Hi All,
I would like to bring to your notice a recent event in which a Hitachi India technician tried to cheat me by quoting outrageous amounts for additional items which were required for the installation of my Hitachi split a/c.
The following is a letter which I wrote to Hitachi today. Has anyone else been faced with such cheats and if you have what actions did you take? Please let us all know so we know how to handle these crooks in the future. I'll keep you guys posted on the response from hitachi. Thanks, Ashish
To Whom it May Concern,
I purchased a Hitachi air conditioner model no. RAU018HPD from E-ZONE Powai (Haiko Mall, Level 2, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, Tel: 91 22 2571 7355) on the 21st of March. I was assured by the sales staff at E-ZONE that the installation is inclusive in the price of the AC with copper tubing, if used in excess of 4 meters, the only chargeable part.
Upon receiving the unit I was told that the A/C will be installed by a Hitachi Authorised technician on the 26th of March (today). The Hitachi technician was scheduled to come at of before 12:00 PM (as per E-ZONE customer service staff, Aksheta) but arrived at my location at 3:15PM. Upon arrival and inspection of the unit the Hitachi technician (Mr. Suresh Tel. no. 9930884918) claimed that I would require "a flexible drainage pipe with a length of approximately 20 feet" and a "flooring bracket kit" for the outdoor unit.
I was surprised by the technician when he stated he needed additional items for installation, especially since E-ZONE staff had confirmed that everything is inclusive in the kit. Nevertheless, I went ahead and asked the Mr. Suresh what the additional cost of such items would be. His response was that for the flexible drainage pipe the cost would be Rs. 500 and the cost of the flooring bracket kit would be Rs. 1250.
Now, I know for a fact that any retail shop selling the drainage pipes for a/c's do not charge more than Rs.20/meter which for a total of 6.50 meters would be Rs.130 and any well-reputed branded installation brackets do not cost more than Rs. 400 - 500. I am surprised that Hitachi technicians would be out to steal from there customers. When I refused the technician's offer and told him that I would purchase the same for him and give him the materials required, he came up with excuses that the material is not right and so on and so forth.
My complain in this e-mail is not that the technician asked for all these materials but the fact that he quoted such prices which were 2 - 3 times the normal retail price for the items.
I would like to bring to your notice that the technician, Mr. Suresh and his supervisor Mr. Irfan Ahmed (Shop No. 2, Shree Laxmi Udyog, L.B. Shastri Marg, Bhandup (W), Mumbai 400 078 Tel no. 2579 0908) are not reputable people and are maligning the name of Hitachi India. In the future I would request, such people are not sent to my home for any service or repairs as I would not like such cheats to enter my home.
I would like to know how Hitachi can improve and or change the current situation, where their technicians are not regulated and simply act like common fraudsters. Also, in the future it would be wise on Hitachi India's part to provide a starndardized price list to all technicians and/or representatives of Hitachi to give to clients so they know that prices quoted to them are genuine.
Looking forward to your earliest response.
Warm Regards,
Ashish
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