SASKATOON -- A Saskatoon woman says she wants her fridge replaced after mistakenly buying a five-year-old model last month.

Jennifer Stephen McIntosh said she bought the fridge from Leon’s Furniture on July 12 for nearly $2,000.

She was looking to buy a new 2020 model but was told the one she wanted was out of stock, so she bought the floor model instead.

But the fridge is actually five years old and has been discontinued.

“Not only did I get ripped, I got cheated. You go to a place like Leon’s, you’re expecting them to sell you a new model, not an old model, which is five years old,” Stephen McIntosh said.

Stephen McIntosh claims the freezer in the fridge stopped functioning just a few weeks after she bought it.

“Whatever I had in the freezer, I had to throw everything out because we don’t want the family to get food poisoning.”

She said she discovered the appliance’s true age after speaking with the manufacturer, LG, when the fridge first broke down.

Stephen McIntosh said she has also been in contact with Leon’s about the situation.

Bruce Bergeron, national service coordinator for Leon’s, said the floor model was only sold because the customer needed a fridge quickly and that it was placed in the showroom in 2017.

“It’s a current model up until July 6 when it was discontinued. Again, we didn’t have stock on it so it’s not uncommon that a running model fridge for display would be sitting on the floor,” he said in a phone interview.

Bergeron said the only way the sales person would’ve known it was a 2015 model is by checking the serial number.

Karen Smith, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Saskatchewan, said it’s important to ask a lot of questions, especially when buying a used or demo item, such as what year the demo is.

“Ask the sales person and get them to be able to help you out with that. How long has it been a demo is another really good question to ask. Has it been on the floor for two weeks with other people opening and closing the door? Or has it been on the demo floor for a couple of years?“

Smith said it’s also important to ask questions about the return policy and warranty.

Stephen McIntosh said her fridge is under a one year warranty with LG.

Both she and Leon’s said a technician is scheduled to try and repair the fridge this week.

If it cannot be fixed it will be replaced, according to Leon’s.

Stephen McIntosh said she just wants it replaced because she bought it thinking it was a new model.