NeilTheCop
Member
What is the name of your state? New Mexico.
Longish story
My house is off grid and it runs on two solar inverters which turn the 48 volts DC from my batteries into 120 volts AC for the house. These inverters are the same make and model and have a circuit board installed that allows them to be used in parallel. The idea being is that if one quits I still had power while the other was being repaired or replaced. This is what happened and one of them started smoking.
I ordered an identical replacement for just under $700 from a Texas company that advertised it as US stock and it comes with a 1 year manufacturers warranty. I used PayPal for peace of mind.
It arrived about a week later direct from Taiwan, not from the US as advertised. Seemed OK and I needed it, so installed it. Before connecting it to anything other than the batteries I tried to set it into parallel mode so it would play nicely with the existing one, but it refused.
Contacted the sellers technical support who just asked for photos of the serial number, which I sent. This was followed by a series of ridiculous suggestions including turning off the split phase which my models don't have. They even linked to a YouTube video showing a totally different inverter.
After 10 days or so getting the run around by technical support I filed a warranty claim asking for a replacement, but heard nothing. During this time I found the problem with my old inverter, ordered the parts and fixed it, reassembled the whole system and it's working fine. I still want a spare unit rather than a refund as these units are now almost obsolete.
Made a claim with PayPal and now the seller wants me to turn off the power to my house, dismantle the system, reinstall the defective unit and take a video because the manufacturer (in Taiwan) wants it before they can process my warranty claim.
I said no, it's already been packaged up ready to be returned.
The web site says free returns within 30 days, but later it says there will be a 15% restocking fee and I'm responsible for all the return shipping costs, maybe to Taiwan where it was sent from.
Anyway finally to the question.
Who is legally responsible for the 1 year warranty, the seller here in the US, who got paid, or the manufacturer in Taiwan?
Longish story
My house is off grid and it runs on two solar inverters which turn the 48 volts DC from my batteries into 120 volts AC for the house. These inverters are the same make and model and have a circuit board installed that allows them to be used in parallel. The idea being is that if one quits I still had power while the other was being repaired or replaced. This is what happened and one of them started smoking.
I ordered an identical replacement for just under $700 from a Texas company that advertised it as US stock and it comes with a 1 year manufacturers warranty. I used PayPal for peace of mind.
It arrived about a week later direct from Taiwan, not from the US as advertised. Seemed OK and I needed it, so installed it. Before connecting it to anything other than the batteries I tried to set it into parallel mode so it would play nicely with the existing one, but it refused.
Contacted the sellers technical support who just asked for photos of the serial number, which I sent. This was followed by a series of ridiculous suggestions including turning off the split phase which my models don't have. They even linked to a YouTube video showing a totally different inverter.
After 10 days or so getting the run around by technical support I filed a warranty claim asking for a replacement, but heard nothing. During this time I found the problem with my old inverter, ordered the parts and fixed it, reassembled the whole system and it's working fine. I still want a spare unit rather than a refund as these units are now almost obsolete.
Made a claim with PayPal and now the seller wants me to turn off the power to my house, dismantle the system, reinstall the defective unit and take a video because the manufacturer (in Taiwan) wants it before they can process my warranty claim.
I said no, it's already been packaged up ready to be returned.
The web site says free returns within 30 days, but later it says there will be a 15% restocking fee and I'm responsible for all the return shipping costs, maybe to Taiwan where it was sent from.
Anyway finally to the question.
Who is legally responsible for the 1 year warranty, the seller here in the US, who got paid, or the manufacturer in Taiwan?
