Alex Rae and his wife Adele woke on a cold May morning at their home in regional Gippsland, Victoria, thinking the day would be like any other. Instead, it quickly turned into a nightmare.
"It smelt like there was a lot of gas in the house. I had tingling lips, a numb tongue, my throat was very irritated and I felt disorientated," Alex says.
He and his wife quickly turned the fridge off, believing that was the source of the smell and got their two young children out of the house. Alex says he phoned Samsung on the number provided inside the fridge straight away.
"I was on the phone to Samsung for around three hours asking if there was anything to be worried about in regards to poisons or not and I couldn't get a straight answer from them," he says.
She collapsed onto her knees and that's when we called Triple Zero
Alex Rae, Samsung fridge owner
Adele then returned into the kitchen and cleaned out all the food from the fridge, moving it into rubbish bags before they moved the fridge outside the house. Alex says they weren't aware how much chemical residue was on the food in the fridge. It was only as his wife's condition deteriorated quickly that they got really worried.
"She collapsed onto her knees and that's when we called Triple Zero, her heart rate lying down resting was 160 beats-per-minute and climbing and they dispatched an ambulance straight away," he says.
It had initially been suggested to Alex by Samsung that the issue was a small amount of compressor gas contained in the fridge that had leaked, but Alex says that talking to the chemical toxicity expert from Ambulance Victoria made it clear that it wasn't that, but something more dangerous.
With oxygen and care from paramedics Adele's situation stabilised.
But around two months on Alex says she still suffers from short-term memory loss from that day.
Dealing with Samsung
In addition to the terrifying health emergency, Alex says dealing with Samsung has been another ordeal entirely.
Samsung denied responsibility for the chemical leak from the fridge and for over a month refused to offer a full refund on the product.
He was initially offered a 15%-off voucher for Samsung's online store
The fridge was purchased from JB Hi-Fi in October 2019 for $974. While it was no longer under warranty, it was within a timeframe that consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law still apply, according to consumer rights experts.
Alex says he was initially offered a 15%-off voucher for Samsung's online store by the company.
Alex estimates that between the lost fridge, food produce inside the fridge that was thrown out, out-of-pocket doctor's visits and medical bills, driving time, and time spent online and over the phone trying to get a resolution, the ordeal has left his family around $4000 worse off.
A refund, but only if you don't speak out
After months of calls and emails back and forth with Samsung Australia, and JB Hi-Fi escalating the complaint, Samsung eventually offered to provide a refund, but only for the original purchase price of the fridge and not for additional costs.
However, the offer was only on the condition that Alex sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which would mean he could never talk about the issue and would waive his rights to any further compensation or legal action, including for medical issues that may develop in the future. Alex didn't sign the agreement and is instead speaking out to warn others.
"The processes at Samsung are completely broken. This is not how a consumer or anyone should be treated," Alex says.
The fridge was moved out onto the porch.
NDAs for consumer guarantees
Under Australian Consumer Law, companies must provide a refund, replacement or repair if there is a major fault with a product within a reasonable time from purchase.
"Companies absolutely should not be asking people to sign NDA-style agreements to get a refund or repair under the Consumer Law. This has actually been explored by courts in Australia in the action the ACCC took against Thermomix. Samsung should be looking at that court judgment and doing better," says Erin Turner, CEO of Consumer Policy Research Centre.
Turner says that, because of the nature of these agreements, we have no idea how often and systemically they are being used in the Australian marketplace.
Companies absolutely should not be asking people to sign NDA-style agreements to get a refund or repair under the Consumer Law
Erin Turner, CEO Consumer Policy Research Centre
Yelena Nam, CHOICE campaigns and policy advisor, says companies shouldn't give customers the run-around and make them spend hours fighting just to get their basic rights.
"It's also unfair for these rights to come with strings attached like non-disclosure agreements – if there's a major fault, companies should provide a remedy, full stop," she says.
She adds that Alex's request for compensation that goes beyond the purchase price of the fridge is fair.
Both Nam and Turner agree that penalties for companies who fail to honour their consumer guarantee obligations (something that currently doesn't exist in law) as well as a prohibition on "unfair trading" could go a long way in helping in cases like these.
Alex is seeking compensation for the food they had to throw out from the fridge.
Samsung responds
We asked Samsung whether it was standard practice for them to require customers to sign NDA-style agreements to receive a refund, and how many times they had done so in the last year. They did not respond, but said in a statement that they were compliant with all applicable consumer laws and regulations.
"Samsung views Mr Rae's allegations with utmost severity, having made multiple attempts with Mr Rae to investigate. However, Mr Rae has remained unwilling to provide Samsung access to the refrigerator to investigate or provide supporting evidence of the allegations made," a spokesperson says.
We asked Samsung to explain the discrepancy between their statement and the emails shown to us by Alex and they did not directly respond
"Samsung Electronics Australia maintains its core objective which is to mutually resolve the matter, while always working within the systems in place to ensure expectations for product quality, customer experience and health and safety are met."
Alex says Samsung's response is frustrating and not true and has shown CHOICE copies of emails sent to Samsung in June where he offers to let the company come and pick up the fridge, on the condition that any assessment or report into the chemical leak be provided to him, so that he knows what the potential long-term health impacts are on his family.
He says his offer was rebuffed and in Samsung's settlement offer letter to Alex there is no mention of providing him with a copy of any report.
We asked Samsung to explain the discrepancy between their statement and the emails shown to us by Alex and they did not directly respond.
JB Hi-Fi says they will not comment on the matter.
"A complete lack of care"
Alex says his wife Adele is still having neurological issues and is receiving regular medical checkups for her short-term memory loss among other concerns.
He adds that, more than any financial compensation, it's important to get a full technical report on what went wrong with the fridge so that he knows what health impacts they need to look out for.
Adele is still having neurological issues and is receiving regular medical checkups for her short-term memory loss
He worries about how many other similar cases are out there where people have signed NDAs and can't warn others about the product.
"You're kind of on the ropes and it's easy to see how a lot of people would have to accept this offer, because financially there's no other option," he says.
"I just feel like there's been a complete lack of care in the attitude from Samsung. I feel their response has been to throw us under the bus at any opportunity and to put themselves in a position where we have absolutely no recourse.
"I find it deeply disturbing that when I've raised a faulty product issue that's harmed my family, and informed them about it, that the response is I have to sign an NDA. It's just not right," Alex says.
The Samsung fridge model number in question is SR520BLSTC.
Have you been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement by a company or business? Send investigative journalist Jarni Blakkarly an email at jblakkarly@choice.com.au You can remain anonymous.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
