Fischer Storage Heaters

Cardew · 15 January 2017 at 12:02AM

Talking in general terms about electrical heaters, I would add to the above that it is not necessary for any salesman to visit a property in order to assess the heating requirements of any room; when that heat is to be provided by a plug-in electrical heater of any make.

If for instance the salesman decides it will need, say 2.3kW to heat the room, a 3kW heater will suffice - preferably bought from somewhere like Argos for about £20.

Richie-from-the-Boro · 15 January 2017 at 2:11AM

There are other considerations. The behind the drawn curtains, detached from any other influence speciality sales tactics. Late night sales, tired double glazing tactics with an ever reducing special one night conditional offer. Never wanting to leave, consistent, relentless determination to get a signature and deposit even at 11pm. Then there's the consumer credit act. Here once you've signed even if you manage to cancel you have no idea what their 'reasonable costs incurred' are for 'already using their service' even if you do manage to cancel. The 2 years prison for not telling the customer their cancellation rights does not apply when the "we never received your letter, email, phone call" answer comes back.

Be_Happy · 31 January 2017 at 4:13PM

Latest sales tactic. Received an enquiry card amongst the assortment of junk mail delivered today, from Greener Energy Group.

I've copied below the wording displayed prominently at the top of the card - note the fourth item!

"URGENT – ALL HOMEOWNERS- NEW GOVERNMENT FUNDING – JUST RELEASED

Claim up to £10,000 “limited” interest free Scottish Government funding on a 1st come 1st served basis NOW.

Then get paid to generate your own “Heat and Electricity” with the latest UK Government incentives

NEW – German Electric Heaters – Claim up to £2,000 Scrappage against old electric storage heaters."

They were also offering other services - heating sources, solar panels, etc - some of which sounded equally dubious.

matelodave · 31 January 2017 at 4:28PM

Then report them to the Advertising Standards Authority, don't wait or hope that someone else will.

The more people that compain then more notice will be taken

knightstyle · 31 January 2017 at 7:09PM

So these radiators do not come with a fixed price! You have to have a survey by a "salesman" who will give a total installed price!
They must be very expensive, I wonder how many years it will take to see any return on your outlay.
See Ebay item 262798370031

Be_Happy · 2 February 2017 at 3:07PM

matelodave wrote: »

Then report them to the Advertising Standards Authority, don't wait or hope that someone else will.

The more people that compain then more notice will be taken

They have perfected these heater adverts following numerous complaints and if you read the actual wording, they don't say anything actually untrue. They simply imply meanings.

The four lines of the heading don't tie up - each is independant. It is highly unlikely that you would qualify for any energy efficient grant to replace storage heaters with these heaters. Yes you can physically replace your storage heaters, but the advert does not say you will save money. It just suggests these are a modern version of storage heaters. As for the Scrappage Scheme; it doesn't say this is a 'Government scheme'. This is probably their own company "discount scheme".

The wording on generating your electricity etc probably applies to the tick box further down the advert which mentions heat pumps, solar panels, etc which they can also supply,

lstar337 · 2 February 2017 at 4:25PM

Be_Happy wrote: »

They have perfected these heater adverts following numerous complaints and if you read the actual wording, they don't say anything actually untrue. They simply imply meanings.

The four lines of the heading don't tie up - each is independant. It is highly unlikely that you would qualify for any energy efficient grant to replace storage heaters with these heaters. Yes you can physically replace your storage heaters, but the advert does not say you will save money. It just suggests these are a modern version of storage heaters. As for the Scrappage Scheme; it doesn't say this is a 'Government scheme'. This is probably their own company "discount scheme".

The wording on generating your electricity etc probably applies to the tick box further down the advert which mentions heat pumps, solar panels, etc which they can also supply,

Surely the ASA can still take action against adverts that heavily imply something that is untrue?

Cardew · 2 February 2017 at 5:40PM

lstar337 wrote: »

Surely the ASA can still take action against adverts that heavily imply something that is untrue?

I believe the detail below complies with MSE Andrea's directive earlier in the thread:

Originally Posted by MSE Andrea
Hi everyone, to let you know, we’ve had to delete many comments from this thread which were bordering on the libellous. Please, to keep the forum manageable, check and consider your forum comments carefully before posting, if they are critical of Fischer or any other brand of heating, and ensure that they’re factually correct and can be fully substantiated.

Thanks

https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications.aspx?SearchTerms=Fischer#1

Rulings (6)

Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd A national newspaper ad, seen on 12 September 2015, for an electric heating system was headed "New Boiler or No Boiler?". The ad featured drawings of the interior plans of two houses, one...
Date: 25 May 2016
Decision: Upheld in part
Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd Ads promoted storage heaters:a. A press ad included the claims "The most efficient German storage heater in the UK", "... most efficient German storage radiator on the market",...
Date: 3 September 2014
Decision: Upheld in part
Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd A brochure ad, for heaters, included various claims and images that related to the way the product was intended to work and its claimed benefits. They included claims, and accompanying diagrams,...
Date: 18 March 2015
Decision: Upheld
Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd A table on a page entitled “Running Costs” on www.fischerfutureheat.com, a German storage heater retail company, compared the performance and energy usage of one of their products to two other...
Date: 11 November 2015
Decision: Upheld
Fischer-Future Heat UK A press ad, direct mailing and web ad promoted storage heaters:a. A national press ad stated "Replace your old night storage heaters with modern, instant heat storage heaters". Text which...
Date: 3 April 2013
Decision: Upheld
Fischer-Future Heat UK Ltd A mailing from Fischer-Future Heat UK, for electric storage heaters, stated "Instant heat for one room or the whole house" and "100% energy transfer from heater to room".
Date: 9 October 2013
Decision: Not Upheld

Informally Resolved Cases (7)

After consideration by the ASA of complaints received, the following companies and organisations agreed to amend or withdraw advertising without the need for a formal ruling:
Advertiser Date Number of Complaints Media Sector Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 24 August 2016 1 Internet (on own site) Household Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 15 June 2016 1 Internet (on own site) Household Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 26 November 2014 1 Circular, Leaflet Household Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 14 September 2016 1 National press Household Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 18 May 2016 1 Brochure, Leaflet, Mailing Household Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 7 September 2016 1 Internet (on own site) Household Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd 21 October 2015

lstar337 · 2 February 2017 at 5:46PM

Interesting to see so many rulings against one company. They do have some very bad luck regarding their adverts.

EJB · 7 March 2017 at 9:47PM

Attended my widowed sister in law at her modern flat for a Fischer Reps visit.....2 beds good sized rooms.
She has gas central heating but it requires a new boiler and is looking at about £6000 to update the system.
The quote for 7 Fischer heaters all in is £8,800 (After the normal Reps waltz!) plus £1.100 interest for payment over 4 to 5 years.

The above figures are not the problem (It's obviously expensive!).....the problem is what is the yearly running cost compared to gas central heating?

This was the only question I couldn't get an answer to!
Can anyone give me an indication please?

Personally, and my own gas system is due a nearly £6k upgrade soon, I will stay with gas as I believe that gas is, and always has been, cheaper than electricity.

Fischer Storage Heaters

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