‘Too much hassle to deal with them’: Sterra customers angry but not seeking refunds after CCCS report

SINGAPORE: Customers who bought Sterra products were angry after learning of the Singapore company’s misleading claims but said they would not seek refunds.
Those who bought Sterra’s air or water purifiers say that the product is still functional, or that requesting a refund would be too troublesome, especially given their previous experience with the company. 
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said last Friday (Aug 30) that Sterra had falsely claimed Singapore’s tap water was unsafe for consumption before filtering with the company’s water purifiers. 
Following investigations, the consumer watchdog found that Sterra had made other false and misleading representations on its website between February 2023 and March 2024. 
The company had claimed three of its air purifiers – the Sterra Mars, Sterra Moon and Sterra Breeze – were made in Singapore when they were in fact made in China. It also claimed two water purifiers – the Sterra Y Tank Tabletop Hot & Cold Water Purifier and Sterra Y Tank Standing Hot & Cold Water Purifier – were made in Korea even though they were manufactured in China.
Sterra had also put up false pre-discounted prices for comparison with discounted prices, CCCS said. 
Sterra has apologised and provided an undertaking to the watchdog that it will “stop its unfair trade practices and put in place an internal compliance policy to ensure that its marketing materials comply with fair trading laws”.
On Sunday, the company’s founders Chris Lim and Strife Lim again apologised in a video posted on Sterra’s Facebook page. 
The duo said they “empathised” with those affected by their misleading ad. 
Mr Strife Lim said the issue stemmed from a “lapse in marketing processes”. He added that the company has since hired a law firm to improve its marketing guidelines. 
Mr Chris Lim clarified in the video that several products, such as the Sterra 7 water purifier, Sterra S water purifier and Sterra X water purifier, were manufactured in Korea. He showed documentary proof of this in the video. 
The company did not reply to CNA’s queries on whether customers affected by the misleading claims would get a refund. 
Sterra customers CNA spoke to had no plans to seek refunds or said they would wait for the company to respond to queries. 
One customer, who bought a Sterra S water purifier and a Sterra Breeze air purifier in a bundle deal for S$1,948 (US$1,490) in mid-2022, did not know that the air purifier was manufactured in China instead of Singapore. 
Ms Renee, who declined to give her full name, said asking for a refund from Sterra would be “too much hassle” given her previous dealings with the company. 
While her air purifier was still functional, her water purifier began leaking after a year of use. 
Despite two visits from the repairman, the device still leaked. After the company installed a new water filter, the machine only dispensed lukewarm water.
Sterra replaced the water purifier, but the replacement machine also leaked. 
“I was speechless. So at this point it had been about three to four months since the first issue happened – that’s how long it took for Sterra to respond between four incident reports – and we were tired of dealing with this endless cycle,” said Ms Renee, 35.
“So at this point, we demanded a full refund, as we didn’t want to deal with Sterra anymore.”
The company then asked her to pay another S$1,600 to “upgrade” to a new water purifier. 
“We refused. After a lot of back and forth … they finally agreed to give us a full refund,” said Ms Renee, who works in communications. 
“All in all, the experience of dealing with Sterra was a nightmare.”
The exchange has put her off seeking a possible refund for the air purifier, which she’s still using – even though that product also malfunctioned once before.
“It’s too much of a hassle to deal with Sterra again.”
Mr Bryce Ang, who has been using a Sterra Y water purifier since February, said he would not seek a refund unless the device malfunctions. 
“I ran some aquarium lab test on the Sterra filtered water, the results were satisfactory enough for me to consume the water,” added the 53-year-old tour guide, noting that the country of origin did not affect the water quality. 
Another customer had a similar account to Ms Renee’s. 
Ms Fiona Tan said she bought a Sterra S water purifier at S$1,699 in December 2022 but that her device malfunctioned after a year. 
The company told her the machine could not be fixed and offered her a S$500 voucher to offset the price for a new machine, which would then cost S$1,299 out of pocket. 
“I’m angry and disappointed because they didn’t even send a technician down to check,” said the 35-year-old senior account executive. 
Asked if she would take further action, Ms Tan said she would wait to see if Sterra responded first. 
Lawyers said customers seeking refunds could approach the Small Claims Tribunal, which deals with disputes between consumers and companies. It handles claims of up to S$20,000, or up to S$30,000 if both parties sign a form consenting to have the tribunal hear and decide the case.
Mr S Balamurugan of K&L Gates Straits Law said consumers could also lodge a claim with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) or consult a lawyer. 
CASE may mediate the dispute between parties, Mr Amarjit Singh of Amarjit Sidhu Law Corporation said. 
Mr Singh added that the company’s false claim about the origins of its purifiers constitutes misrepresentation, which customers can sue Sterra for. 
However, the legal pathway may not be the best course of action. 
Mr Balamurugan said the matter would be time-consuming for claimants who go through the Small Claims Tribunal, as they may have to take leave from work to attend the case. 
Consumers should be mindful of the legal costs, taking into account the price of the purifier, he said.