Faulty portable air conditioner - what are my rights?
Discussion
Not sure whether this best belongs here, but I couldn't think of a better subforum.
TL;DR I bought an AC unit in Summer 2022 and it worked for 3-4 weeks. Then I put it away and the next time I tried to use it (summer 2024) it didn't blow cold air. It hasn't worked since. Do I have any recourse?
In mid-July 2022 I bought a Delonghi PACEL98 portable air conditioner for £689 from Amazon to try to cool down either my upstairs office (20 sq M) or my bedroom (48 sq M). I work from home full time so other than a customer or office visits which I do for a week or two at a time, every 2-3 months, I have little respite from the summer heat. I chose that brand because despite it being more expensive than the competition, I've had positive experiences with the brand in the past although not for an A/C unit.
I have to say that it worked fantastically and I was VERY happy with my purchase. The fan noise wasn't too bad, and it pumped out air at between 6-7 degrees C when the ambient temperature was much above the set point. While my bedroom is a decent size, the unit managed to cool it in pretty short order, such that in eco mode (operating intermittently) it would keep the temperature around 20-22C.
When it worked!
Summer was very hot for about 3-4 weeks, after which it cooled to the point where I didn't need to use the unit any more. So I drained the water from the back of the unit as instructed, unplugged it and pushed it into the corner of my bedroom.
The following year, it either wasn't hot or I wasn't here when it was hot in the UK so I didn't try to use it at all. Last year, 2024, I did use it but I noticed that it didn't seem to be making the air cold - it was just cooling it a little. But It kept showing LT on the display every 10-15 minutes, which means Low Temperature in the unit. The compressor would stop and the fan speed would drop to minimum. I wasn't sure if there was something wrong with the unit, or it was not hot enough to make it pump out very cold air. I was planning on investigating, but I got a last-minute break from work committments and went on a 3-week road trip driving around France and a bit of Spain. And by the time I got back, summer was over in the UK, so I just pushed the unit into the corner and forgot about it.
This year it's been pretty hot in short spurts, so I pulled the unit out again and started to investigate. I can't find any dirt, blockages or apparent faults anywhere, but I did find that when the LT appears on the display, the bottom 1-2cm of the evaporator section gets iced up. But the rest of the evaporator stays at or near room temperature. The ice quickly disperses when the compressor stops running, after which the compressor comes on again. And the cycle repeats.
I did some internet research and it seems that the likely cause of this behaviour is a leak in the system which has caused most of the refrigerant to leak out. So I took the back cover off the unit and I can find no evidence of any damage or leakage, nor can I find any evidence of a service port to refill the system. There's no corrosion anywhere, so I can't see how the refrigerant has escaped unless there was a manufacturing fault, or damage during shipping. It came well packed in a large carton with styrofoam.
So I called Delonghi customer service and explainined that the unit had been used for the sum total of 4-6 weeks, and no longer works and that I suspect that the refrigerant has somehow leaked out. The lady apologised but said that the warranty has expired and my only option is to take the unit to an A/C repair company and ask them to service it. They refused to have anything to do with it.
I'm no expert, but doesn't the Consumer Rights Act 2015 say that goods must be expected to remain usable for a reasonable length of time? I can't prove it, but I've had a maximum of 4 weeks usage out of the thing, after which it never worked again. I don't know for sure that the refrigerant has leaked out, but it seems the most likely explanation. Nothing that has happened to the unit after it has been delivered would have damaged it, and I made sure to let the unit stand for 24 hours after delivery to allow the refrigerant to settle before plugging it in, as I know that's a thing for fridges and freezers.
Do you think I have any legal avenues for comeback? Or should I give up and buy another unit?
Thanks!
TL;DR I bought an AC unit in Summer 2022 and it worked for 3-4 weeks. Then I put it away and the next time I tried to use it (summer 2024) it didn't blow cold air. It hasn't worked since. Do I have any recourse?
In mid-July 2022 I bought a Delonghi PACEL98 portable air conditioner for £689 from Amazon to try to cool down either my upstairs office (20 sq M) or my bedroom (48 sq M). I work from home full time so other than a customer or office visits which I do for a week or two at a time, every 2-3 months, I have little respite from the summer heat. I chose that brand because despite it being more expensive than the competition, I've had positive experiences with the brand in the past although not for an A/C unit.
I have to say that it worked fantastically and I was VERY happy with my purchase. The fan noise wasn't too bad, and it pumped out air at between 6-7 degrees C when the ambient temperature was much above the set point. While my bedroom is a decent size, the unit managed to cool it in pretty short order, such that in eco mode (operating intermittently) it would keep the temperature around 20-22C.
When it worked!
Summer was very hot for about 3-4 weeks, after which it cooled to the point where I didn't need to use the unit any more. So I drained the water from the back of the unit as instructed, unplugged it and pushed it into the corner of my bedroom.
The following year, it either wasn't hot or I wasn't here when it was hot in the UK so I didn't try to use it at all. Last year, 2024, I did use it but I noticed that it didn't seem to be making the air cold - it was just cooling it a little. But It kept showing LT on the display every 10-15 minutes, which means Low Temperature in the unit. The compressor would stop and the fan speed would drop to minimum. I wasn't sure if there was something wrong with the unit, or it was not hot enough to make it pump out very cold air. I was planning on investigating, but I got a last-minute break from work committments and went on a 3-week road trip driving around France and a bit of Spain. And by the time I got back, summer was over in the UK, so I just pushed the unit into the corner and forgot about it.
This year it's been pretty hot in short spurts, so I pulled the unit out again and started to investigate. I can't find any dirt, blockages or apparent faults anywhere, but I did find that when the LT appears on the display, the bottom 1-2cm of the evaporator section gets iced up. But the rest of the evaporator stays at or near room temperature. The ice quickly disperses when the compressor stops running, after which the compressor comes on again. And the cycle repeats.
I did some internet research and it seems that the likely cause of this behaviour is a leak in the system which has caused most of the refrigerant to leak out. So I took the back cover off the unit and I can find no evidence of any damage or leakage, nor can I find any evidence of a service port to refill the system. There's no corrosion anywhere, so I can't see how the refrigerant has escaped unless there was a manufacturing fault, or damage during shipping. It came well packed in a large carton with styrofoam.
So I called Delonghi customer service and explainined that the unit had been used for the sum total of 4-6 weeks, and no longer works and that I suspect that the refrigerant has somehow leaked out. The lady apologised but said that the warranty has expired and my only option is to take the unit to an A/C repair company and ask them to service it. They refused to have anything to do with it.
I'm no expert, but doesn't the Consumer Rights Act 2015 say that goods must be expected to remain usable for a reasonable length of time? I can't prove it, but I've had a maximum of 4 weeks usage out of the thing, after which it never worked again. I don't know for sure that the refrigerant has leaked out, but it seems the most likely explanation. Nothing that has happened to the unit after it has been delivered would have damaged it, and I made sure to let the unit stand for 24 hours after delivery to allow the refrigerant to settle before plugging it in, as I know that's a thing for fridges and freezers.
Do you think I have any legal avenues for comeback? Or should I give up and buy another unit?
Thanks!
Edited by LunarOne on Wednesday 16th July 16:31
Those timescales are well described in the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
up to 30 days - Refund or replacement
31 days - 6 months - seller gets a chance to fix fault and would be required to prove fault WAS NOT present when sold if the refuse this obligation
6 months + (largely accepted to be up to 6 years) - you may still have a claim BUT the onus is on you to prove the fault was present when the item was sold.
Given that the unit worked when you got it, it would be nearly impossible to prove the fault was present at the point of sale.
Air con units leak refrigerant over time either through damage or by the seals drying out through lack of use. I think you are up the creek without your aircon.
up to 30 days - Refund or replacement
31 days - 6 months - seller gets a chance to fix fault and would be required to prove fault WAS NOT present when sold if the refuse this obligation
6 months + (largely accepted to be up to 6 years) - you may still have a claim BUT the onus is on you to prove the fault was present when the item was sold.
Given that the unit worked when you got it, it would be nearly impossible to prove the fault was present at the point of sale.
Air con units leak refrigerant over time either through damage or by the seals drying out through lack of use. I think you are up the creek without your aircon.
Edited by papa3 on Thursday 17th July 10:43
papa3 said:
Air con units leak refrigerant over time either thought damage or by the seals drying out through lack of use. I think you are up the creek without your aircon.
That's true for automotive aircon, but these portable units are more like a fridge and don't usually have any seals.It likely does have a leak, which an aircon specialist should be able to find, but they're not designed to be refilled - again, think fridge, not car or industrial AC.
Very annoying on such an expensive/premium portable AC unit but I do agree that I think the OP is out of luck this far down the line.
Your usuage time does not = time of ownership and that's what counts. You could go down the small claims route, based on the fact its an epensive unit - regardless of 12 month warranty. The fact its pricey works in your favour as its "reasonable" to expect it to work for more than 3 years.
I lost a small claim against my business - 1 year warranty- 3 year claim, he got 100% payment due to my product being pricey/premium even though he misused it and a 3rd party manhandled it without supervision on 2 occasions. Did everything my terms say not to do and he still won.
Give the manufacturer a notice of intended legal action - plenty of templates out there. I did this with Saniflo - a unit died 2 years out of warranty but I made it clear at £650 it should have lasted longer as competitor models are £500 less!!. They resisted but folded when I asked for their addess for the small claim form.
I lost a small claim against my business - 1 year warranty- 3 year claim, he got 100% payment due to my product being pricey/premium even though he misused it and a 3rd party manhandled it without supervision on 2 occasions. Did everything my terms say not to do and he still won.
Give the manufacturer a notice of intended legal action - plenty of templates out there. I did this with Saniflo - a unit died 2 years out of warranty but I made it clear at £650 it should have lasted longer as competitor models are £500 less!!. They resisted but folded when I asked for their addess for the small claim form.
Edited by Griffith4ever on Thursday 17th July 07:54
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