Gizzu UPS almost burned down my entire house

Extremely ***** company with shady business practices.

I purchased a Gizzu GPS500 Lithium Ion battery station from Loot.co.za in March a day after the recall was announced (which I did not see). Loot made no attempt to stop the delivery of the faulty unit or to contact me to return it.

The unit was from a batch that was affected. Sadly, I found out too late.

A month after I bought the UPS, it suddenly exploded and caused a battery fire which destroyed my entire home office, almost everything in that room was destroyed, including building fixtures, furniture, computers and expensive personal belongings worth R280K.

Smoke from the fire spread to the rest of the house and we had to claim building insurance to have the entire house repaired/ repainted.

A lawyer's Letter of Demand was sent to Loot and Syntech (the manufacturer of the faulty UPS) on 30 May to seek compensation for the damages. it was deliberately ignored.

We have photo and video evidence, a fire brigade report, eyewitness reports and all the information to prove that the cause of fire was indeed the UPS. Even Syntech's public liability insurers have issued a report that clearly stated that Loot is at fault.

Yet, they are dodging responsibilities and hiding.

This is a despicable company that does not care about their customers' well-being or safety. They couldn't care less if you die due to the faulty products that they sell.

We're taking further legal actions against them and Syntech. Avoid both companies at all cost if you value your life, your family and your expensive stuff! Thank me later.