A woman in Singapore recently took to Facebook to share her displeasure with Singapore-based water purifier company Sterra.
According to the OP, who goes by YL Tan on Facebook, she bought a Sterra S water purifier in Dec 2022 for S$1,699.
Source: Facebook
The machine apparently broke down recently — it was unable to dispense water and was emitting beeping sounds and flickering lights.
Source: Facebook
Ms Tan then contacted Sterra with the hope of getting the purifier repaired.
However, the company told her that the machine’s warranty period was over and that it was “unrepairable”.
In screenshots shared by Ms Tan, a Sterra customer service officer said the parts needed to repair the machine were no longer available.
Source: Facebook
Instead, Ms Tan said she was offered an upgrade to a newer model — the Sterra 7 — and with a S$500 discount.
However, Ms Tan found this unacceptable, arguing that she had bought the machine just 1.5 years ago.
She also pointed out that she might find herself in a similar situation even if she “upgraded” to the newer machine.
In response, the Sterra officer claimed that the newer model is built to be “more durable in the long run”.
This could then save Ms Tan “potential repair costs and inconvenience”.
Ms Tan, however, remained unconvinced that the company ran out of spare parts for the Sterra S.
After all, her purifier was just over a year old.
The customer service officer later shared that a repair is out of the question as the product is no longer within the warranty period.
In her Facebook post, Ms Tan claimed that other home appliance brands would carry out repairs on their products even outside of the warranty period.
She shared that Sterra should have the required parts ready. This way, customers can opt for a repair instead of splashing on a new machine.
In response to queries from MS News, a Sterra spokesperson shared that the Sterra S was discontinued in Nov 2023.
If a customer experiences issues while the water purifier is under warranty, the company would proceed with one of three options:
As for customers whose Sterra S is no longer under warranty, the company said it has been “exhausting all available spare parts” to conduct repairs.
However, as the spare parts get depleted, Sterra has transitioned from repairing the discontinued model to offering a “sizable” S$500 discount on an upgrade to the Sterra 7.
The spokesperson said the company is confident that customers would enjoy more convenience and fewer problems by upgrading to the Sterra 7.
Source: Sterra
MS News has reached out to Ms Tan for comment.
Also read: S’pore Purifier Company Called Out For ‘Unethical’ Ad Claiming Tap Water Contains Bacteria
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Featured image adapted from Sterra and Facebook.
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