By Keri Algar
SYDNEY, NSW: The rebate was announced following testing by government regulators which found the energy consumption on the Hisense freezer model HCF150A was higher than what was declared on the energy rating label.
The Australian division of the Chinese company is offering consumers who purchased the HCF150A $164.45 to cover the cost of extra energy consumption over the life of the freezer.
Similarly, in September 2010, LG Australia entered into a court enforceable undertaking with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over the alleged misrepresentation of the energy efficiency of 2007 and 2009 refrigerator models.
In this case, the ACCC alleged LG did not remove or disable the energy saving storage mode function of the fridges during testing prior to applying for energy label registrations. It was later discovered that when testing the refrigerators in regular mode the energy consumption was 10 per cent higher.
As a result, consumers who purchased a fridge with an affected 2009 energy label were offered a cash rebate of $331.20 or a refund or replacement refrigerator of equivalent specification without the energy saving mode. Consumers who purchased a fridge with an affected 2007 energy could claim $295 or return their fridge to receive a refund or replacement refrigerator of equivalent specification without the energy saving mode.
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