LG faces class action lawsuit as customers left without fridge

Compressors in the refrigerators are allegedly failing.

It's a story that Channel 3 has been following since earlier this summer, and now there's a class action lawsuit that was filed against the company to hold them responsible.

"It's sitting right here but it should be over here where this mini-fridge is right now," said Susan Lewis, of New London.

She hasn't been able to use her nearly $3,000 LG refrigerator for the past three months.

"One night we were sitting here and the compressor failed. It was making some crazy noise," Lewis said.

Her refrigerator is only seven years old, and according to the label, the compressor is under a 10-year warranty.

She added that she pays for a separate warrant on the fridge itself.

"This has just been horrible. I mean I have been on the phone calling LG. I've called them 28 plus times. They don't return your call," Lewis said.

Since Channel 3's first story aired earlier this summer, Lewis is just one of dozens of people who have called and emailed saying this exact problem happened to them.

They also say it has taken months for technicians to get the LG part, and once they finally get it, it doesn't work.

"I don't have two or three more months. The holidays are coming," Lewis said, adding that she hosts Thanksgiving every year and has a lot of people at her house. "I need my refrigerator."

After some research, Channel 3 learned that LG has recently been hit with a class-action lawsuit by a Pennsylvania firm, alleging that some of their refrigerator compressors are defective.

Two lawsuits have been filed in New Jersey Federal Court, one in early August, and then a second in early September when it was amended.

The law firm, Chimicles and Tikellis, teamed up with another law firm because of the overwhelming number of customers who complained.

Attorney Ben Johns is one lawyer on the case.

"We have been contacted by literally hundreds of consumers from all over the country that has experienced these problems," Johns said.

That includes people in Connecticut.

The lawsuit says "The defects cause problems with the refrigerator's cooling systems, compressors, fans and ice makers."

When it fails, it doesn't keep food cold, causing food to spoil and money lost.

The lawsuit also mentions that there are so many customers trying to get the compressor fixed, it has "created a significant backlog of replacement compressors..." and customers have "to wait unreasonably long periods of time, sometimes many weeks or over a month for repair and replacement services"

"Hopefully through the lawsuit, we will be able to get some relief from the company but these things can take a while to work their way through the court system," Johns said.

Also in the lawsuit, LG's promise saying "its refrigerators would give them peace of mind and be long-lasting."

For someone like Lewis, she feels that's not the case.

"When you call their telephone number it says 'LG, life is good.' Like are kidding me? Life is good? Yeah, it's good if you stand by your customers and take care of them. You don't treat customers that spend thousands of thousands of dollars," Lewis said.

LG hasn't returned any requests for comment since the first story aired over the summer. They also haven't responded to the lawsuit. They have until Nov. 17.

If you've experienced this problem, here's what you can do: Attorneys say to first, make a complaint with LG so there's a record on file.

If you need to buy a new fridge, make sure to keep that receipt.

Then, contact the law firm so you can be added to the class action lawsuit.

You can do through their website or give them a call.