Hilarie: Frozen wastes of built-in obsolescence

May 30 2009 By Hilaire Stelfox

OUR fridge freezer is so beautiful that it deserves to be in a modern art gallery masquerading as a conceptual work.

I would, with a playful sense of irony, entitle it ‘Frozen Asset’ and sell it for £700, which is what it cost.

But not what it is worth now.

In fact, it is worth less than zilch because just a few months out of its two-year warrantee it has ceased to function.

It remains resplendent in all its satiny stainless steel gorgeousness but it has failed in its primary purpose.

I Googled ‘built-in obsolescence’ to see what I could find and unearthed a site offering words of condolence to the owners of disappointing white goods.

They’re not what they used to be, said the site, because demand for cut-price fridges, washing machines etc has driven down the quality. If you get up to five years out of a kitchen appliance you’re doing well.

This made me feel slightly better in one way but extremely aggravated in another.

We’ve been told by two sets of local repair firms that the problem with our far-from-cheap fridge freezer may or may not be rectifiable. One repairer said that, not unreasonably, he’d have to charge a call-out fee and would need to take our appliance away. Sums such as "between £250 and £300’’ were mentioned.

On this occasion it is the fridge part that is playing up, a few months ago we had problems with the freezer. We have been down this path before with other appliances and it always leads to an out-of-town electrical superstore.

"I think,’’ I said to the man-in-Charge, "that we’ll have to cut our losses. We could buy a new one for £300.’’