Solar geyser warranty *****

<p>In July 2010 we had a solar geyser installed by Home Comfort for a cost of just under R26K. The salesman, John Hayman, was very enthusiastic about the 10 year warranty and 20 year life expectancy of the Solartherm geyser assuring me that I would have nothing to worry about for at least 10 years. Their brochures also highlight this 10 year warranty, as does their website.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />Fast forward to July 2016, 6 years into the 10 year warranty period, and one of the ports had a hole corrode into it, effectively a burst geyser. I immediately contacted Home Comfort.</p> <p>1) Sunday Morning - Geyser burst. Being a weekend I couldn't contact home comfort, and I elected not to call out an independent plumber to avoid ruining any warranty. But hey, 1 day of cold water is something I can live with.</p> <p>2) Monday Morning - I phoned their helpline. Their response was that I should send them pictures of the leak before they could proceed. They were not prepared to send a plumber to inspect the problem. As I work for a living I could only comply after hours. Grr, another cold shower for my family.</p> <p>3) Tuesday Morning - I sent the pictures to them. They said they would pass the info on and let me know.</p> <p>4) Tuesday Afternoon - I phoned to enquire about progress. The receptionist helping me informed me that she was awaiting a response from the manufacturer, she would phone me. She didn't. Grr, ANOTHER day of cold showers</p> <p>5) Wednesday Morning - I phoned them to find out what the story was. Apparently the person she had emailed (why not just phone?) was no longer working for WE geysers (the supplier), so she would contact someone else. Phoned her every few hours, still got no resolution by the end of the day.</p> <p>6) Thursday Morning - The supplier has rejected the warranty claim. Reason: Something about geyser not being installed according to proper standards (real reason: WE geyser have a policy of never honouring their warranty - hence why they offer the longest one out there). I informed the receptionist that it is irrelevant what WE said - Homecomfort sold me the system which they advertised with the warranty, took my money, and at no point told me that the warranty was with the manufacturer and up to the manufacturer to honour. Furthermore, if there was a problem with the installation (the alleged basis of the rejected claim) HOMECOMFORT WERE THE INSTALLERS. I asked to speak to a manager. Apparently mr Hendrik Roux (a self proclaimed "thought-leader") doesn't have a number he can be contacted on. I would have to email him. (No reply to that after 5 days btw).</p> <p>7) Friday Morning: Finally got a phone number from the receptionist for mr Kobus Roux - a smooth talking salesman and brother of mr thought-leader. He listened to my tale which I told him very politely, and told me he would get back to me.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />An hour later he sms'd me that the manufacturer had rejected the claim and they were trying to get it sorted out. He no longer answered my calls, doesn't return them either, and at this point reverted to pure SMS communication.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />Homecomfort refuse to acknowledge any responsibility for the warranty even though legally they are obliged to honour it. (I will be taking them to the small claims court to recoup what I can).</p> <p> </p> <p><br />They don't return phonecalls. They don't do anything to ensure the comfort of their clients.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />Basically they will happily sell their product, exploiting the need in SA to deliver solar products, promising wonderful warranties which will NEVER be honoured if their product fails. That is *****, plain and simple. At no point during the sale of the geyser was I informed that the warranty was with the manufacturer. Nor did I sign any document where this was explained. Kobus tried to weasel out of his obligations by telling me that car dealerships also sell you a manufacturer warranty - except that in the case of a car, you sign a bunch of paperwork and it is explained. He didn't seem to like the fact that I pointed out if I buy an appliance from, say, Game, then I can take the appliance back to Game and they will replace it....</p> <p> </p> <p><br />In short, Homecomfort have been disgusting. They should have sent out a team on Monday to fix/replace the geyser and then they should have followed up with WE geysers. This should never have been made my problem. Instead my family has had to spend over a week without hot water, in the middle of winter, and had to have the geyser replaced by my insurer (and paid the excess). </p> <p> </p> <p><br />FYI: The insurance was brilliant. The plumber also confirmed that the problem was corrosion, plain and simple. Nothing to do with installation and that WE geysers are notorious for never honouring their warranties.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />I am fed up with both Homecomfort and WE geysers. A bunch of sharks and ********** who are all smiles when selling their **** to the public, but utterly devoid of any ethics when it comes to the obligations they committed to when taking our money.</p> <p> </p> <p><br />PS: I had one of their geysers in my previous home. Interestingly I drove past there recently and noticed the solar panels were gone. I guess that system also failed and the new owners were also fed up with it. Just a pity it waited until after I had moved to fail.</p>