Freezer not freezing — contents thawing
Food is soft or thawed, the cabinet sits well above −18°C, and the compressor is either silent or short-cycling.
Freezer Repair
Priority freezer repair in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire — defrost systems, thermostats, fans, relays and door seals fixed fast to protect your frozen food, with a 6-month guarantee.
From £90Call-out
labour included
labour included
12–16 yearsTypical lifespan
with maintenance
with maintenance
12Common faults
diagnosed below
diagnosed below
6 moGuarantee
parts & labour
parts & labour
A freezer failure costs more than the repair. A well-stocked chest or upright freezer can hold £200 to £400 of food, and once the contents rise above −12°C the clock is running. That is why we treat freezer faults as priority bookings and why the advice we give on the phone always starts with keeping the lid or door shut — a full freezer will hold food safe for roughly 24 hours unopened, or 48 hours if it is a chest model packed solid. The fault profile differs from a fridge in one important respect: defrost systems. A frost-free upright freezer runs a defrost heater on a cycle, melting the frost that builds on the evaporator behind the rear panel, and draining the meltwater away. When any part of that system fails — the defrost heater element, the defrost thermostat, the bi-metal cut-out or the control board's defrost timer — frost accumulates on the evaporator until it blocks airflow completely. The result is a freezer that looks iced up and cools poorly, and it is one of the most common frost-free freezer faults we attend. Static (frost-forming) freezers, including most chest freezers, have no defrost system at all and rely on you defrosting them manually. On these, the recurring issues are door or lid seals, thermostats, start relays and drain plugs. One local factor worth mentioning: a great many Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire households keep a second freezer in a garage or outbuilding. Standard N-class appliances are specified for 16–32°C ambient and genuinely stop working properly below about 10°C, because the thermostat sits in warmish air and never calls for cooling while the contents slowly thaw. If your garage freezer defrosts every winter, it is almost certainly the wrong climate class rather than a fault. Our charge is a £90 call-out for the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, with parts on top and quoted for your approval before we fit them, and 6 months parts and labour. Domestic appliances only.
What the call-out costs
| Freestanding freezer | £90 |
| Integrated freezer | £100 |
| Parts, if any are needed | Quoted before fitting |
| If we cannot repair it | Call-out only |
£90 for a freestanding machine. Integrated appliances incur a £10 surcharge, so £100 — an integrated machine has to come out of the run of units before anything can be diagnosed, and go back in afterwards.
The 12 faults we see most
If one of these sounds like your machine, we have almost certainly fixed it before. Tell us which and we will bring the right parts.
Book a repair
Pick your own slot in the diary — appliance, address and a time that suits you, in about a minute.
Book online (opens in a new tab)or
07849 033758Same-day slots when we have one. Call-out from £90, labour included.
Straight answer on price
£90 call-out — that covers the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. Parts are the only extra, quoted for your approval before we fit anything. No hourly rates. 6 months guarantee on parts and labour.
Heavy frost or ice build-up inside a frost-free freezer
A solid sheet of ice on the rear panel or around the vents, drawers frozen in place, and gradually worsening cooling.
Freezer running constantly and never cycling off
The compressor never stops, the cabinet is cold but not reaching setpoint, and the appliance feels very hot at the back.
Freezer door or chest lid won't seal or stay shut
The door swings open, doesn't pull itself closed, or there's visible ice forming around the frame where warm air is getting in.
Temperature alarm sounding or warning light on
A continuous or intermittent beeping with a red or flashing warning indicator, sometimes while the freezer still feels cold.
Freezer drawers frozen solid or won't slide
Drawers stuck fast in their runners, ice building between the baskets, and doors that won't shut because a drawer sits proud.
Loud buzzing, humming or knocking from the freezer
A persistent buzz, an intermittent rattle, or a knocking that coincides with the compressor starting or stopping.
Freezer works but the fridge section doesn't, or vice versa
On a combined appliance sharing one cooling system, one compartment holds temperature while the other doesn't.
Water leaking from the freezer onto the floor
A pool of water at the base of the appliance, or water running out from under the door when it's opened.
Freezer in the garage stops working in winter
A garage or outbuilding freezer that holds temperature perfectly in summer but lets food thaw in cold weather.
Compressor clicking repeatedly without starting
A click and short buzz from the back every three to five minutes, with the cabinet gradually warming.
Ice cream soft but everything else frozen
The freezer keeps food frozen but not hard — ice cream stays scoopable and bread doesn't go rock solid.
Is it worth repairing?
Freezers are usually worth repairing, partly because the common faults are inexpensive and partly because the appliance's contents are often worth more than the repair. An upright freezer costs £250–£550 new and a chest freezer £200–£450, putting the 50% threshold at roughly £125–£275 — comfortably above a £90 call-out plus the sort of part these faults need. Start relays, thermostats, evaporator fans, door seals and defrost circuit components are all sound repairs on an appliance up to twelve years old. Typical lifespan is 12 to 16 years for an upright and often longer for a chest freezer, with Liebherr and similar premium models regularly passing 20. The clear replace decision is a sealed-system failure — a seized compressor or a refrigerant leak — where the cost of properly locating and repairing the leak exceeds the appliance's value, and where a simple top-up is neither lawful nor durable. One judgement worth making separately: if your appliance is an N-class freezer failing every winter in a garage, that's a specification problem no repair will solve, and the right answer is a garage-rated replacement. Environmentally, a freezer's continuous running means in-use energy matters, but a well-sealed serviced older freezer is close enough to modern efficiency that repair remains the better choice. We'll tell you honestly which case yours is.
If it's time to replace, see what we sell
Brands we repair
We work on every major manufacturer, and our vans carry spares for the ones we see most in this area.
First-time fix
Our vans carry a wide range of freezer spares so most jobs are finished on the same visit. If we need to order a part, it's usually fitted within a couple of working days at no second call-out charge.
What the call-out is
£90 for a freestanding machine. Integrated appliances incur a £10 surcharge, so £100 — an integrated machine has to come out of the run of units before anything can be diagnosed, and go back in afterwards. Parts are on top and quoted for your approval before anything is fitted.
Domestic only
We do not work on commercial or coin-operated machines.
Maintenance
Make your freezer last longer
Water across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire runs around 280–320 mg/l. That limescale is the single biggest reason appliances die early here.
Defrost a static freezer before ice reaches 5mm
On non-frost-free freezers, a 5mm layer of frost already costs meaningful efficiency and 10mm costs a lot. Defrost once or twice a year, or whenever the ice reaches that thickness. Empty the contents into cool boxes, switch off, leave the door open with towels down, and never chip ice with a metal implement.
Vacuum the condenser coil twice a year
Pull the freezer out and vacuum the coil on the back or the grille at the plinth. A freezer works harder than a fridge and suffers more from a dust-insulated condenser. In a home with pets, do it quarterly — the difference in running cost and compressor life is genuinely significant.
Keep the freezer at −18°C and verify it
Put a freezer thermometer in the middle of the cabinet and adjust until it reads −18°C. Colder wastes electricity for no food safety benefit; warmer shortens the safe storage life of everything inside. Dial numbers are relative, not absolute, so measuring is the only way to know.
Keep it full — use water bottles if necessary
A full freezer holds temperature far better than an empty one because frozen mass acts as a thermal buffer, which means shorter compressor runs and much longer survival in a power cut. If yours is half empty, fill the space with sealed bottles of water. It costs nothing and measurably reduces running cost.
Test the seal with the paper test twice a year
Close a sheet of paper in the door at eight or ten points around the frame and pull. Any point where it slides out freely is admitting humid room air, which is what causes the frost build-up people blame on the defrost system. On chest freezers, check along the whole lid perimeter including the corners.
Check the climate class if it lives in a garage
The rating plate will say N, SN, ST or T. N-class means 16–32°C ambient and will not hold temperature reliably in an unheated Cambridgeshire garage in winter. If yours defrosts every January, that's a specification mismatch, not a fault — you need an SN or garage-rated appliance.
Cool food before freezing and freeze in flat portions
Putting warm food straight in raises the cabinet temperature and adds moisture that becomes frost. Cool food to room temperature first, then freeze in flat, sealed portions, which also freeze faster and thaw more evenly. Use the fast-freeze function for large loads and remember to switch it off after 24 hours.
Clear the defrost drain on frost-free models
Frost-free freezers drain meltwater through a small channel to a tray above the compressor, and that channel blocks with debris and ice. If you find water between the drawers or under the appliance, the drain needs clearing. Having it done during a service visit prevents the drawer-freezing problem entirely.
Questions
Freezer repair FAQs
How much does a freezer repair cost?
A £90 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, plus the part. Start relays, thermostats, fans and door seals are cheap parts; defrost heaters and sensors on frost-free models cost a little more, though the strip-down they need is inside the call-out rather than charged as labour.
Is it worth repairing a freezer?
For the common faults, yes. An upright freezer costs £250–£550 new and a chest freezer £200–£450, so a £90 call-out plus a relay, thermostat or defrost heater is comfortably worthwhile on an appliance under twelve years old. A sealed-system failure or seized compressor is the exception, where replacement is nearly always the right answer.
How quickly can you attend a freezer breakdown?
We treat freezer failures as priority bookings because of the value of the contents, and aim to attend same or next working day across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Keep the door shut in the meantime — a full freezer holds safe temperature for around 24 hours, or 48 for a packed chest model.
How long does a freezer repair take?
Most repairs take 50 to 110 minutes in one visit. Defrost circuit repairs on frost-free models take longer because the appliance often needs defrosting before the rear panel can be removed, which occasionally means booking a return visit after a manual defrost.
What guarantee do you give?
Twelve months on parts and labour, directly with us, on every repair. If the same fault recurs within that period we return at no charge. That covers defrost systems, relays, thermostats, fans, seals and boards.
Do you repair chest freezers?
Yes. Chest freezers are mechanically simple and repair well — the recurring faults are thermostats, start relays, lid seals and lid counterbalance springs, all of which are economical fixes. Their long service life makes them one of the better repair propositions in the category.
Can you re-gas a freezer that's lost its refrigerant?
Refrigerant loss means there's a leak, and topping up without locating and repairing it is neither lawful nor durable. On domestic freezers the cost of properly finding and fixing a sealed-system leak generally exceeds the appliance's value, and we'll tell you that honestly rather than take money for a repair that won't hold.
Which freezer brands do you repair?
Beko, Bosch, Siemens, Neff, Hotpoint, Indesit, Liebherr, Zanussi, AEG, Electrolux, Whirlpool, Samsung, LG, Miele, Lec, Iceking and Hoover among others. We work on domestic freezers only and do not service commercial or catering refrigeration.
How long should a freezer last?
Typically 12 to 16 years for an upright freezer and often longer for a chest freezer, which is a simpler appliance with fewer components to fail. Premium brands such as Liebherr regularly exceed 20 years. Keeping the condenser clean and the seal in good order is what determines which end of that range you land on.
Do you carry freezer parts on the van?
We stock start relays, overloads, thermostats, NTCs, evaporator fans and defrost thermostats for the main brands, so most jobs are completed on the first visit. Defrost heaters, door seals and control boards are model-specific and typically ordered in within two to four working days.
Freezer playing up? We'll take a look.
Call-out from £90, labour included. 6 months guarantee.