LG Fridges: Life's Not So Good...

dealman on 15/12/2011 - 18:02

They were caught out doing similar stuff in India.

Unscrupulous to the core, I will never buy an LG product again

The text below is form an article in the SMH

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/lg-fridges-lifes-not-so-goo…

LG fridges: life's not so good
Melissa Singer
March 17, 2010
AN ELECTRONICS manufacturer with a history of making false environmental claims has been caught doctoring fridges to make them appear more energy efficient.

LG Electronics has agreed to compensate potentially thousands of consumers after two of its fridges - models L197NFS and P197WFS - were found to contain an illegal device that activates an energy-saving mode when it detects room conditions similar to those in a test laboratory.

The so-called circumvention device was discovered last month by consumer advocacy group Choice.

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The device detects test conditions and activates the mode, creating the impression of lower running costs and energy usage. The devices have been banned in Australia since 2007.

In reality the fridge, which has a 3.5 star energy rating, costs an extra $250 to run over 10 years and can severely affect food quality because it can shut off when opened.

Choice's tests found the energy consumption of the fridge was 876 kilowatt hours a year, compared to the advertised 738kWh.

Yesterday, Choice chief executive Nick Stace said the fridge was an extreme example of a company making false or misleading environmental claims, known as ''greenwashing''.

''This fridge is both a potential danger to your food, your wallet and the environment,'' Mr Stace told the Choice National Consumer Congress.

LG Electronics has agreed to pay affected customers $331 to cover the unexpected increase in their power bills, but has not agreed to refund the purchase price of the fridge.

It is the third time LG Electronics has been caught making false claims about its products' environmental credentials.

In 2008, it had to repay $3 million after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruled it had inflated the energy efficiency rating of five models of air-conditioner.

It is believed the ACCC is investigating the latest matter. An ACCC deputy chairman, Peter Kell, would not comment on the investigation, but said new consumer laws would give regulators greater powers to police claims.

A spokeswoman for electrical retailer, The Good Guys, said it received a manufacturer's recall notice from LG for the L197NFS fridge on February 26.

She said the company would offer customers a full refund.

LG Electronics failed to return calls yesterday.

General Discussion

Comments

perkinma on 15/12/2011 - 20:37

Note that this was back in March 2010 - ie best part of two years ago.

But otherwise - as follow up this is the court enforceable undertaking that was agreed with the ACCC.
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=947263&node…

Note that the undertaking gave three options:
1) cash rebate
2) return the fridge and receive refund of purchase price
3) return fridge and receive replacement fridge of otherwise same specifications but with the 'storage mode' functionality removed.
- [Deactivated] on 17/12/2011 - 08:49
  
  Agree and I wonder why the OP has posted this 2 year old report?
  
  Are they having issues with an LG product now?
  
  Lets at least keep things in some sort of current time context. As you say they have been fined/penalised for this.
  
  For the record I have no LG Fridge, but LG TV which performs OK, but I find the LG remote quite unresponsive and wouldn't buy their TV again unless I knew that this issue was fixed in newer models.
  - Cheeper on 17/12/2011 - 12:29
    
    The remote on our 3y/o LG LCD is fast as Pete… it's more responsive than our Panasonic plasma and a couple of smaller sets we have.
dealman on 16/12/2011 - 17:06

Yes this was a year ago ,
but not a lot of people know about this and also bear in mind that they have been repeatedly caught doing these sort of nefarious activities.

I wouldn't truest them and I put it in here so people know that "Life's not so good with LG"
Cheeper on 16/12/2011 - 23:21

We have many LG products and have had nothing but premium performance from all of them.

We have.. LG LCD TV, Washing machine, Mobile phone, Mini stereo, Car satnav (yes they sold them and it is brilliant),Computer LCD monitor, DVD burners, 2 x split system aircons, and maybe more somewhere… lol.

I choose their products over many others without hesitation because of the build quality, reliability and performance. I used to be a Panasonic fan but rate LG above them these days.

Sorry to hear of your predicament though.

If you want to hear some stories about junk electrical products then pull up a chair and I will tell you my many experiences with "Samsung" total garbage! :-( :-( :-( Now there is a company with no concience!
- CuteChocobo on 17/12/2011 - 13:21
  
  +1
  
  Really? I got a lot of Samsung electronics and right now only the washing machine broke down once (and fixed). My fridge, TV, mobile, tablet, stereo and baby monitor none of them had given me problems yet. Mind you the oldest Samsung TV is about 8 years old now and we still play Wii and other stuff on it!
  
  LG product is good too! Got a TV, microwave and kettle and all still works fine.
  
  Unfortunately due to the limited QC in both LG and Samsung. I am sure you will stumble across some bad apples from time to time! But one bad doesn't make the rest bad!
  - dealman on 17/12/2011 - 13:28
    
    Yeah I agree,
    Occasional Bad apples(Lemons) is no problem, Happens with every company…
    but in this case the company has been deceptively planting fake orchards all along.
    
    Really surprised at the support for LG here on OZB, anyway everyone to their own I suppose. Just thought I'd put it out there that this is a really shonky company.
    
    I'd never go close to them looking at everything they have done in the past.
    - perkinma on 17/12/2011 - 15:45
      
      I just keep a mental 'adjustment factor' in mind for all these things - do something bad or shonky and the adjustment factor goes down / do something really good and positive and the adjustment factor goes up.
      
      So - I would (and do) rate them down because of what they did but I wouldn't rule them out.
    - CuteChocobo on 17/12/2011 - 17:23
      
      Yup, with LG and other brands. I often will read reviews before buying, unless it's something that is not worth the effort.
      
      Thank you for point it out, next time I will be more aware of the possible faults in the LG line. Especially for the deceptive marketings!
      
      It's that bitter after taste when you put so much trust in a product and it fails on you. You can never see the same product ever again, right? sigh being a big company is hard!
    - [Deactivated] on 17/12/2011 - 18:28
      
      Dont be surprised at the "support". People here can be fair. and having just the one report of some shonky dealing, which was 2 years ago, isnt going to make everyone run from LG in a flash.
      
      Its not good and as CCbo mentions it makes someone wary.
      
      In your case, is this the only reason you wont buy from them?
      
      you say
      
      I'd never go close to them looking at everything they have done in the past.
      
      Care to elaborate more. That would help
    - dealman on 19/12/2011 - 17:36
      
      Hi OzPete and all, for some reason, I can't reply to your post, it doesn't give me the option.
      
      So I'll reply here
      
      "Dont be surprised at the "support". People here can be fair. and having just the one report of some shonky dealing, which was 2 years ago, isnt going to make everyone run from LG in a flash." - Well yes this was 2 years ago but this is a company that intentionally engaged in CRIMINAL behaviour. Intentionally trying to deceive customers is not the same as occasional customer service screw up. This is what I would call rotten to the core.
      
      This is the primary reason I won't buy from them as how can I or anyone else trust any other figures that this company puts out about performance of their products.
      
      Also just last year Choice magazine rated LG as one of the recipients of the infamous Shonky awards
      
      http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/awards/shonky-awa…
      
      Shonky for history repeats… LG
      
      I'd even forgive a company for a single mistake , but not for repeated deceptions. As they say ,
      
      Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
    - cyssero on 19/12/2011 - 17:44
      
      Dealman, you may be surprised at the number of companies that you wouldn't hesitate to purchase a product from that have engaged in criminal activities. Price fixing for one. There are dozens of large manufacturers (including LG) that have engaged in price-fixing over the years.
      
      Choice is a good source of information but I would broaden my horizons and see if there are any companies out there that haven't made a mistake or two in the past.
    - dealman on 19/12/2011 - 18:28
      
      cyssero> so true > you sound like my wife.
      We were out looking for tvs over the weekend and I refused to consider LG , and she says the same thing about letting go, and that I wouldn't be able to buy anything at all if I was so strict. Unfortunately to me it feels so wrong to take my business to a company that did this to unsuspecting consumers.
      
      I guess its just me, but sorry No LG for me , even at cheap prices.. Some more text from the Choice release regarding this issue
      
      CHOICE believes the company has got off lightly.
      
      "LG was meant to have a compliance program in place under similar undertakings it gave the Commission in 2005 and 2006 following similar misleading claims on washing machines and air conditioners," says CHOICE spokesman Christopher Zinn.
      
      "The fact they breached again means either their compliance program was ineffective or the company knew full well there was a breach. Either way, it's clear that LG does not take compliance seriously.
      
      "They have probably done the numbers and worked out it's more profitable to breach, wait to be found out, fix the problem and then do it all again.
      
      "We don't think this sort of negotiated resolution should be available to companies on their third strike. The ACCC should have taken LG to court and secured fines to send a clear message."
cyssero on 17/12/2011 - 01:41

+2

I know there is some resistance to LG in general, but they generally make excellent consumer goods across the board.

What they did is deplorable in this instance but I am sure they would be hesitant to repeat it or anything similar again, especially given they will be under scrutiny by all.

We have several LG products and all have performed beyond expectations in terms of quality and product life. Having sold their products in retail for many years I can say after-sales service and spare parts network is top notch and whenever we had issues they were happy to help customers out. I had a customer tell me she broke her microwave turntable because it was stuck it stuck to a plate and fell off when she removed the plate and wanted to buy a replacement turntable. Faxed a form to LG and they delivered a new turntable to the customer free of charge. Small example but many others like this too.

I theorise that the reason you hear of people having issues with LG products stems from the fact their products sell in higher volumes and therefore even if the failure rate is acceptable, more people are complaining about them (as there are more LG owners).

Best way to look at things is to judge a product on its individual merits of price, features, design. Just because I have had good experiences with LG doesn't mean I won't buy a Mitsubishi fridge or Fujitsu aircon if it suited me better.

EDIT: For the record, I have few issues with any of the large brand name manufacturers. The ones that invest in R&D and try to innovate that is.
infinite on 17/12/2011 - 16:03

Pay for low grade, you get low grade.
- CuteChocobo on 17/12/2011 - 17:21
  
  +1
  
  Define low grade? as in cheap? how can you tell if something is low grade, e.g. made in China?
  
  It is surprising how people sometimes link "low price == low grade" or "Asian made product == low grade" or "certain company's products == low grade"
  
  I am not disagreeing upon what you said, in actual fact what you said is very true. But I want to make sure that from your general statement of low grade, what you are point at?
  
  LG has never been a low grade product company
  LG's price has always been at an average competitive edge. Leaning closer to the cheaper side due to demand.
  So I wouldn't say that if you buy LG you get low grade products.
  
  Back to the statement at hand: "Pay for low grade, you get low grade."
  I agree that you pay what you get!
  So if you decide to go all bargain-like, then don't put up too much hope that your product are good. E.g. iPhone charger cable on ebay for $1.50 and on Apple store $29.00. Both do the same stuff, but Apple store ones got more QC where as our family went through 8 ebay cables already (this year)!
  
  Just hoping that you are not saying that LG make crap items! =)
  - morpheu on 19/12/2011 - 17:03
    
    +1
    
    "our family went through 8 ebay cables already (this year)!" and guess what? in terms of $$ you're still ahead compared to if you bought the original cable @$29!
  - infinite on 19/12/2011 - 20:29
    
    Low Grade - as in the products and company are both steaming piles of tripe.

LG Fridges: Life's Not So Good...

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