German industry demands action on illegal sales
14th July 2024
GERMANY: The German air conditioning and refrigeration industry has hit out at the illegal sales of split AC systems in appliance stores and online.
Both the European F-gas regulation and Germany’s chemicals climate protection regulation stipulate that a split air conditioning unit should only be installed by a certified specialist company. The equipment may only be sold to an uncertified person if the buyer provides the dealer with written proof of installation by a certified specialist company.
Contractors’ group the VDKF and the industry’s Federal Technical School claim to have looked into the trade in split air conditioning systems in appliance stores and online and found that in most cases this trade violates those laws.
In a press release supported by the manufacturers’ body BIV and air conditioning and ventilation association FGK, the groups have called on the relevant authorities to take more action against the illegal trade by checking that dealers are complying with their obligations and punishing any violations.
The groups maintain that appliance stores and online retailers usually point out that a certified specialist company must carry out the installation, but that this is often hidden in the small print.
In some cases the customer confirms that the units will be professionally installed when completing the order process.
“However, such a note can in no way replace the written proof from the customer required in the regulations,” the groups say. They insist that the same applies to many purchases at appliance stores if the customer does not take advantage of the installation service often offered.
The problems of direct to consumer sales persist across Europe. Authorities in the Netherlands and the UK have acted against these illegal sales. In the case of the UK, online appliance retailer Appliances Direct was found to have contravened the F-gas regulations by not obtaining evidence that non-hermetically sealed equipment sales would be installed by a certified undertaking. Its owners were fined £37,500.
Related stories:
Online retailer fined £37.5k for F-gas breaches – 7 January 2024
UK: Buy It Direct (BID), owner of online appliance retailer Appliances Direct, will pay a penalty of £37,500 for selling air conditioning units in breach of the F-gas regulations. Read more…
Dutch crackdown on illegal air conditioning installations – 25 July 2020
NETHERLANDS: With Dutch air conditioning and heat pump contractors seeing installations increasingly being carried out by non-certified installers, the country’s F-gas enforcement body is cracking down on the illegal activity. Read more…
Action demanded as illegal AC sales persist – 14 July 2020
UK: Despite alerting UK authorities, contractors continue to reveal instances of air conditioners being sold to the general public in direct contravention of the European F-gas regulations. Read more…
