As robotic vacuum cleaners are more commonly used in Korea, consumer complaints of the automated home appliance are increasing rapidly. (image: Janitors/flickr)
SEOUL, Korea, April 24, 2014 (Korea Bizwire) – A consumer who purchased an automated vacuum cleaner in July last year, asked for a refund after catching the robotic cleaner stuck in one corner of the house unable to roam around and clean the entire floor as it was supposed to do. The requested compensation has not yet been processed.
Another consumer has got a robotic vacuum cleaner repaired twice but the cleaner ended up failing again, leaving the owner not much other option than asking for a refund.
As robotic vacuum cleaners are more commonly used in Korea, consumer complaints of the automated home appliance are increasing rapidly.
On April 23, according to the Korea Consumer Agency, the number of consumer consulting cases regarding robotic vacuum cleaners has consistently increase from 72 in 2010 to 97 in 2011, 113 in 2012 and 164 in 2013.
(graphic:Kobizmedia/Korea Bizwire)
Upon looking closely into the 164 consumer counseling cases submitted last year, complains related to product quality including noise and lack of absorptive power accounted for 50.6 percent, and next came complaints of warranty service (32.9%).
Due to frequent complaints regarding robotic vacuum cleaners, the Korea Consumer Agency has chosen the item as the first target of assessment in the “Consumer Talk Talk” section at Smart Consumer website (www.smartconsumer.go.kr) in 2014.
Consumers can visit the website to rate the robotic vacuum cleaner, which they have experience of using, among the 12 listed products, submit a review of the product and tell whether they recommend it or not. The assessment will be held for a year.
A Korea Consumer Agency official said, “Prior to deciding which robotic vacuum cleaner to buy, one should note that domestic models are optimized for cleaning the floor while some imported models are specialized in cleaning the carpet and pet hair.”
The agency also asked consumers to make sure which battery they want for their robotic vacuum cleaners, for there is quite a variety of them including nickel-hydride, lithium-ion and lithium polymer, each with different life, stability, price and weight.
Written by Robin Koo (linguistkoo@koreabizwire.com)
Technology (Follow us @Technews_Korea)
