SHORT STORY:
DO NOT BUY LG appliances until you confirm that they have technicians that service your area. After two months of calling almost weekly for service, LG has not been able to get a tech out to see our refrigerator, and when they finally ‘offered’ to replace the fridge (which is still under warranty), there were shady strings attached AND they didn’t follow through with actually delivering the fridge.
ALSO: If you ever have to call LG customer service, announce that you’ll be RECORDING the calls (and then do it!) because you can NOT trust what one rep says to be true with the next rep.
LONG story:
We bought an LG refrigerator in January 2023. In March, we noticed that sometimes items in the fridge compartment were getting frozen even though we had the thermostat set to 38° or 39°. Sometimes we could thaw meat in the fridge – other times it would still be rock hard frozen two days later. We’d wake up to find salads frozen and ruined or the milk chunky.
It wasn’t always stuff in the same location either – top, bottom, middle, left, right – and it wasn’t consistent. For a couple months, we tried rearranging things and making sure vents weren’t blocked to see if it would get better, but it kept happening. A separate thermometer placed on the middle shelf confirmed that it was sometimes getting down to 31 degrees in the fridge despite being set to 38. But we couldn’t just turn up the temperature because sometimes it really was close to 38, and if we turned up the temp to be in the 40s, we’d risk bacteria growing during those warm spells.
In June 2023, we started our saga to get a technician to come out.
•Called on June 5 and scheduled service for June 8. Rearranged schedule to make sure someone was home for technician.
•TECHNICAN WAS NO-SHOW (June 8). Called LG and Rosa said service had been cancelled since there was no technician available in the area. I expressed frustration that LG never bothered to call or email that info to us. It would have been nice to know that we didn’t need to wait around at home for a technician that was never going to come. I was told that I would get a call in 3-5 business days to reschedule service.
•NO CALL CAME. We were then due to go on vacation, so I put it off until our return.
•PARTS SHOW UP WITHOUT NOTICE. While we were on vacation, three packages worth of LG parts showed up at our house even though no tech has been out and we still haven’t gotten a call. At this point, I’m assuming that this thermostat problem is a known issue for this model and that LG just preemptively sent us the parts so they’d be in place for the tech. At this point, I’m feeling hopeful.
•TECHNICIAN SHOWS UP WITHOUT NOTICE WHEN NO ONE IS HOME. I called on June 26 in the *afternoon* to try again to schedule service. I was told by Vanessa that the technician had tried to go to our house that *morning*. What?!?!?! LG had not called or emailed us any notice that the technician was coming out, and so no one knew to be home. If they had told us, we would have made sure the tech got in the house! I was told they’d call back within 24 hours to reschedule. [My husband and I speculate that they tried to text info to our home line, but that is pure speculation. After this point, in every subsequent conversation with LG, I emphasized that the warranty was registered under our home number but they should not try to text that number and give them my cell number instead).
•NO CALL CAME. Called on June 27 after 24 hour window had passed. I was told by Rosa that I’d have to wait 3-5 business days for the service team to make another appointment. I was also told that since there had been two unresolved appointments within a month, I could instead start the process to get a replacement/refund if I wished. At this point, I just thought this was all just a scheduling error, so I asked to try the repair route instead.
•EMAIL TELLS ME TO SHIP PARTS BACK. On the evening of July 3, I get an email telling me to print out the attached two FedEx labels and be prepared to have the parts picked up on July 5 at 8 a.m. Two labels, not three. I have three packages though. And the tech hasn’t seen the fridge yet – what if he needs these parts and I’ve already mailed them back? I replied to the email asking for clarification about these questions before I put the parts out, but NEVER HEARD BACK. (This is still true, as of Aug 18, and I will also point out the rudeness of sending me an email telling me to print off these labels with only 36 hours notice *over a holiday* and *without asking* if I had access to a printer.)
•NO CALL CAME. Called again on July 6. Now I’m really getting sick of finding food unexpectedly frozen and not getting a call back, so I ask to start the replacement/refund route. But Irwin says they couldn’t do a replacement/refund because no technician had seen the fridge yet. I’m ready to pull out my hair – I let the rep know that I know it isn’t his fault, but I’ve been at this for a month now and really frustrated. I’m told that my case will be escalated to the ‘Presidential Team’, given a case number, and told to expect a call within 24-48 hours.
•NO CALL CAME. Called again on July 11 and gave my case number. The rep (AJ ?) does not react at all to the reference to the ‘Presidential Team’ nor does he offer to connect me with them. He repeats that they have to have a tech come out first before doing a replacement or return. I asked him (in a calm voice) exactly how many times do I have to cycle through “We’ll call in 3-5 days” and then NOT get a call? How long is this potentially going to stretch out? He assures me that this will be the last time and promises me that I’ll get a call in 3-5 business days.
•June 19 (six business days later), I get a text that says my case is eligible for ‘alternate resolution’, and I am asked to send them a photo of the original receipt. I do so.
•FINALLY, A PHONE CALL! On July 20, I get another text saying that I will be getting a phone call from the Resolutions Team later in the day. I eventually get that phone call. I am told that since LG can not get someone out to fix the refrigerator, they’ll send a professional installer to install a new fridge and take the old one away. The rep says that I will be texted a form to fill out with some personal information and then, after I fill it out, I’ll be contacted within 7 days to arrange delivery. I read all of this back to the rep to confirm my understanding – both that they’ll take the old fridge away and the timeline for scheduling the new one. She confirms my understanding, makes sure she has the right cell phone number, and lets me know that if I have any questions, I should call LG’s 800 number and ask to speak with the ‘Resolution Team’.
•ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT. That evening, I start to fill out the text form, and I start to get concerned. It starts out innocent enough – asking for personal information and another copy of the receipt, but then it tells me to take off the sticker with the serial number, cut it in half, and upload a photo of it cut in half. That’s a pretty irreversible step, but I do it. Then the final page requires me to sign a legal statement where I will have to promise that
oI will not allow any third party to use the product (or resell it)
oI will properly dispose of the product
oI will not publicize any of the terms or conditions of this letter
And it goes on with the more usual indemnifications to not hold LG liable for anything.
This feels both confusing (since it doesn’t match what I was told on the phone) and a bit shady (since after signing it I can’t even talk about the letter) so I decide to hold off on signing the letter and instead call back the next day.
•LEARNING TO NOT TRUST WHAT REPS SAY – On July 21, I call LG and ask to speak with the ‘Resolution Team.’ The rep insists that she can help me. I explain that I was verbally *told* that LG would take care of our old fridge, but the link says that I have to dispose of it. The rep (after putting me on hold to check) tells me that I indeed will need to take care of the fridge. I explain that this is not acceptable. I should not have to pay to dispose of the fridge. I ask to speak with someone who can make this right. She asks ‘who’ do I want to speak with, and I repeat that I want to speak with someone who can make this right. They should make this right by either taking the old fridge or paying me the money necessary to dispose of it properly. She puts me on hold again, and then sends me a link to the local Salvation Army and says that I can transport the fridge there and donate it there. At this point, I’m not sure I believe her and I’m really not sure that we have the means to transport the fridge there, so I tell her that I’ll look into it and call her back.
•After some research, I’ve found a couple ways to responsibly dispose of the fridge. But I’ve decided that I’m not going to sign the form because a) some of the methods of disposal (like donation) may result in someone else using or profiting from the fridge in some way, and b) I think the muzzle clause is outrageous. After reading through the warranty carefully, there is nothing that says they can void the warranty if I refuse to sign their paperwork – they are bound by the warranty regardless. The only thing they can do is refuse to replace the fridge, in which case we go to arbitration and THEY have to pay for all that process.
JULY 24 – Called LG to let them know that I’m not going to sign the form, but I accept the fact that we’ll have to dispose of the fridge and would like a replacement. I’m pretty sure the rep did not understand what all I was talking about, but she confirmed that they had our proof of purchase and said that I would be hearing from LG in 1-3 business days to set up the replacement or refund.
•NO CALL CAME. Called again on July 28. Divine looked up the status of our replacement and said it was approved on July 28th, and that it should be delivered within 7-14 days. We updated the account with my personal yahoo email address (in addition to the Charter one) and she said she’d ‘prioritize’ and ‘escalate’ this further. Additionally, I asked her to make sure that the technicians would either call or email us to notify us of the delivery window before coming out, and she assured me that it was added to the documentation and confirmed that they had both our home number and my cell number.
•NO CALL, NO EMAIL, NO DELIVERY… It’s August 18 – three weeks past the last phone call. We’re now looking up how to file for arbitration. And we’re letting friends, families, and other folks in southwest Michigan know to stay away from LG!
