Herschel Infrared – Repeated Thermostat Failures - Ignoring the Real Issue

simonnnnnn

I wanted to share my experience with Herschel Infrared to warn others who might be considering their heating products.

Between September 2023 and November 2024, I purchased three thermostats and five panel heaters from them (around £5,000), expecting a reliable heating system. However, the thermostats have failed repeatedly since day one, rendering the entire system unusable. 

Without a functioning thermostat, I have no way to reliably control my heating, leaving my home cold throughout winter. The issues have included:

• Thermostats becoming unresponsive or failing to switch off, requiring me to manually cut power at the consumer unit.
• Displays that stop working within days
• Temperature readings becoming inaccurate, causing heaters to stay permanently on.
• Alexa and Google Home integrations that never worked, despite being advertised as compatible.
• Thermostats randomly shutting down, with support advising that they can only be turned back on via the app.

I initially engaged with Herschel Infrared's customer support, and they sent multiple replacements, but every replacement had the same issues. At one point, they even sent me a completely different, obsolete model—which also failed.

Despite me explaining that the problem isn’t just with the individual faulty units but with the entire system, they continue to offer yet more replacements instead of acknowledging the real issue. When I formally cited my consumer rights and requested a refund, they ignored my concerns and responded with yet another replacement offer.

To make matters worse, when I asked about replacing the thermostats with a third-party brand, Herschel Infrared’s technical director told me that doing so would invalidate my warranty. So, not only am I stuck with a system that doesn’t work, but they’ve also made it impossible for me to fix the issue myself without losing my warranty coverage.

This winter, I have been unable to reliably heat my home for my wife and three-year-old child. We’ve had to rely on temporary heating solutions, which is completely unacceptable after spending nearly £5,000 on what was supposed to be a high-quality system.

Herschel Infrared’s handling of this raises serious concerns:

• They ignore fundamental product flaws and only offer endless replacements instead of acknowledging the real issue. After 15 months, they've still not fixed the problem.
• They provide discontinued, outdated replacements that lack advertised features.
• Their technical director confirmed that using third-party thermostats would void my warranty, leaving me with no alternative solution.
• Without a working thermostat, the entire system is completely unusable—this is not a minor issue.

After months of being ignored, I escalated the matter:

• Trading Standards advised me to write them about court action, which they've ignored.
• I have also filed a Section 75 claim with my credit card provider to recover my costs. This doesn't come close to covering the money and time I've wasted re-installing them.

Moreover, I left an honest review on a review site and they respond with lies about the "CEO" trying to negotiate with me. The "CEO" has *not* been in touch, despite me emailing / writing the "MD" on multiple occasions.

If you’re considering buying from Herschel Infrared, I strongly recommend researching alternative options first. Having read a few sites, it would seem these controllers have been an issue for several years now.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with them?

born_again

simonnnnnn said:

I wanted to share my experience with Herschel Infrared to warn others who might be considering their heating products.

Between September 2023 and November 2024, I purchased three thermostats and five panel heaters from them (around £5,000), expecting a reliable heating system. However, the thermostats have failed repeatedly since day one, rendering the entire system unusable. 

Without a functioning thermostat, I have no way to reliably control my heating, leaving my home cold throughout winter. The issues have included:

• Thermostats becoming unresponsive or failing to switch off, requiring me to manually cut power at the consumer unit.
• Displays that stop working within days
• Temperature readings becoming inaccurate, causing heaters to stay permanently on.
• Alexa and Google Home integrations that never worked, despite being advertised as compatible.
• Thermostats randomly shutting down, with support advising that they can only be turned back on via the app.

I initially engaged with Herschel Infrared's customer support, and they sent multiple replacements, but every replacement had the same issues. At one point, they even sent me a completely different, obsolete model—which also failed.

Despite me explaining that the problem isn’t just with the individual faulty units but with the entire system, they continue to offer yet more replacements instead of acknowledging the real issue. When I formally cited my consumer rights and requested a refund, they ignored my concerns and responded with yet another replacement offer.

To make matters worse, when I asked about replacing the thermostats with a third-party brand, Herschel Infrared’s technical director told me that doing so would invalidate my warranty. So, not only am I stuck with a system that doesn’t work, but they’ve also made it impossible for me to fix the issue myself without losing my warranty coverage.

This winter, I have been unable to reliably heat my home for my wife and three-year-old child. We’ve had to rely on temporary heating solutions, which is completely unacceptable after spending nearly £5,000 on what was supposed to be a high-quality system.

Herschel Infrared’s handling of this raises serious concerns:

• They ignore fundamental product flaws and only offer endless replacements instead of acknowledging the real issue. After 15 months, they've still not fixed the problem.
• They provide discontinued, outdated replacements that lack advertised features.
• Their technical director confirmed that using third-party thermostats would void my warranty, leaving me with no alternative solution.
• Without a working thermostat, the entire system is completely unusable—this is not a minor issue.

After months of being ignored, I escalated the matter:

• Trading Standards advised me to write them about court action, which they've ignored.
• I have also filed a Section 75 claim with my credit card provider to recover my costs. This doesn't come close to covering the money and time I've wasted re-installing them.

Moreover, I left an honest review on a review site and they respond with lies about the "CEO" trying to negotiate with me. The "CEO" has *not* been in touch, despite me emailing / writing the "MD" on multiple occasions.

If you’re considering buying from Herschel Infrared, I strongly recommend researching alternative options first. Having read a few sites, it would seem these controllers have been an issue for several years now.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with them?

 is you for your to then take forward if they ignore you. Starting the claim you threatened them with..

simonnnnnn

They've actually replied today, claiming they replied on the 21st, which they didn't - as far as I'm aware - putting a date on a letter and emailing it with a line saying "we sent this on the 21st" doesn't count.

To summarise the letter:

• They acknowledge that the thermostats have failed repeatedly but refuse to acknowledge how this has rendered my entire heating system unusable.
• They claim I must go to the resellers for most of my purchases, despite Herschel Infrared directly shipping the products, providing all replacements, and handling all communications. They were even included in the sales process!
• They are offering only a partial refund (£803) for one heater and one thermostat but refusing to refund the rest.
• They have rejected my claim for consequential losses, stating that their terms exclude liability, even though I understand that UK law does not allow companies to contract out of liability for costs caused by faulty goods.
• They are pushing for another replacement instead of addressing my request for a full refund.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated before I respond to them. I assume I should continue to pursue the section 75 claims etc. 

As of today, there's another 7 days before the small claims deadline. 

Alderbank

'They claim I must go to the resellers for most of my purchases, despite Herschel Infrared directly shipping the products...'

You must be very clear when making your court claim which entity you are claiming against and exactly which legislation you claim they have breached, otherwise your case risks being thrown out.

Who did you buy the units from - Herschel themselves or the 'resellers'?

Are you claiming against Herschel's 10 year warranty or for breach of your consumer rights?

simonnnnnn

We bought some from Herschel direct, some from retailers however since day dot, Herschel have been in touch and the also shipped them direct. I spoke with their team who replaced all the thermostats over and over. 

So, since they took responsibility for them, I didn't need to talk to the resellers.

Their technical director said in writing that I wasn't able to replace the thermostats with third-party units because it would invalidate the warranty. And that's why we're now stuck with this system. 

I'm claiming because it's a breach of my consumer rights. They even sent me replacements that were totally obsolete.

Alderbank

Again, who do you plan to claim against?

Bear in mind that some of your consumer rights are with those people who you didn't need to talk to.

simonnnnnn

What do you mean "didn't need to talk to"?

I haven't got to the point of preparing the court case yet so hadn't thought about it. My assumption was that since the manufacturer took responsibility for this, it would be them who'd be on the form.

sheramber

Warranty is with the manufacturer.

Consumer Rights are with the retailer you bought from.

Alderbank

I just copied your own words. 
You said 'since they took responsibility for them, I didn't need to talk to the resellers.'

Your consumer rights for each item are very specifically with the business who you have a contract of sale with to buy that item. It doesn't matter who shipped them.

For those items you bought from one or more resellers, you should really talk to each trader about why the goods you bought from them have not lived up to your expectations, and find out what they are prepared to do about it. You should certainly talk to them before going to court.

Edited to add:
I understand your frustration that all the various components in your heating system do not seem to be interrelating with each other to give you the trouble-free heating system you hoped for.

Your issue might be the overall system design rather than individual components being faulty.

In your position I think I would bring in an independent domestic heating consultant (there are plenty about) preferably one recommended by neighbours or family, who will examine your whole system and advise how to sort it.

simonnnnnn

Thanks for the responses. Just to clarify, Herschel Infrared wasn’t just the manufacturer but also the direct supplier in this case—they personally shipped the goods, handled all replacements, and dealt with everything post-sale, so they are jointly liable under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. That's what trading standards told me anyway. I'm an engineer though, not a lawyer.

The thermostat failures aren’t a system design issue—Herschel replaced multiple units, which kinda proves they knew the fault was with their own product, not installation or setup.

Re: retailers vs manufacturers, consumer law does allow claims against a manufacturer in some cases—especially when they take over responsibility for sorting issues, which is exactly what happened here. Again, I'm not an armchair lawyer 

sheramber

Who did you pay for what?

The manufacturer is dealing with under the warranty, not Consumer  Rights unless you paid them for the parts. 

The manufacturer does not refund you for a payment made to someone else.