LEC Elan Fridge Freezer temperature problem.

The LEC Elan fridge freezer that I bought three years ago has never worked properly. First the handle broke and I was sent a replacement of a new design. Then a freezer drawer front broke. The main problem though is the temperature control of the fridge and freezer compartments. On the recommended settings of between 3 and 5 a large block of ice forms aroung the thermostat at the back of the fridge and everything in the salad drawers freezes and becomes inedible. At lower settings water sits in the bottom of each compartment and the freezer only reaches -8 to -10 degrees which doesn't seem healthy. I have contacted LEC and had an engineer out but it has never improved. Is it just mine or do all LEC Elans suffer from this?

Not familiar with that fridge/freezer, but a couple of suggestions.

It sounds like you have a wide temperature variation in different parts of the fridge. This is normally caused by overfilling the fridge, or having items loose wrapped such that the wrappings are restricting air circulation in the fridge. Avoid loose wrappings, and make sure there are spaces between items so air can circulate, evening out the temperature, and the thermostat will also then 'see' a temperature which is representitive of the fridge. The freezer may operate only as a side effect of the fridge, so if the fridge temperature control isn't working, freezer won't either.

Block of ice could be caused by the door seal not sealing properly. Check it will grip a till receipt all the way round. It might also be caused by overfilling the fridge as above, if there is also a source of moisture (such as unwrapped food) or if it's causing the compressor to operate continuously and never gets a chance to defrost.

Be careful not to eat vegetables which might have got partially frozen and thawed out again. This destroys the cell walls, and enables bacteria to much more rapidly spread through the food when it's thawed. Although cooking will destroy the bacteria, it won't destroy some of the toxins which might have been produced (nitrites are common in this case).