    again a grey area. Theres no definitive date provided for repair. In a timely manner could mean anything. So no you couldnt just bung your clothes off to the dry cleaners and bill him.

    After a period of time that is still arbitory you could and expect to win in a dispute but you couldnt just turn around for example after 3 days and garantee that he will have to bear the cost. Now after 2 weeks clearly you would have a stronger case but again what is in a timely manner a day a week, two weeks ?


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    #19
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    What am I doing with my life discussing fridge freezers and washing machines on boards.


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    #20
    RED PASSION
    Registered Users Posts: 280 ✭✭RED PASSION


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    It's not his bad luck. It is not his fridge freezer. The landlord might have cut corners and bought a far cheaper and less reliable fridge freezer than they would have themselves in their own home. This has caused the tenant a loss.

    it stopped working a few days before i noticed, things started going bad, there was a lot of ice build up on the freezer element for months was this the cause of the breakdown I was never told by my landlord to defrost it or anything so all my stuff is ruined lots of meat etc etc. :mad:


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    #21
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    RED PASSION wrote: »
    it stopped working a few days before i noticed, things started going bad, there was a lot of ice build up on the freezer element for months was this the cause of the breakdown I was never told by my landlord to defrost it or anything so all my stuff is ruined lots of meat etc etc. :mad:

    Ah. Yeah that is your fault. You need to defrost your freezers every now and then. Lesson learned.


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    #22
    RED PASSION
    Registered Users Posts: 280 ✭✭RED PASSION


    TheOldHand wrote: »
    Ah. Yeah that is your fault. You need to defrost your freezers every now and then. Lesson learned.

    it is still not working after defrosting now and the fridge is broken, i did not cause this or was not told to carry out any maintenance to this appliance so why should i suffer the loss of 2 bin bags worth of food. :mad::mad::mad:

    I must eat out over the next few days til it is sorted and take time off work for the possibly a new fridge to come whilst other housemates carry on about their business as normal
    before some smart ass says so, i am not claiming for eating out and loss of earnings just the initial loss of food.


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    #23
    TheOldHand
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 91 ✭✭TheOldHand


    You let the ice build up ye goose.


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    #24
    convert
    Registered Users Posts: 9,338 ✭✭✭convert


    By all means contact the landlord to explain that the fridge/freezer isn't working and that you expect it to be repaired/replaced as soon as possible. However, with regards to the food: what would you do it if was your own freezer? Would you regularly defrost an appliance that you own? If so, why didn't you think of defrosting the appliance in the place that you're renting? And if your own appliance broke, who would you ask to compensate you for the food you lost? The manufacturer because they didn't explicitly tell you that you should know to make sure to defrost the appliance regularly? Also, how come you or your housemates didn't notice the freezer hadn't stopped working until a few days later? If you'd noticed on day one/two, you probably wouldn't have had to discard all the food.

    With regards to having to eat out every day until it's fixed/replaced: that's not true. How about using pre-prepared meals for a few days? They won't kill you for a short period of time.

    Btw, what are your hosuemates doing about it? And how come they can't stay at home while the new fridge/freezer is being replaced?


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    #25
    ABajaninCork
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,411 ✭✭✭ABajaninCork


    Our washing machine started to shred the clothes! :eek:. It was repaired once. In the end, I installed the washing machine I'd brought with me and asked the landlord to remove his, which he did.

    That machine packed up, so we bought another.

    OP. I guess you can ask the landlord to replace the food. But I wouldn't bet on it.


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    #26
    ABajaninCork
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,411 ✭✭✭ABajaninCork


    RED PASSION wrote: »
    it is still not working after defrosting now and the fridge is broken, i did not cause this or was not told to carry out any maintenance to this appliance so why should i suffer the loss of 2 bin bags worth of food. :mad::mad::mad:

    Are you serious, OP? Why do you need to be told you have to defrost the freezer on a regular basis? Is this your first time renting?? Unless it's a frost-free model, didn't you get a clue when the ice started to build up? And you DO have to keep the freezer clean...

    If I were the landlord, I wouldn't be at all happy to hear that.


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    #27
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    Forget the food OP your lucky the landlord isnt charging you for the repair or replacement of the fridge freezer as this isnt really wear and tear its misuse of the appliance by you and your housemates.

    ignorance isnt an excuse.


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    #28
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,300 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    RED PASSION wrote: »
    it is still not working after defrosting now and the fridge is broken, i did not cause this or was not told to carry out any maintenance to this appliance so why should i suffer the loss of 2 bin bags worth of food. :mad::mad::mad:
    Firstly, defrosting stops it from breaking, but once broken, defrosting won't do jack.

    Secondly, do some research on any appliances that you depend on so much.

    Thirdly, if you ask the landlord to replace the food that you lost, do you have the receipts of all the food, and do you still have the bags of food as proof?

    Finally, asking for the food to be replaced may further delay the fridge-freezer being repaired/replaced.


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    #29
    Scortho
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,876 ✭✭✭Scortho


    D3PO wrote: »
    Forget the food OP your lucky the landlord isnt charging you for the repair or replacement of the fridge freezer as this isnt really wear and tear its misuse of the appliance by you and your housemates.

    ignorance isnt an excuse.

    As he may have led to it being broken/broke it could the landlord take it out of his deposit?


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    #30
    D3PO
    Registered Users Posts: 7,879 ✭✭✭D3PO


    Scortho wrote: »
    As he may have led to it being broken/broke it could the landlord take it out of his deposit?

    I believe so yes. Now of course if the OP disputed it the LL would have to be able to prove to the PRTB that this was infact the cause. Im not sure if its possible to get an engineers report stating this was why it failed but if they did well then its a slam dunk win for the LL.


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    #31
    fasttalkerchat
    Registered Users Posts: 5,652 ✭✭✭fasttalkerchat


    murphaph wrote: »
    Oh God. We're now reduced to tenants expecting their landlords to pay for the food inside a failed freezer? The LL (ridiculously IMO but anyway) can be expected to replace or repair the broken freezer but that's where his liability stops if the unit failed suddenly and without warning (as they often do).

    I dare say most tenants don't even bother taking out contents insurance...probably think the landlord will cover their losses in a fire/burglary!

    OP: maybe the landlord also has little money, have you considered that??!

    I don't think a tenant can take out contents insurance even if they wanted to. Isn't it the case that you can't insure what you don't own?


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