Fed-up undertaker takes broken fridge back to Argos in hearse and altar cloth
CARRIED out of a hearse, a faulty fridge is solemnly returned by an undertaker to a shop for a refund.
Rafael Learmonth had been asking Argos to replace his mother’s appliance after it failed multiple times, losing three batches of frozen food in the process.
But after almost two years fruitlessly arguing with customer service advisers over the phone, he decided to break the dead lock – by staging his own funeral procession for the broken fridge freezer. In pictures posted on Facebook, the Indesit appliance is seen, draped in a velvet sheet, being taken by hearse to the Argos shop in Maidstone, Kent, before the procession iss led into the store itself.
The stunt on Friday was successful, and as well as a full refund being offered, Mr Learmonth’s mother was given a £100 gift voucher and a bouquet for her loss. Mr Learmonth, 53, said he and his colleagues from Angels Funerals ‘did everything they would for a funeral’.
He said: ‘The first fridge-freezer was faulty when she bought it but instead of giving her a new one they sent an engineer out to fix it. Six weeks later it had the same fault.
‘When that one failed as well I told them to give mum her money back and come and collect the fridge freezer but I was told they didn’t have the right lorry or something.’
He added: ‘The staff were trying to work out what was happening. The customers thought it was hilarious.
‘We went to the pub afterwards and one guy bought me a pint.
‘Mum doesn’t actually know I’ve done it yet, she just wanted it out of her living room. But now it’s back in the store, I might even send them an invoice for the delivery charge.’
An Argos spokesman said: ‘We understand that this is a difficult time for Mrs Learmonth and have a full refund waiting for her.’