Imagine a scenario where just three days before you were scheduled to host Thanksgiving dinner, your refrigerator goes out.
That’s exactly what happened for Shenay and Ash Carter, from Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.
“The week before, I noticed food wasn’t as cold as normally was. A few days before Thanksgiving, the whole fridge went out and the food spoiled,” Ash Carter said.
They tried to save as much as they could by moving the food into ice-packed coolers, but not only did they lose all the meat they were planning to cook for the holiday dinner, but they lost all of their homemade baby food for their 2-year-old twins.
“We told everyone to bring everything they can, and we turned it into a Thanksgiving potluck,” Ash said.
The Carter’s purchased their LG Refrigerator in 2016 for $2,700. Thankfully, they also purchased a warranty for $500, but trying to get a repairman out in a timely manner was not easy.
“It took two weeks, maybe three weeks before they fixed it. I know it took a long time because I lost all my food,” Ash said.
Business
The Carters now qualify for a cash reimbursement as part of a proposed “No Cooling Event” Class Action Settlement reached with LG.
TO SEE IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A PAYMENT FROM THE CLASS ACTION SUIT, VISIT THIS WEBSITE.
“The lawsuit was brought by owners of LG Refrigerators who allege the LG Refrigerators have a defect that causes them to stop cooling” attorney Amey Park , of Berger Montague, told NBC 5 Responds.
Park says her Philadelphia based firm was contacted by hundreds of frustrated owners.
“Sometimes people would have their refrigerator repaired, a compressor replaced, only to find a year later, 18 months later, or even a shorter amount of time that it would just break again. So those are those were the common themes that we were hearing that really person persuaded us to proceed this class action,” she said.
Berger Montague estimates up to 1.55 million people could submit a claim. The settlement covers 31 refrigerator models, manufactured between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017.
Payments will range from $50 to over $3,500 depending on the repairs and property loss. They are based on several criteria, including:
-If you paid for parts or labor to have your refrigerator repaired
-If customers had unsuccessful or delayed repairs
-If customers suffered property loss or property damage including the value of any spoiled food, beverages, medicine, or other perishables.
-If customers or replaced their LG Refrigerator after a No-Cooling Event.
Even those affected, with no proof or receipts, can snap a picture of the sticker inside their refrigerator and receive anywhere from $50 to $450 for repairs and property loss, according to attorneys.
“We negotiated hard for this agreement, and emphasized that we wanted to get again real cash in the money in the pockets of people that they could use. Not some nominal amount, but recognizing that they had real difficulties,” Park said.
LG maintains that the refrigerators are not defective and denies any wrongdoing. The appliance company is extending the warranty for all settlement class members to five years from the purchase date and providing them with its Enhanced Customer Care Program.
“They're certainly not inexpensive refrigerators and those are refrigerators that when people buy and plunk that kind of money down. They expect to have that refrigerator running for more than a couple years,” Park says.
