'Not acceptable' to wait over 6 months to fix 5-year-old aircon under 10-year warranty, says customer

He is still waiting.

A customer finds it unacceptable that a company is taking more than six months to get his air-conditioner repaired even though it is still under warranty.

Stomper Ske had bought the Trentios Inverter System 2 for $1,888 from the Giant Hypermarket in Vivocity on March 15, 2018.

It came with a 10-year warranty for the compressor.

"Around August 2023, the aircon was not working well," recounted the Stomper.

"After a preliminary diagnosis, the technician said the compressor was faulty and he needed to bring it back for repair. They brought back the aircon in October 2023."

Trentios told the Stomper that it did not have the part and he would have to wait until December.

"This was a two-month-long wait, but since it was the first time, we accepted and waited," said the Stomper, who shared screenshots of his online chat with the Trentios customer service.

"Initially, they claimed the repair cost was $600 to $700, for which I could even buy a refurbished full system 2 including the split. They then subsequently said it was $380 after I highlighted that the compressor was covered for 10 years."

In December, the Stomper was told to wait another month.

"I think it's really not acceptable," said the Stomper.

"Trentios is such a huge aircon company in Singapore and yet cannot deliver on its warranty within a reasonable acceptable time. When asked to escalate, there seemed to be not much action except an offer to 'loan' me a portable aircon, for which they might charge me. I already told them that it was not suitable for my home and the electrical consumption would be much higher."

At the end of January, the Stomper was "ridiculously" told to wait until "earliest mid-March" for the parts.

"They used the word 'earliest' which meant I may expect further delay," said the Stomper.

"From August 2023 to March 2024 is more than six months."

The Stomper added that he had written to the CEO of Trentios and had not received a reply.

In response to a Stomp query, a Trentios senior operations manager confirmed that they have WhatsApped the Stomper on Jan 30 and informed him that they were waiting for the compressor from overseas.

"We will rectify it once we have received the compressor from overseas in March 2024," said the manager.

Frustrated with Trentios's response, the Stomper said: "At first, they said December. Then it became end-January and now they say March. They just keep delaying."