I'm leaving Switzerland soon, and have this question - do I need to pay for the damage? I don't have any clue.
I live in Lausanne, and today suddenly the freezer door (inside the fridge) broke and fell down when I opened the fridge. Judging from the door, it broke on one of its plastic hinges only, which makes me think it was only on that hinge since the start, and the other hinge was not even connected. But I have no way to prove anything.
Close the door and skip the freezer section on your next grocery trip.
Since you didn’t damage it, no, you shouldn’t need to pay. Do contact your landlord/agency so they can get it repaired/replaced asap. And take pictures of the hinge, etc, so you have proof it was nothing you did that caused it.
How should an after the fact pic prove anything?
If it's a V-Zug, don't worry. Those cheap things break all the time. Normal wear and tear.
Mine must be an exception then. Has worked fine since we bought the house back in 2011 and has been in said house way longer than that.
So, it is a fridge from a brand Therma AG? I think the brand is called Electrolux AG now after some google searches.
Do you have an idea how much the freezer door replacement would cost though? My landlord is essentially a rental agency, and after reading the terms I think I'll have to pay the entire amount.
I did send them an email, with a pic of the freezer saying it has broken. But I don't know how I can prove it just fell out. The documents say the fridge was last repaired in 2014, so it's pretty old in the first place.
I just hope the thing doesn't cost a lot, since I'm a student whom Switzerland made completely broke and cannot wait to leave and go back to a cheaper place
Friends had a similar situation where the hinge on the fridge broke, which stopped the door from sealing correctly.
They ended up having to pay for the repair which I recall was ~CHF200
I had 2 hinges replaced in the past (2 separate cases, 1 for fridge, 1 for freezer) - this was fully paid by landlord / verwaltung.
Our experience with Lausanne rental agencies is that they will first try to put it on you, which then you have to take to your RC (liability insurance). You will pay max CHF 200 to the insurance company, generally speaking.
If you are lucky, the rental agency will admit this is an old fridge, and normal wear and tear and charge you nothing.
In any case, better to report this right now, and not during your checkout.
Correct, Therma was absorbed by Electrolux.
Inside the fridge, normally on the inner frame you will find a label with serial number etc.
Go to the Electrolux site and enter the serial number to search for the spare parts (the site explains where to find the serial number of your fridge).
I replaced a door on our Miele and the part was not too expensive and simple to install.
I also had to pay for this.
Only the thing that snaps in place when you close the door broke, but this requires to replace the whole door.
It was also an Electrolux fridge.
150 Bucks or so.
In the new apartment, I have a Miele fridge and it looks similarly flimsy there.
Ok but if it is 200 francs, I can save you 20… with a new one.
I don't think I have RC, but I hope replacement of the door doesn't cost a lot. I'm actually leaving Switzerland in 2 days for Christmas & not coming back. So it will be upto them to fix it, but they'll charge me off of my deposit.
I'm planning to visit the office today to plead my case, but no hope to be honest.
The old fridge has this label pretty much rubbed off. I was just able to read "Therma" and the rest is all blurred off
Okay, that gives me a little bit piece of mind, considering Swiss prices I was expecting a lot more
If the fridge really is that old it should be covered by normal wear and tear in my opinion.
All appliances and fixtures have a lifespan and there is a list of these on the renters association website.
Fridge 10 years
Freezer 15 years
Dishwasher 15 years
Microwave 15 years
Steamer 10 years
In Suisse Romande, little repairs e.g. costing less than Fr. 150.–/200.-- will have to be paid by the renter most of the time, regardless of the age of the appliance
This exact same thing happened to us when we were living in Lausanne. We had to pay for the replacement because it was under x amount (I believe it was around 100 CHF, and the door cost just under that). Small repairs under a certain threshold are paid by the tenant.