Easycool fridge/freezer by dreamrider on ebay review

So I have now had the easy cool fridge for just under a month...... When I received it, I plugged it in on 240 volts in the house and put a carton of warm coke in it and set it at 4 degrees, it took a good while to cool the cans but acceptable I thought.. After a couple of days of it keeping them nice and cold and after we did our shopping for our trip away I turned it to -18 degrees and put frozen stuff in there and a few things to be frozen, the next day the frozen stuff was still frozen and the stuffs to be frozen only froze if in the centre of the freezer so I had to put them in the household freezer to freeze. I wasn't too comfortable with the freezer as it fluctuated between -10 and -18 so I turned it to -22 as thinking the fluctuations would be ok if it only went down to -18.. All seemed to work..
The night before we went away I at about 6 pm( been a 40 degree day so was quite warm outside still) I put the freezer in the car on 12 volts(still at -22) with battery voltage on the battery at about 12.8 volts(brand new battery bought that day ...allrounder) by the time 4am arrived when we left the battery was 11.5 volts...... So far from practical for 12 volt operation.
In this time I had left negative feedback with "dreamrider online" ( the company I bought it from) due to there terrible communication and customer service. That day I received emails and a phone call from there sales manager asking me to change the feedback for 60 dollar refund... Sounded good to me so I changed it they refunded instantly and I had the mobile number of the sales manager now.
After the day driving and setting up camp on a powered site all was going fine with the freezer. Over the next few days I kept a close eye on temps and it really fluctuated from -22 down to 2 degrees...not so good... Unless the items in the freezer were in the middle or bottom they were starting to thaw ( mainly the stuff on top)...
After 4 days the temp started to rise I. The freezer and wouldn't get below 0 degrees and everything started to thaw.....
Basically the motor stopped working, the temp gauge etc all worked fine and buttons all set it to what you want but no cooling what so ever.
I emailed dream rider..... No response, I texted the sales manager.... No response....... I then threatened with lodging a dispute... No response..... So in the end I have now had to lodge a dispute through paypal because it was with in 40 days of purchase.
They have now said that I have to pay postage for the item and I get a full refund (still lose a heap as Perth to nsw is a bit pricey) and they have only given me a po box address so I have paypal chasing up an actual address as couriers to deliver to po boxes(which they know).

So to sum things up....... The cheap crap fridge/freezer is not worth it, the customer service is the worst ever and they buy their positive feedback which to me makes it worthless system...
So hopefully people can learn from my mistake...
Scotty
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Reply By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Wednesday, Jan 08, 2014 at 22:24

Wednesday, Jan 08, 2014 at 22:24
Sad tale Scotty, but more important is that YOU learn from your mistake. LOL
Cheers
Allan

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AnswerID: 524121

Follow Up By: Rottodiver - Wednesday, Jan 08, 2014 at 22:37

Wednesday, Jan 08, 2014 at 22:37
Totally agree...... It is a shame because I read about all these cheap versions of good products( basically Chinese made) that fail and then I read so much about how the Chinese type stuff can be just as good... This is my first experience with buy cheap ( I already have an 80 litre waeco and wanted this as a second,smaller unit) but will never again...
You pay for what you get!!!!
Scotty
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FollowupID: 805706

Reply By: Adam H - Wednesday, Jan 08, 2014 at 23:10

Wednesday, Jan 08, 2014 at 23:10
yellow fridgemate for me great unit. So true re only get what you pay for over buying cheap rubbish cost you more in the long run.
bad luck with your purchase hope it all works out.
AnswerID: 524122

Reply By: Steve M1 (NSW) - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 03:27

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 03:27
Thanks for the report Scott. It all helps to give a perspective of lesser known products and good luck with the refund.

You should be fine with paypal. I had an issue with a fly by night seller with a $500+ phone that never appeared and paypal fixed me up
AnswerID: 524125

Reply By: Member - Toyocrusa (NSW) - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 06:35

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 06:35
I'm in the same position as you,looking for a smaller freezer to supplement my Waeco. I was thinking of doing the same as you as I have read some good reports on the cheaper fridges. I think both suppliers are the popular Ebay companies in Melbourne though. Think I will ponder a bit more now. Thanks for sharing. Bob.
AnswerID: 524128

Follow Up By: Member - eighty matey - Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 22:01

Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 22:01
I was after a smaller fridge for weekends and work.

I bought an older Engel for $350. Works great and runs everyday in the vehicle.
That might be an option for you.

Steve
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FollowupID: 805826

Reply By: Penchy - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 07:48

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 07:48
I bought a cheap ebay 12v fridge/freezer about 6months ago. I think the brand name is Bier. Apart from a faulty compressor controller which was couriered to me, the unit has been fantastic. I have not used the freezer function but on trips the battery voltage would be around 12.4 - 12.5 each morning as long as the fridge was kept full. The battery powering this fridge is also only small @ 65Amphr so I thought this to be acceptable drop.
AnswerID: 524130

Reply By: Shaker - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 08:45

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 08:45
How much will it cost Dreamrider for you to change this negative thread?
AnswerID: 524132

Follow Up By: Shaker - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 10:17

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 10:17
I forgot to add that you could use the $60.00 that they paid you to change your feedback opinion, to cover the return postage for your refund!
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FollowupID: 805718

Reply By: garrycol - Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 13:01

Thursday, Jan 09, 2014 at 13:01
How were you measuring the temperatures - from the display on the fridge or a separate wired or wireless thermometer.

The inbuilt temp sensor is actually outside of the inside layer and is influenced by other temps particularly when the fridge has cycled off.

My fridge displays often fluctuates but when using a separate thermometer the actual temp is quite stable and fluctuates only with the cycling of the fridge.

I have a 55l and 25l cheap ebay Chinese fridges and had them for 6 years - never had an issue and would never go back to oer priced Weacos and Engles. The cost of a basic service costs more than the fridges I have.

Who says the chinese stuff is cheap - maybe the brand names are expensive and overpriced. You really see issues (you are the exception) about the cheap fridges but there are plenty of threads about where to get Engles and Wacos repaired.
AnswerID: 524144

Reply By: tazbaz - Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 09:22

Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 09:22
I purchased a portable DVD player on EBay in recent years. It didn't work so it was returned at my cost. The supplier would not send me a replacement and dilly dallied over repairing the original unit. Contacted Ebay who flicked the case onto PayPal who flicked it back to Ebay. Neither Ebay or PayPal informed me of my rights and by the time I decided to have the mater resolved through Consumer Affairs it was too late to post a negative feedback on Ebay.
Lesson: Avoid Ebay and PayPal!!!!!
AnswerID: 524197

Follow Up By: greybeard - Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 11:18

Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 11:18
Or do some research and discover your rights yourself ;)
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FollowupID: 805791

Follow Up By: garrycol - Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 12:04

Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 12:04
Exactly - don't blame the system if you don't know how it works.
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FollowupID: 805793

Follow Up By: tazbaz - Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 13:03

Friday, Jan 10, 2014 at 13:03
The point is: Ebay and PayPal were unhelpful and obstructive.There are plenty of online retailers now and Ebay, IMO, is superfluous as well as difficult to deal with if something goes array.
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FollowupID: 805795

Reply By: Member - LG__ (WA) - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 at 00:39

Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014 at 00:39
Is it too late to post a new (bad) feedback for the item?

I do hope that in future you leave your initial bad feedback up for people to see.
When people succumb to 'payola' other people buy things thinking 'there aren't any bad reports about them so they must be all right'.

I am sorry for your bad experience - but at least the 'payola' will cover the cost of returning the item for a full refund :)
AnswerID: 524533

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