Generalindia.com / ETA General [EGPL] — Failure to repair Fujitsu General VRF AC system under Annual maintenance service contract and non-settlement of Claim

Address:	Kolkata, West Bengal, 700068
Website:	generalindia.com

How would a person feel if after spending a fortune in installing and maintaining a premium. Top-end Air-conditioning system of a reputed brand, the system does not cool and remains non-operational for 9 months?
Well I could tell you for I have had that experience.
With deep regret I wish to bring to the attention of all the extremely poor and totally unacceptable service levels and response being provided to the Fujitsu General VRF AC system installed at my residence and under annual maintenance service contract. My sense is that ETA General, the company which markets and services the O General machines lacks customer orientation, competence and servicing infrastructure.
My advice to all prospective AC customers is to avoid General brand if you would like to have cooling and peace of mind.
To offer a perspective of my sad and pathetic story, I give below the details:
• Even though the machine has been under annual maintenance service contract, it remained non-operational for 9 months. During this period, the company kept on informing me about various different defects requiring change of parts viz. condensing unit fan motor, condensing unit filter, indoor fan motors- 2nos., Controller PCBs, gas evacuation and charging twice etc. etc. For all these changes, I was charged a huge amount equivalent to the cost of 2 new AC units! The net result was that whatever little cooling that was happening earlier also stopped.
• ETA General service claimed that they were still investigating and had referred the case to their specialists in head office. While all this was being said by the company, I and my family suffered for 6 months of peak summer and heat with no AC.
• I also found that different technicians from different service sub-contractors are deputed at intermittent intervals and they give different diagnosis of the problem!!
• I wish to further say that as per the AMC Clause (5) of ‘Other Terms & Conditions’ a 24 hour response to a breakdown call is committed. In my case I can confirm that this has never happened and I need to repeatedly call the Service Manager and Service Engineer for technicians to be deputed. This usually happens only after a week or a fortnight!
• Whenever I sent an E Mail complaining of the above, the service manager would get upset and tell me that they have done me a favour by taking my machine under service contract and that I was not honouring our relationship!
Based on the foregoing, my perception is that :
1. There is a total lack of service competence within ETA General Service unit in Kolkata and this is leading to complete mishandling of the sophisticated machine that I had installed at considerable expense.
Or
2. I am being cheated by the service agents on one pretext or another!
It is inconceivable and unethical that I have been made to pay repeatedly for repairs with the promise to make the AC system operational without ETA General holding any accountability for doing so. I believe all would agree to this.
Finally when ETA General ran out of options, they informed me that they would need to break the walls and false ceilings around each of the indoor units since they now suspected an installed device had become defective. When I asked why a proper access had not been provided to service these devices, ETA General Service told me that this was a defective installation done by the installing team and they had nothing to do with this! But when I asked the company to give me in writing that: (a) The system would be fully restored in terms of cooling performance and (b) they would need to make up for the damages to the interiors in view of failing to provide access for service during installation, the company has chosen not to respond back.
I have accordingly written to ETA General that I would hold the company fully responsible for my situation and suffering. I have sent them a claim for refunding back the amounts charged for repairing the system which they have failed to do and suitable compensation towards my mental and physical suffering for all these months. ETA General has failed to respond to my claim till date.

Submitted by: Shakti Ghosal, an aggrieved and long suffering client.
Kolkata