LG has agreed to a settlement for its French side-by-side refrigerators. Perchance you own a refrigerator produced between January 2014 and December 2017; you may receive a reward for having a defective refrigerator.

As an ongoing part of the class-action lawsuit, consumers can receive cash settlements between $50 and $3,500, depending upon the model and needed repairs to make the refrigerators operable.

LG produced 1.6 million refrigerators that may be having cooling and compression problems, which often manifests a few months or years after ownership. Amey Park, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, said over 31 models are inclusive in the lawsuit. After a few years, LG refrigerators may stop working cooling or working altogether.
 

Reliable Refrigerators

Of course, LG maintains that their refrigerators are high-quality and well-produced. With the settlement, they are not acknowledging any wrongdoing. However, LG wants to be on good terms with their customers and are willing the settle the lawsuit.

The vice-president of LG Electronics, John Taylor, said that "we agreed to the settlement to avoid further litigation cost and in the interest of customer satisfaction."

In terms of reliability, LG side-by-side and French-door refrigerators are exceptionally reliable and usually receive good ratings. When consumers purchase LG refrigerators, they can expect average problems within the first five years of ownership.

According to Simon Slater, the associate director for survey research, when you compare LG refrigerators to other models, LG side-by-side and French door refrigerators perform "middling in terms of reliability."

His company researches varying models for performance and reliability. When you compare an LG refrigerator to a Bosch or an Electrolux brand, the results speak for themselves. LG refrigerators have compressor problems 8% of the time. Outlier brands may have compressor issues, approximately 3% of the time.
 

Claims Process

You have until January 11, 2021, to submit your claim. This is the only way to guarantee that you will be included in the lawsuit and receive payment. If you decide to exclude yourself, you may opt-out of the settlement agreement by November 23, 2020.

With this option, you will not receive any monetary compensation. However, you can bring separate litigation against the company at a later date.

The courts will have the final approval hearing on December 15, 2020. At that time, the courts will decide if they will approve the settlement. At the settlement hearing, you can determine if you agree to the arrangement. Finally, you can do nothing and opt-out of the lawsuit, without receiving any form of compensation.
 

The Settlement

Claimants can receive several forms of compensation. You can receive $100 for labor and repairs, $250 for loss of property, $50 for extra repairs, and $50 for delayed repairs. Altogether, a claimant can receive $450 without any proof for cash payments.

For defective refrigerators, not only will LG agree to a cash settlement, but claimants will also receive a five-year extended warranty.

To receive additional compensation, claimants will have to produce proof of any damages made because of a defective unit. For example, if your refrigerator failed to perform and the compressor failed, you may have had food spoilage.

In this case, produce evidence of the food spoilage. LG will compensate its consumers up to $3,500 for property loss and damages. The property loss could include refrigerated medicine or damages to nearby machinery that was operable close to the refrigerator from a non-cooling event.

If you had to send the refrigerator out for repairs, LG would cover repairs within a five-year time span by an authorized LG repair agent.

For repairs that took an extended amount of time, like ten days, LG will cover $20 per day up to a maximum of 30 days. The total repair cost cannot exceed $1,000.

Unsuccessful repairs will also be included. If you had a refrigerator that you had to replace, you would receive a maximum of $1,000 to cover repairs from the past five years. Any repairs or replacements must have occurred before September 22, 2020.

To file a claim, go to www.lgfridgesettlement.com. LG is offering consumer support at 1-800-234-8000. The Enhanced Customer Care Program is making offers of cash settlements with claimants, and they are offering assistance with quality concerns.