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CB Appliances General Electric class-action suit on refrigerator moisture!
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General Electric review: class-action suit on refrigerator moisture! 65

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11:28 am EST
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A recent visit by a GE service person (who was replacing and fixing some parts on our dishwasher due to their recent recall) advised us on the class-action suit GE had regarding moisture problems with a certain line of refrigerators. After a brief look at ours he stated it was one on the list. I took the time to look up this class-action suit on GE refrigerators on the computer . I read an article on the extension given by a judge to consumers who were unaware of this suit. I made a call on Feb 28th for an appointment with a GE repairman to look at our refrigerator. After a brief call with his office, we were informed that they could not honor the class-action agreement of replacing the refrigerator doors, I asked why. Their response was that I responded to late, and they had a deadline, which was Mar 27th? I said I thought that they had extended any deadline for consumers who were unaware of this issue. They said that any further extension beyond Mar 27th would be that the consumer could still get the doors replaced, but for $600.00. Go figure? I will never buy another GE product again and will advise others to do the same.

Rod Hickman.

65 comments
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MelanieY
Brigantine, US
Mar 25, 2010 8:30 am EDT

We are a new 4 condo building that was purchased new in 2006. All four units had brand new GE GSC23LSR SS refrigerators. All four have the icemaker and moisture problems. When the fridge was under warranty, our downstairs neighbors call GE repair. They came out and said our water pressure was not good enough and that was the problem. Our water pressure is the cause of ice buildup and frost on the inside of the ice maker and water dripping down the front of the door? Give me a break. Our water pressure is fine here. Now I start the process in futility. GE, never again.

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Linda K. DeMarco
Chagrin Falls, US
Dec 21, 2009 1:27 pm EST

I am having a lot of trouble with my GE profile side by side counter depth. the freezer is defrosting and melting everything in it and the light stays on in the fridge and gets so hot that anything on the top shelf spoils. The last repairman replaced the ice-maker to solve the water leaking down the back and sides of the freezer. The fan for the compressor is not working and the control panel at the top is not working. It has taken 3 days for a service repairman to arrive and I have lost a lot of food.
I am wasting a lot of time and energy. (The Best Buy Geek had the nerve to ask me if the Fridge was plugged in) if I were a man I can he would not have asked me such a dumb question.

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bxt007
Chicago, US
Dec 01, 2009 5:07 pm EST

i have the same problem. bought my place in 07, didn't know anything about this until my fridge failed fall 09. they sent a guy out, who eyeballed the outside of the fridge, told me it was a product defect, and charged me $80 for the visit. i have called GE several times about this. their customer service is awful. ranges from curt to rude. i asked to escalate, got someone from their 'headquarters' and she basically just stuck me on permanent hold because i wouldn't take their canned legalistic answers. i asked her if she thought her mom should get treated like this. she didn't respond. basically, they think they have settled the matter cause they paid off some plaintiff's attorney and now they're willing to fix the fridge (at considerable cost), or give you $400 off the retail price (who the heck pays that), as if i want another product from this evil corporation in my house. the worst part - still have a GE profile range and dishwasher (which also had a product recall) - i'd love to junk it all and get them out of my life altogether. i don't think people like us have any legal recourse at all - unfortunate part of class action litigation, and the company definitely thinks it has paid out enough. all i know is, i won't be buying any of their stuff ever again.

by the way - if you're on hold with GE, you automatically get disconnected at 5PM cst, when they shut down for the day. nice. very classy.

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Justin W
Salt Lake City, US
Nov 13, 2009 2:58 pm EST

We have a 7-8 year old GE Fridge, model TFX25KR. We just moved back into our home -- which had been occupied by our tenants previously -- and have had problems with frost building up inside the freezer around the ice dispenser hole. Our old tenants had never mentioned it, so who knows how long this has been happening. I don't recall ever receiving a class action lawsuit notice.

We also have problems with the ice in the icebox clumping together into massive chunks of ice that have to be manually broken apart and emptied every few weeks. I don't know if this is related to the moisture issue, or a water leak somewhere in the ice maker. But it's a nuisance.

On several occasions, the water dispenser button on the door hasn't disengaged, causing the cup/glass we're filling to overflow, spilling water down the front of the fridge and all over the kitchen floor.

Finally, at some point in the last few days, the valve where the water line comes into the back of the fridge has started leaking. We now have water seeping through the floor and dripping into the basement. I've temporarily turned off the water line, and now need to find parts and/or a maintenance person. But, depending on price, I might just replace this refrigerator altogether, and it won't be another GE model.

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B.Bell
, US
Oct 21, 2009 1:48 pm EDT

In 2005 we started noticing frost build up on the inside of the freezer door near the ice dispenser and then ice build up in the gears of the ice crusher and that lead us to learning of the class action suit re the moisture problem in January 2006. We were included in the suit and GE had the doors replaced in July 2006. The repair person said the old doors were too thin, had a seal problem resulting in moisture inside the freezer door that turned to ice thereby no longer insulating the freezer. Three years later in September 2009 we again started noticing frost build up near the ice dispenser and recently the water dispenser stopped working. Checked all the water dispenser components and it appears the water line inside the freezer door is frozen which means the door has moisture/ice built up inside--the same problem that resulted in the class action. I called GE and was told the suit has been settled so if I want the doors again replaced it wood cost me $425 or I could get a $400 credit off their National Sales Price if I want to purchase a new refrigerator but only thru them--so I cannot purchase one that is on sale or discounted. Bottle line is GE replaced the defective doors with defective doors that last about 3 years and they want me to purchase another GE refrigerator. If there is a way of getting another class action I am all for it.

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Joseph Walesman
St.Louis, US
Oct 15, 2009 7:21 pm EDT

I have worked in customer service for 10 years. In all my experience as a customer service phone rep, and as a customer, I have never encountered a more unsatisfactory experience than the times I have dealt with GE. I received a GE digital camera as a gift for Christmas. It was dead right out of the box but I did not have a receipt from a store as it was a gift. I called GE Customer Service and after a particularly long and tedious phone conversation, was told to send them the camera, at my expense.
I did and nearly a month and a half later, I received the camera back again with their...cost estimate for repairs!
Which incidently was only slightly less than the cost of buying an entire new camera. When I sent them a letter explaining that I had sent the camera at my own expense to them, and they took a month to get it back to me, and wanted to charge me to fix a brand new camera, I received no response at all. I phoned customer service again, and got a person with an attitude who repeatedly told me that I needed to take it back to the store, or find out if the person who gave it to me as a gift had a receipt for it.
Not only were they not able to help me in a satisfactory manner, but they did not seem to be the least bit concerned about a potential customer. It's not uncommon to get one bad customer service agent, but to repeatedly receive bad service both on the phone and in writing is very unusual. Comsumer electronics is a widely competitve field. Companies like Sony make very good products. I strongly urge anyone considering these purchases to take into account the reputation for service that the company provides. Thank you.

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thehomebuilder
sacramneto, US
Sep 30, 2009 8:33 pm EDT

I purchased a complete set of ge profile appliances in 2005, the microwave broke in 2007 and the dishwasher cuaght fire las night. I could not fing any class action suits on this and ge's customer service sucks

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Nanna Joyce
, US
Aug 21, 2009 4:06 pm EDT

We purchased a new side-byside in 03 and it has started leaking . In 08 a heat defrost unit was replaced. My hardwood floor was ruined and had to be replaced. I, at the time did not realize it was the frige.
Here I am in Aug 09 and it is leaking again, and areas of my kitchen hardwood floor is showing damage. Yes I agree another pay-out should come to the rest of the people. Any reputable company should stand by all their customers regardless of dates. Afterall they would never refuse several years of a payment plan from us, the consumer. I thought I was safe buying GE: What has happened?

Joyce

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Sams
St. Charles, US
Aug 11, 2009 2:40 pm EDT

I have also had problems with a 2002 side by side. First prolems were in 2005. Now the same problem the heater burned out.
Had a repair here yesterday, just tired of the whole thing. Went out and bought a new refrigerator yesterday, not a GE.
Wanda

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Terri421
Merrill, US
Aug 05, 2009 5:56 pm EDT

I too am having the same problem. Called GE today and was told the same thing- I can get a $400 credit towards a new GE refridgerator, or can pay $425.00 for the new doors that are needed, since this is past the deadline of the lawsuit. Now why would I want another GE appliance or pay out of pocket for a known faulty piece of equipment?

If GE is aware that their merchandise is faulty, there should be a recall. When I asked about why this was not recalled, I was told becuase it was not a "safety" concern. Unreal! What a bunch of crooks! My fridge is 7 years old. Had issues within a year of purchasing it and had to jump through hoops to get that fixed.

Please keep me posted on if there is any more chatter about an extension to this class action lawsuit. I would definitely like to join.

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Ashreds
Budd Lake, US
Jul 19, 2009 9:59 pm EDT

I bought a set of GE Profile Stainless Steel appliances including a Side by side Fridge JGB920, Dishwasher, Range and a Microwave Oven in 2005.

The Dishwasher conked out in 2007. GE charged me $85 to send a person out, he could not fix it and gave up. I ended up buying a new Profile dishwasher for $1100. The Fridge has been having problems with temparature settings for the last 2 years. The freezer and main fridge area temperatures show -48 and -28 or so and then it starts making clicking sounds. I found that if we turn it off and restart after a while it becomes okay. My wife leaves it open sometimes to allow it to get "ack to normal". The problem we also see is that it can be firehazard as the fridge light turns on one in a while and turns extremely hot, I keep thinking it could set the house on fire.

I am sick of GE. This is not the way very expensive appliances are supposed to work. The problem is with matched kitchen appliances you cannot even bring in new appliances from other brands.

Class action suits any one? I will join.

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kbw
, US
Jul 06, 2009 10:17 pm EDT

My GE side by side Profile control panel keeps breaking. This time it has ruined all my floors and flooded into basement. Is there a lawsuit going on over this problem. I am out a lot of money in damages.

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Whiskers
, US
Jun 30, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

I also have a 2002 GE refrigerator that was repaired in 2005. The heater went out, resulting in no cooling. I complained to GE becuase the unit was so new. They sent me information about the class action lawsuit and eventually reimbursed me for the cost of the 2005 repair.

This week the same thing happened - freezer iced up, loss of cooling. I talked to the GE "Moisture Dept." this morning and they waived the $69 service call fee. Today, the GE repairman again replaced the heating unit and stated that this heater unit was a new, improved model, which they did not have in 2005. The reapir cost $185. I called the "Moisture Dept." number to complain that the unit was not fixed correctly in 2005 and asked to be reimbursed for the $185. They refused, but did agree to refund the part cost. I told them that wasn't good enough, that I wanted the total cost reimbursed. "That's not gonna happen, " she said. Any ideas on how to resolve this?

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jarred johnson
frank, US
Jun 12, 2009 7:12 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

MAILED ON Friday, June 12, 2009
FILED ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 17th 2009

From:
Jarred D Johnson
860 E Benjamin Dr
Franklin TN 37067

TO:
The Honorable Sheri Polster Chappell

United States Magistrate Judge
U.S. Courthouse & Federal Building

2110 First Street
Ft. Myers, Florida 33901

REGARDING:

Class Action Case No. 2:05-cv-186-FtM-33DNF

REQUEST EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE A CLAIM TO JOIN CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

HONORABLE SHERI POLSTER CHAPPELL,

My name is Jarred D Johnson, and I have had numerous issues with a side by side refrigerator manufactured by GE which was previously included in a class action lawsuit over faulty doors and moisture issues in the freezer. It is my understanding that GE did not do enough to advertise to alert customers that their product was included in this action, as I and thousands of others still are just now learning of this action for the first time in [protected],

THEREFORE, I am kindly asking that you would grant an extension of time to allow more plaintiffs to file and adjoin the action so that our faulty products would be fixed and ask that you would give the new members at least a 24 month window of time to do so. Doing so would give customers that are encountering this faulty product for the first time an opportunity to repair them. My side-by-side refrigerator came with the purchase of my house and I was not the original customer, so I was not in the GE database and was not mailed any notification by GE regarding the settlement.

Thank you,

Jarred D Johnson

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Zaxmommie2003
Frederick, US
Jun 09, 2009 10:12 pm EDT

thank you for this information. I have a GE side by side that is leaking water...so much so that the entire bottom of the freezer fills with water and freezes and my bottom drawer gets dislodged and then, I have a puddle on the floor daily, which has caused the subfloor under my tiles to warp...so now I have a busted fridge and a damaged floor? I just called [protected], designated for fridge lawsuit customers, only to find out that my model # is not included in the lawsuit. My model # is TFX 25 KR...wonder why it's not included when it sounds like I have the same freezer "peeing" problems that everyone else is having?

If anyone has add'l info, please let me know!

Single Mom in Maryland

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sisgiggles
Port Orchard, US
Feb 05, 2009 1:38 pm EST

We have a 2008 Model GE profile refrigerator, dishwasher and microwave/hood, as well as range. So far we have had a repairman replace a circut board in the fridge, a thermister, been told it also now needs an ice maker, and a damper thingy. HHHMMM GE said they would send a letter. What does this mean? We have not recieved a letter and they only covered $100 in food loss when the refer was at 62 degrees after service that was supposed to fix the problem. Now comes the kicker! Guess what is going on with the Dishwasher? I am told two weeks ago that a faulty circut board is to blame for a fan that won't shut off. Same as what started our issues with the refer. Incidentely the refer is still having a fan run while the thing is turned off even with the new circut board...I just recieved a call from the dishwasher repair guy that he cannot make his appointment he scheduled for me two weeks ago when I asked him to make us his first appointment...I have never had such terrible customer service! If their is a class action going on I'd like to know where to get information on it since they are not going to resolve it anytime soon and I am running out of leave time to be at home to wait for people who are not the slightest bit interested in helping us! Maybe we can get Jessy!

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Pensri Siville
,
Nov 17, 2008 4:38 pm EST

I bought a GE.refrigerator in 2007, and up to this time I have a continuous problem with the ice maker.
The repair Technician came to my house four times, each time, assuring me the problem was fixed.What can I do to get the problem fixed? Am I to assume GE.Appliance repair dept.is just a bad joke?

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CAMILLE BAUER
,
Nov 07, 2008 7:10 am EST

I TOO HAVE A DEFECTIVE GE REFRIGERATOR THAT I WAS NOT AWARE WAS RECALLED AND AM NOW PAYING $535.00 TO HAVE REPLACED. IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET ANOTHER CALSS ACTION SUIT GOING AGAINST GE. NOT ONLY WAS THE ICEMAKER DEFECTIVE.. SO WAS THE FILTER.. THE DOORS WERE NOT THICK ENOUGH.. THEY NOW REMOVED THE SCREWS IN THE DOOR. ETC. MAYBE THERE IS A TECNICALLITY OF ANOTHER DEFECT THAT WILL HELP US GET THESE DOORS COVERED. CAMILLE BAUER

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Tom Newport
,
Aug 06, 2008 7:15 am EDT

General Electric
Phone GE Cares

General Electric — class-action suit on refrigerator moisture!

We are having the same problem with our GE 2002 refrigerator. The moisture problem in the freezer is out of control. The freezer and door ice/water is unusable and I have to keep a plastic tub under the unit to protect my hardwood floors. We were never notified of this defect and now the date of the replacement is past and to have working ice we will have to replace the door for over $600! I called the GE 1-800-GECARES number only to find out that they do not CARE! A GE repairperson came to the house and confirmed that the doors are defective, but there was nothing he could do about it because it was past the deadline of the class action lawsuit. I will never buy a GE product again, with terrible customer service and defective products- why should anyone buy their products?
Tom & Stephanie Newport
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404

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Todd
,
Jun 09, 2016 4:37 am EDT

GE just came to our house on a service call and spent 2o minutes changing a fuse and charged us $169.00.
Outragous!

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Tom Newport
,
Aug 04, 2008 9:41 am EDT

We are having the same problem with our GE 2002 refridgerator. The mositure problem in the freezer is out of control. The freezer and door ice/water is unuseable and I have to keep a plastic tub under the unit to protect my hardwood floors. We were never notified of this defect and now the date of the replacement is past and to have working ice we will have to replace the door for over $600! I called the GE 1-800-GECARES number only to find out that they do not CARE! A GE repair person came to the house and confirmed that the doors are defective, but there was nothing he could do about it because it was past the deadline of the class action lawsuit. I will never buy a GE product again, with terrible customer service and defective products- why should anyone buy their products?

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Anne Airriess
,
Jun 15, 2016 7:06 am EDT

I received a GE dual handset phone for a Christmas gift 1.5 years ago. Over the past few months, the display screen has become so distorted on both handsets that I cannot read the information at all. I replaced both batteries and that does not work. I wrote an e-mail to the company and was sent an e-mail to call customer care. I did this, and was told to unplug my phone and plug it back in (rocket science for customer care). I told the woman that I had done that already and it did not work. Her response to that was "you will have to buy a new phone then." Fabulous customer service by my standards...I would never tell anyone something like that. This was followed up by saying that the cost of the repair is more than they would cover so nothing could be done. I am disgusted by the company and I can only recommend that nobody purchase any GE products. They give a one year warranty on electronics and that is it. In my opinion, a $150 phone should have a much longer life than mine has. Once again, they have absolutely no customer regard and I am extremely disappointed.

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jcarp
,
Apr 29, 2008 7:56 pm EDT

Rod, don't give up on this! I have the same situation and I will and have telephoned Raymond Graft tel [protected] in Louisville KY at 3005 Resford Way 40205. We have had 2 visits by techs in the Puget Sound region and neither one told us about the recall program. Today, our tech now arrives to diagnose a failed cooling system and says it was caused by the defective door seal and we can get it repaired for about $1000 or get a $400 credit on a new refrigerator! No previous tech told us about it and we don't get a newspaper. Advised it was on the internet, and my response is geappliances is not on my Favorites list of bookmarks to visit. Why would I visit this site?

Anyway, if we don't get admitted to the program, KING, KIRO and KOMO will hear about this and GE will have to respond to media pressure. Give Mr. Graft a call. Tell him living up to his last name is no honor!

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Mark Weidler
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Oct 27, 2007 6:19 am EDT

Amazing that they can get away with this type of extortionately billing! The EXACT same thing happened to me. I refused to pay the $99 - they badgered me for several months with threatening letters to send to collections. I eventually decided it was not worth the hassle and paid it anyway. ...and they had the audacity to forward my account to collections anyway.

This is a prime example of a top heavy corporation out of control, with the obvious demonstrated ability to bully their customers with their untouchability.

I advise anyone who wants to avoid endless frustration to AVOID GE APPLIANCES like the plague!