Nowadays, The O-General AC are having maximum no of Complaints mostly coming(within 6 months to 1yr of Purchase and continuing beyond that in Comparison to any Other brand. So This Means hefty repair bills yr after yr.The above fact has been seen and confirmed by me with the Help of company’s own technician. The ratio of complaint is 50:04 i.e. General: otherReputed brand AC Any body is welcome to mail Me for further details and evidence. I Purchased an O-General window Air conditioner(1.5 Ton) Model No AXZ 18 GNN from: Better Deals electronics, Janakpuri, New Delhi in Sept-05 for Rs: **22, 500 On the date of purchase itself I was cheated by the Dealer by way of defective and damaged product.
I called the dealer to replace the A/C but he refused, saying its company responsibility and a Company person will come to check it. Not satisfied, I stopped balance cheque Payment.After two days I received 2 ph calls from(Dealer) to Pay urgently.So I went there and was assured and promised by dealer that “ A Company person will come and rectify the problem and if Not satisfied. Money will be refunded But A/C should not be installed” I Trusted them and paid Balance in cash.One Mechanic came from Virendra Refrigeration Ashok viharafter3 days.He checked A/C and gave remarks: AC is defective and damaged. But nothing was done and In spite of repeated reminders No Mechanic came from company and the AC remained uninstalled and packed till the end of season. i.e. 3 monthsInspite of buying an expensive ac we couldn’t use it. Complaint letters/notice to the Dealer, Company were also sent but no respone. CORE centre and VOICE NGO also intervened. So AC was replaced in Jan 06+ paying Rs 500 extra. The AC was installed in june 06 and since that day onwards the AC started giving the following troubles
1)compressor was very noisy and overall also it was making various types of noises and vibrations increasing on auto cut off and auto start, 2) cooling was also less. 3)Electricity consumption was 2000 to 2100 watts instead of 1870 watts as told by the dealer, company and according to the brochure.After repeated phone calls and reminders to virendra refrigerationone mechanic came after 12 days and gave remarks: compressor noise and told me compressor is defective. They never gave me any complaint no’s inspite of repeated requests So I called General company Who sent a technician after 10 days and He told compressor needs to be replaced. I was surprised and insisted for AC replacement/refund by again sending complaint letters/notices but they refused. I waited helplessly till one month and was compelled to get the compressor replaced. It took about 15 days for compressor to arrive from Chennai and finally compressor was replaced by the company through their Franchisee: Which was **worse then a local workshop.
But, new problems erupted following compressor replacement as mentioned below:
1) The electricity consumption increased significantly after replacement since now it’s consuming 2500watts(minimum) to more then 2700watts per hour with a voltage of 240 and 220volts respectively and running current varying between 11 to 11.8 amperes. Whereas prior to replacement the consumption was: 2000 to 2200 watts with voltage: 240 and 220 watts and running current was 9.7 to 10.6 Amp as checked and mentioned by the company technician and now he says 1amp variation is normal.
2)**This high electricity consumption is resulting in overheating of the mains MCB, wiring of AC power point and tripping of it’s own MCB repeatedly e.t.c. due to which 3 MCB’S including wiring to AC have been changed so far but still the problem exists. This problem of overheating and tripping was absent prior to replacement and since installation. Consequently I have stopped using the AC since then to prevent excessive units consumption/Hefty electricity bills and avoid any incident leading to fire.
After compressor replacement the company stopped listening to me and instead criticized me and technician talked rudely Since warranty on AC was near to expiry. So a final Notice/complaint to the Company and dealer was sent for replacement of AC/refund.But they never responded, so I decided to approach the consumer forum and at present the matter is in the forum.*
Some other Important points:
a)**Technical specifications have not been mentioned anywhere in the operating manual, carton i.e.: Wattage consumption, Compressor B.T.U e.t.c. as I was told by the dealer and a company person that capacity is 19800 B t u and watts consumed= 1870W.
Although Amperes consumed mentioned in the unit is 10.2/9.7amp, which was true prior to compressor replacement but after replacement it’s: 11/11.8 amp under the same voltage and temperature conditions.
So according to company technician, If this is a Normal variation, then the company should mention this or change the figures e t c.It means customer is being cheated, misguided verbally due to false claims/information given by the Company and Dealers.*
b)Regarding high capacity: 19800 B T U compressor, as claimed by the company, The company technician had no answer as to why it’s giving a grill temp(cooling temp at grill) of 11 to 11.5 Celsius as compared to any other brand of 18000 B.t.u AC with a grill temp of 7 to 9* Celsius e.g. LG, VOLTAS e.t.c. under the same room temperature and outdoor temp.*
c)**The Company and dealers have no policy of giving any complaint no. The Company, Auth dealers have no concern for the customer whatsoever.
The company technician says: In the whole Delhi the company has not more then 4 to 5 service dealers and the company branch itself has just 2 to 3 technicians. Also the company has no control over It’s dealers Since they give the sales targets.*
SINCERE ADVICE: Please don’t go for GENERAL.They are cheating people in the name of a reputed international brand. Once it was a good quality product, but now It’s an inferior quality AC with pathetic service support. Trust me I have confirmed the findings. Don’t waste money in buying this expensive AC.Save up to Rs 10k in buying any other 1.5tn brand
.*
ALSO:Please don’t buy AC/ Any Product from Better Deals electronics Janakpuri New Delhi and Virendra refrigeration Ashok vihar as they indulge in unfair trade practices and once you contact them after purchasing a product they talk rudely and turn deaf. Both of them are the worst dealers in Delhi.
*IF Anybody is still interested in buying GENERAL, better buy it frm Grey Mkt for Rs17000(1.5tn)+remote because in any case you won’t get proper services+warranty benefits even if purchased from AUTH dealer also for Rs 24k.
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