1 reviews | Active since Nov 2015
Invalidating my warranty when my Lithium battery was about to explode!
This review isn't actually about Get off Grid - it's about my BSLBATT Lithium battery - Get off Grid just happens to be the local warranty partners for that brand. I bought my Solar setup about 5 years ago and used an installer that purchased all my equipment and installed it - and then basically vanished! Whenever I had a problem, I tried phoning them and getting help - no dice! Then my 10.2kW battery started giving me problems - not lasting very long after the grid went off and quite often, just tripping and switching off. I had no-one to talk to and just hoped it was nothing serious. It all came to a head recently when my grid power died for a few days - due to our substation burning down. The battery didn't even last for 2 hours that night. At that point I decided to call in an electrician to advise me. He had installed solar systems for other people and I needed advice. He took my battery off the wall (it's very heavy) and took it into a workshop that he had worked with before (I went with him) and asked them to just check if there was anything seriously wrong with the battery before we decided on the next step. The guy at the workshop pointed out that the casing of the battery looked swollen and advised me to not re-connect it as it could actually explode. I asked him to check by removing the remaining *****s to make sure this was actually the problem. As soon as he did so, it became very clear that the internal cells were swollen - we couldn't even replace all the *****s due to the swelling. I decided to take it home and investigate further. Another friend told me about Get off Grid - that they were the local Warranty partner of the brand I had purchased - BSLBATT - so I took the battery there. I then discovered that my battery (that had cost me R54000 five years previously) had a 10 year warranty. I was very happy to hear that - until the technician at Get off Grid told me that the warranty was voided if a non-accredited person opened the battery up. I was devastated! What else was I supposed to do when the set-up was failing and an electrician had warned me that catastrophic failure of such a setup was very dangerous - and my original installer had basically vanished!
Get of Grid was very decent and offered to loan me a battery while the problem with my warranty was appealed with the 'higher ups' - (I assume with the manufacturers).
At the moment, I am waiting in hope - with my system running on the 'loan battery' that Get off Grid kindly lent me. I must say that invalidating my warranty under such circumstances seems very unfair to me - and I've been told that it may even be ******* under SA law.
I'm waiting and hoping that a long drawn-out legal fight will not be necessary - but at the moment it doesn't look good!
Warranty-less Mike
See my letter below:
Attention - Sarah Prinsloo and the Appropriate Senior manager
DATE: 21 July 2026FROM:ADDRESS: Mike Roussos, 65 Leicester Road, Kensington, JohannesburgEMAIL: ***TEL: +***9TO: Senior Management / Complaints DepartmentCOMPANY: GETOFFGRIDCOPY TO: BSLBATT South Africa (***)SUBJECT: FORMAL DISPUTE & LETTER OF DEMAND – WARRANTY CLAIM FOR BSLBATT 48V 200AH BATTERY (SERIAL NO: WS*** - Production date 18-03-2021)Dear Senior Management,
- PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER: This letter serves as a formal dispute and a demand to honour the 10-year manufacturer’s warranty on my BSLBATT 48V 200Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. I am writing to formally reject your verbal assessment that the warranty has been voided due to an unauthorised opening of the casing cover, and to outline my intent to escalate this matter to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) should we fail to resolve this immediately.
- BACKGROUND AND CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
- I purchased the BSLBATT 48V 200Ah battery system, which carried a standard 10-year limited performance warranty.
- Recently, the battery suffered a catastrophic capacity failure. A subsequent independent professional diagnostic test using EB Tester Software confirmed that the usable capacity had dropped drastically from 200Ah to just 47.06Ah (only 23% of its nominal capacity).
- Because my original solar installer is no longer traceable and has disappeared, and because the system’s failure presented an immediate electrical and physical safety hazard (as confirmed by an electrician), I had a duty to safely disconnect the unit.
- I took the battery to a workshop to inspect the cause of the failure. The technician opened the outer casing *****s to perform a basic visual inspection. Upon opening, it was immediately clear that the internal cells were severely swollen. No alterations, modifications, or repairs were attempted.
- Your firm initially rejected my warranty claim, stating that because a ******rtified company (Wamuse Electronics) opened the cover instead of "GetOffGrid" (whom I was never formally notified was the sole certified support channel), the warranty is void. You have subsequently demanded the return of the temporary loan battery and refused further assistance.
- LEGAL BASIS FOR CHALLENGING THE WARRANTY REJECTION: Your rejection of my warranty claim on a technicality violates the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) No. 68 of 2008 on several grounds:
- Absence of Causal Link and Proportionality: Under South African consumer law, a manufacturer cannot void a warranty for a pre-existing manufacturing defect unless they can prove a direct causal link between the third-party action and the defect. The internal diagnostic report clearly shows that the cells suffered from swelling, which is a severe chemical/manufacturing failure (all of which you know, as you have the battery in your possession). Un*****ing the metal cover did not cause or contribute to cell bloating. The burden of proof sits entirely on you to technically prove that opening the casing caused the cell failure.
- Unfair and Unjust Contract Terms (Section 48 & Regulation 44): Under Section 48 of the CPA, contract terms cannot be excessively one-sided. Blanket "warranty void if opened" clauses are heavily restricted when used to escape liability for pre-existing, severe material defects. Denying a multi-thousand Rand warranty on a 5-year-old product with a 10-year design life because of a visual safety inspection is highly disproportionate and unconscionable.
- Failure of Durability and Quality (Section 55 & 56): The CPA grants consumers the right to receive goods that are durable for a reasonable period. Since BSLBATT markets this product with a 10-year warranty, a severe capacity drop to 47Ah in under 5 years is a major failure of durability.
- Emergency Circumstances: Because the original installer has disappeared, I acted reasonably and responsibly as a homeowner to ensure my household safety by disconnecting and visually checking a failing, high-voltage battery.
- DEMAND AND INTENDED ACTIONS In light of the above, I demand that Getoffgrid and BSLBATT South Africa:
- Accept the battery return, process the warranty claim, and either repair or replace the failed BSLBATT 48V 200Ah battery.
- Allow me to retain the current loan unit in my possession until a permanent replacement or repaired unit has been delivered and commissioned.
- I will file a formal complaint with the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) under reference of the Consumer Protection Act.
- I will escalate the matter to the National Consumer Commission (NCC) for investigation into unfair warranty practices and contract terms.
- I will retain the loan battery as security against my outstanding claim.
See my letter below:
Attention - Sarah Prinsloo and the Appropriate Senior manager
DATE: 21 July 2026FROM:ADDRESS: Mike Roussos, 65 Leicester Road, Kensington, JohannesburgEMAIL: ***TEL: +***9TO: Senior Management / Complaints DepartmentCOMPANY: GETOFFGRIDCOPY TO: BSLBATT South Africa (***)SUBJECT: FORMAL DISPUTE & LETTER OF DEMAND – WARRANTY CLAIM FOR BSLBATT 48V 200AH BATTERY (SERIAL NO: WS*** - Production date 18-03-2021)Dear Senior Management,
- PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER: This letter serves as a formal dispute and a demand to honour the 10-year manufacturer’s warranty on my BSLBATT 48V 200Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. I am writing to formally reject your verbal assessment that the warranty has been voided due to an unauthorised opening of the casing cover, and to outline my intent to escalate this matter to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) should we fail to resolve this immediately.
- BACKGROUND AND CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
- I purchased the BSLBATT 48V 200Ah battery system, which carried a standard 10-year limited performance warranty.
- Recently, the battery suffered a catastrophic capacity failure. A subsequent independent professional diagnostic test using EB Tester Software confirmed that the usable capacity had dropped drastically from 200Ah to just 47.06Ah (only 23% of its nominal capacity).
- Because my original solar installer is no longer traceable and has disappeared, and because the system’s failure presented an immediate electrical and physical safety hazard (as confirmed by an electrician), I had a duty to safely disconnect the unit.
- I took the battery to a workshop to inspect the cause of the failure. The technician opened the outer casing *****s to perform a basic visual inspection. Upon opening, it was immediately clear that the internal cells were severely swollen. No alterations, modifications, or repairs were attempted.
- Your firm initially rejected my warranty claim, stating that because a ******rtified company (Wamuse Electronics) opened the cover instead of "GetOffGrid" (whom I was never formally notified was the sole certified support channel), the warranty is void. You have subsequently demanded the return of the temporary loan battery and refused further assistance.
- LEGAL BASIS FOR CHALLENGING THE WARRANTY REJECTION: Your rejection of my warranty claim on a technicality violates the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) No. 68 of 2008 on several grounds:
- Absence of Causal Link and Proportionality: Under South African consumer law, a manufacturer cannot void a warranty for a pre-existing manufacturing defect unless they can prove a direct causal link between the third-party action and the defect. The internal diagnostic report clearly shows that the cells suffered from swelling, which is a severe chemical/manufacturing failure (all of which you know, as you have the battery in your possession). Un*****ing the metal cover did not cause or contribute to cell bloating. The burden of proof sits entirely on you to technically prove that opening the casing caused the cell failure.
- Unfair and Unjust Contract Terms (Section 48 & Regulation 44): Under Section 48 of the CPA, contract terms cannot be excessively one-sided. Blanket "warranty void if opened" clauses are heavily restricted when used to escape liability for pre-existing, severe material defects. Denying a multi-thousand Rand warranty on a 5-year-old product with a 10-year design life because of a visual safety inspection is highly disproportionate and unconscionable.
- Failure of Durability and Quality (Section 55 & 56): The CPA grants consumers the right to receive goods that are durable for a reasonable period. Since BSLBATT markets this product with a 10-year warranty, a severe capacity drop to 47Ah in under 5 years is a major failure of durability.
- Emergency Circumstances: Because the original installer has disappeared, I acted reasonably and responsibly as a homeowner to ensure my household safety by disconnecting and visually checking a failing, high-voltage battery.
- DEMAND AND INTENDED ACTIONS In light of the above, I demand that Getoffgrid and BSLBATT South Africa:
- Accept the battery return, process the warranty claim, and either repair or replace the failed BSLBATT 48V 200Ah battery.
- Allow me to retain the current loan unit in my possession until a permanent replacement or repaired unit has been delivered and commissioned.
- I will file a formal complaint with the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) under reference of the Consumer Protection Act.
- I will escalate the matter to the National Consumer Commission (NCC) for investigation into unfair warranty practices and contract terms.
- I will retain the loan battery as security against my outstanding claim.