written by Jonespi377 on 17/09/2014
Terrible quality,Custer service is awful
written by Fridgethatiscrap on 08/07/2014
Had this model less than a year. Thermostat failed twice. Now two years in this fridge is still freezing certain areas of the fridge, other times it's too hot. Lots of food spoilage. Please avoid. Looks the part but is absolute rubbish quality and poor customer service.
written by mrMedina434 on 16/06/2014
I bought the fridge and freezer the fridge handles are a joke. We have peplaced it 5 times now given up with handles just useing the door side to open it just to dear in parts. The bottom veg box was replaced 3 times. The fridge is a good size pity the quality is just not there. The freezer is just as bad all the drawers are broken
written by peRoberts304 on 29/04/2014
The handle on these fridges are absolutely weak and the price for a new one is criminal
written by Wood335 on 02/04/2014
We got our fridge as a replacement through appliance cover. The previous Hotpoint had 2 replacement condensers and many replacement plastic fittings. The quality of this model is worse. After 3 weeks the plastic holding a glass shelf in place has broken spilling the contents. Very poor quality. The layout is also poor as it does not make best use of the space available, there are only one set of drawers at the bottom so it needs another for cheeses etc. Besides this it is quiet and there seems to be a good temperature distribution.
written by on 15/10/2013
We have replaced the door handle twice in addition to a new shelf support. The quality of plastic is inferior which is a great shame because the fridge performs OK. With the range of products on the market, I feel we went for the wrong model and will not buy hotpoint again.
written by on 30/07/2013
Basic fridge is ok, but the door handle should be better mounted, and made of metal. The plastic handle breaks easily and the replacements are too expensive to keep replacing at such regular intervals. A lousy design by amateurs. We have always bought Hotpoint, but on the strength of this rubbish we will just buy anything except Hotpoint in future!
written by Leight67 on 20/07/2013
Good fridge but some water collects in the bottom from somewhere. Also the handle is nowhere near strong enough. Ours just broke after a few months...
written by on 12/03/2013
Pretty much the same experience as everyone else here - the fridge itself is fine but we have had 4 (FOUR!!) handles in less than 2 years. The handles are rubbish - don't buy this fridge for that reason.
written by on 06/10/2012
We bought the Fridge with matching Freezer. To be fair it was excellent value for money for a Fridge of this size but it gets a bit tiring hasving to buy new handles and vegetable trays. I have actually lost count how many handles I have had to buy but it is at least five. I have also bought two crisper trays. Also the drain hole at the back regularly gets bunged up so you find water on the floor.
written by on 08/09/2012
Looks good but least durable appliance I have ever bought. Trim on one shelf cracked spontaneously at about 14 months. Handle broke at eighteen months £40 -£50 to replace. Cleaning difficult because shelf trims are difficult to remove and harbour moisture. Drainage hole constantly needs unblocking so water accumulates in bottom of fridge. Avoid this fridge it represents awful value.
written by Joff on 20/12/2011
The handle came off the fridge (Hotpoint RLS175)because there is a little plastic insert like a big washer that holds the two screws and allows tyhe handle to pull open but retains the handle to the door. It is rubbish plastic quality and it was hardly surprising that this piece just disintegrated. However, no problem, I have a 5 year deal for free parts - not quite what one might think, however! So, after hanging on about 7 minutes and hanging up because I got no answer and then ringing the parts dept direct as I felt that was less expensive (all being prime numbers of course), I am informed the following. A very friendly parts assistant says "the part is not available as a separate item (we are talking about a fat plastic washer kind of thing) so you will have to buy the whole handle and we have that in stock for immediate despatch so you can have it tomorrow" Naturally, I enquired about the price to which I was informed £52 and so many pence. "What" was my immediate reply to which she said, "well we can do it a little cheaper at £49 if you don't have it expressed to you" I informed her that we actually have this 5 year free parts service to which she informed me....wait for it, sit down and get comfortable " Oh yes, no problem, the part will be free but on that deal, you have to pay for the engineer to come and fit it and that will be £102" I politely declined her kind offer and informed her that being such a small plastic part and something I am sure I could make in metal, I'll think I'll give it a miss. She was very kind and polite and offered to see if she could obtain a discount on the part for me but again, I politely declined this very generous offer. Half an hour later, I had made the part out of a metal (I am good at DIY but not a professional by any stretch of the imagination) and Hey Presto! the part is fitted and the handle works perfectly. To have to buy a whole handle is somewhat of a joke as the parts are separate anyway and to advertise free parts for five years and charge £102 to fit a £52 part which costs Indesit (Hotpoint) almost nothing is even more of a joke. So, buyers beware, don't buy Hotpoint or anything eklse owned by Indesit if the deciding factor is the free 5 year replacement parts service! I am still pleased with my Hotpoint products of which I have many but clearly inspect the design of the model for cheap plastic moving parts like handles, or you might be in for a shock!
Written on: 20/01/2012
Just had EXACTLY the same experience this lunchtime, not impressed, would not buy from this company again.
Written on: 26/07/2012
I'm now on handle numner 4 !! The fridge is out of warranty but even when it was in warranty the first time the handle broke it was replaced free of charge but the second and third I was told we had probably used excessive force and while they would replace the handle it would only be after an engineer had assessed whether excessive force had been used ........... this call out would cost £125 and we all know what his findings would be!!
Written on: 01/05/2012
We have one at our company and have got through 4 replacement handles so far - no warranty available either as this is business use!
Hotpoint could not have designed a worse handle if they tried (IMO as an engineer).
written by Bob Jones46 on 27/07/2011
Had to buy this model three days before Christmas when old fridge died and we were promised next day delivery on Hotpoint RL 175 - big mistake. FAULTS TO DATE 1. Handle failed within four months 2. Grey plastic shelf supports crack regularly. Shelves need new supports. We are on our third order of supports at £6+ plus postage etc. Fourth set needed 3. Door seal split and failed and now door will not close properly. HOTPOINT SAYS IT NO LONGER SUPPLIES OR MANUFACTURES REPLACEMENT SEAL. Fridge effectively scrap Hotpoint apparently has no interest in the experience or expectations of its customers and no regard for durability of products. We are two in the family and the fridge gets light use. It has the same attitude that killed off most of British industry. You do not watch TV on a Decca, Ferguson or HMV set and in your car you are not overtaken by a Norton or BSA motorcycle. Rubbish quality and indifference to the customer killed these products. Hotpoint deserves to fail too.
written by on 16/05/2011
Same old story...handle snapped and bottom tray broken too. Mine also has the added benefits of leaking....
written by on 23/05/2010
The same story. Handle broke a few months into use. Vegetable bottom draw made of very flimsy plastic - cracked a couple months after purchase. Otherwise the fridge is fine, just a shame that HOTPOINT can't see that such simple and cheaply put right things are putting people off buying their products. And to think that people who make these stupid descisions are probably on a very good salary!
Written on: 07/04/2013
Agree. All 4 shelves the plastic trim broke. Called up to just ask for replacement plastic trim under the guarantee to be told its cosmetic? ! It holds the shelf up! Yes, the vast unstockable void is still cold, but thats not quite the point. After a good 4 hours on the phone they sent me a new shelf (just one) out of good will. This included the glass, which was fine. They make absolutely no sense. I'll be trying another brand next time.
written by on 28/01/2010
nice big fridge which we wanted not bad for money, very stiff to open we thought something was wrong, handle broke after 9 months they relpaced under gaurantee; new handle broke after 5 months we had to pay for that handle lasted 7 months ,that handle broke today.BE WARNED 4 HANDLES LESS THEN 3 YEARS OLD
written by alan slaney on 20/08/2009
Handle has broken twice - Bottom tray very flimsy and now slit the tray supports have snaped on most of the trays and only 18 months old. Be careful if you are thinking about this Fridge!
All in all a very poor product indeed.
Now purchased a new machine and the Hotpoints down the tip!
written by mputtick on 30/04/2009
The Hotpoint RL175 looks very good but we have had a number of problems with the handle. After 8 months the handle snapped and hotpoint replaced it under warranty. At the time we said we felt there was a design fault because it was made of plastic and the fridge door holds a significant amount of weight in it (milk, juice, cheese, eggs etc) and as you are pulling against the seal of what is a large door I didn't think the handle was strong enough. They disagreed. Another 8 months on and the handle has snapped again! Same discussions same disagreement except this time I had to pay for the replacement handle and when it came it was a different colour to the original - when I queried this they said they reserve the right to change the specification when they want. Problem we have is we bought a matching freezer that no longer matches - their answer was to spend another £20 on a handle (new design) for the freezer! Customer service in my opinion is appalling....
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Chipper5's Comment
Written on: 26/01/2014
I have had the very same problems plus the thermostate does not work correctly