Faulty fridge and about to lose my job

Defy is no longer the trusted and sustainable home brand we know.

The store sleepmaster have sold me a faulty fridge from Defy.

I started experiencing issues in December after ha jng bought the fridge in October.

I raised the issue with SleepMaster whom then logged a complaint with Defy in January, as the fridge is a Defy fridge.

Towards the end of January a technician from Defy finally came to assess the fridge and that's when he said the store sold me a faulty fridge and they would arrange a direct exchange to replace the faulty fridge.

Weeks passes without any correspondence from either Defy nor Sleepmasters, so I had to keep calling and emailing to find out what's going on, and I would still not be given any idea, as to when I can expect the replacement, as I am now without a fridge and due to spoilt food, I am out of pocket.

After multiple in store visits I received a call from delivery driver from Defy on the 16/02/24 on a Friday, to advise me he is coming in the next 45 minutes, at this time I was making my way to work, I had to now go back home to ensure I'm available to make the exchange of the fridge.

The day ended and the delivery driver was no longer answering my calls. Due to this I had now lost time off work and again left without a fridge.

A whole week passes by without any communications once again as to what might have happened on the scheduled nor a mere apology until I had to make a phone call to the store and to the delivery driver. The delivery driver assured me that they will make the delivery on the 23/02/24, which is today.

Again, I have decided to not go to work to ensure I'm present for the exchange of the delivery. The day comes to an end I then begin calling the delivery driver whom starts giving me stories about not being able to make the delivery and he directed me to call the office and he subsequently gave me the numbers to call.

I called the service centre which is said to be based in Jacob's and spoke to a gentleman whim advised that they will be making the delivery on Monday.

I have now taken 2 days off unpaid at work for the apparent delivery of the fridge that actually doesn't get delivered and on top of that there is zero communications.

I emphasized to the gentleman I cannot afford to take more time off work as Defy is not even close tp being credible as they have kept on disappointing me and misleading me at this point.

The gentleman then made some enquiries on his end and has advised a delivery van was on its way to myself at 4:15pm, by that time it was 3:40pm.

Out of sheer relief that finally the fridge is being delivered, I make the effort of arranging the lift to be on the ground floor as I reside on the 23rd floor in a flat to make the exchange easier, mind you this was not easy but it had to be done.

Time went by and then I knew it was 5pm, and I tried calling the office to find out whether the delivery was still in progress only to be met by a voice-mail.

I called the customer line at Defy and the lady whom I spoke to couldn't help as the office here in Durban was closed as she was based in Midrand.

I called the initial delivery van to find out whether he had any idea as to what's going in as it was getting darker and it's not safe for a woman to be alone in the darkness.

The delivery van then said that the delivery will not happen. I asked why to this he gave me different stories, the first excuse was that it's late to this I advised I was assured by the gentleman at the office that the delivery was on its way now, the delivery guy then said, there was traffic thus they weren't able to make the delivery, to this I advised how does traffic stop one from making a delivery as they could stay in traffic till it was clear, and then the delivery guy said they didn't have the unit, out of frustration I said, I was assured the fridge was on its way how is it that they now no longer have fridge.

Due to not getting anywhere with the delivery van as he was evidently lying I tried to make means of getting in touch with the gentleman whom assured me the delivery was on its way.

I called the technician whom initially assessed the fridge and his response was that the delivery guys phones are off.

I am absolutely gutted and let down.

Why couldn't Defy be honest from the onset rather than beating about the bush and wasting my time and having me lose earnings as I lost time off work.

I will never recommend Defy to anyone because dealing with the after purchase is a nightmare!