About mid Feb I noticed it was no longer able to hold the set temperature. The measured temp at various points within the unit (using a digital hygro-thermometer and also a regular thermometer) was between 1 and 2 degrees higher than the set temp of 12 degrees. I kept an eye on the deviation, to make sure it wasn't to do with the weather, however the actual temperature remained consistently above the set value. I tried setting the unit to other temps (between 10 and 14) however the actual temp still remained consistently around 2 degrees above that.
So... as the unit was only 1 year old and in warranty, I hopped onto the Andico website (the sales / service company responsible for Liebherr fridges) and lodged a service request. And that's when the fun started.
Andico started by ignoring my service request. When I chased it up a week later, I was told it got "lost" and would now be resubmitted. They finally sent a tech out almost 2 weeks after I submitted the issue, and despite confirming that the fridge's sensor was reading the same higher temperature as my thermometer, the only advice was to replace the filter. After I rang, ordered, waited, then installed the filter... surprise, surprise! The temperature deviation was still present.
What followed has possibly been the worst example of customer service I have ever experienced.
My calls and emails regarding the persistent problem were ignored by the local distributor (JH Wilberforce). When I finally got hold of someone, they explained they had no visibility (or should that be interest?) in service issues, despite earlier organising the tech to attend, and referred me to the Andico service department. Andico then told me the fridge would have to be taken away to be repaired, and that this process could take anything up to several months, depending upon what was wrong with it. When I asked if a replacement / loan unit was available, I was told they "didn't do that type of thing". I reasonably asked what other customers have done in this situation (having 170+ bottles of wine requiring cellaring in the WA summer), and was told people have just lived with it, or "used eskys".
Not considering this an acceptable answer, I attempted to escalate the issue, however despite being promised several times that someone from Andico service would call me about it, I did not hear a single thing from them.
So... here I am, 2 months after the fridge first started playing up, still without a resolution. I finally gave up on Andico even being civil and returning my calls, so I have moved my wine into a commercial storage facility (at my cost) and am awaiting pickup of the fridge. God only knows how long it will take for them to repair, or even once it is repaired, if the unit will only last another 12 months.
As people say... products are only as good as the support and service behind them. In this case, I wish I had purchased any other fridge on the market, so I could have avoided dealing with Andico.
Despite Liebherr supposedly being a "premium brand", Andico's service and support is certainly not.
To all potential wine fridge / cellar buyers out there.... DO NOT buy Liebherr!
And I suspected they thought as much when I got the extremely dismissive and unprofessional responsive from Andico.
), don't rely on the Liebherr brand name.