COMBAT plays hardball in Canadian shopping case

Betty and Frank Chase of Calais got in a fix when shopping for a portable air conditioner in Saint John, New Brunswick. Their U.S. dollar was worth more than Canadian currency, and by shopping the sales, they saved more than $100 over the best price they could find in the states. They had made a killing. Or so they thought.

They rolled the AC into their living room, plugged it in, and, for a few days, felt pretty cool about their deal. But one night Betty awoke to a “popping” sound that appeared to be coming from inside the house. She roused Frank and sent him off to investigate. He returned a few minutes later to tell her she must have dreamed the noise or that it had been a street sound because he could hear nothing.

Their return to slumber didn’t last long. Within an hour, Betty again woke Frank, saying the noise had returned. He again patrolled the house and then sat up in the living room to listen. Sure enough, within minutes the “pop” returned, accompanied by a blue flash which appeared to be coming from the air conditioner. Frank turned the machine so he could see the back. The instant the unit moved a few inches, there was a louder “pop” and flash. It became obvious that as water condensed during the cooling process, it was somehow contacting an electrical wire and “arcing.” He quickly unplugged the machine (a wise move) and returned to bed.

A week later, they traveled to Saint John again to visit friends in the area. They toted the defective air conditioner with them. But when they visited the store where it was purchased, the owner refused responsibility, telling the Chases they would have to deal with the manufacturer and have the unit repaired. Frank objected on the grounds that they had owned the unit less than two months, had used it for only a few days, and that by the time the unit was repaired, the hot days of summer might be over. He didn’t want to lug a broken machine back and forth across an international border. They reached an accommodation. The owner would keep the defective unit in his storage area until Frank worked things out. Upon returning to Maine, the Chases contacted COMBAT and became members so we could actively work on their case.

COMBAT contacted the store owner and manufacturer. Things became murky in that the air conditioner had been built by a Canadian manufacturer, Bright Appliance Ltd., who insisted the machine be taken to an authorized Canadian service center. The shop owner insisted the Chases transport the defective machine to a shop in Moncton, New Brunswick, even farther away than Saint John. Things were getting silly. We again wrote the manufacturer in Winnipeg, Ontario, saying it was ridiculous for them to expect the Chases to go through this AC shuttle, especially since the unit was apparently defective in manufacture. Our registered letter, directed to the company’s president, insisted that unless they promptly agreed to replace the unit or offer a refund, we would contact potentially interested agencies on both sides of the border including the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission (both monitor Canadian products and practices within the United States), the Standards Council of Canada, the Canadian Council Better Business Bureau, and other provincial and Canadian national agencies.

Within a week the Chases were notified that a replacement air conditioner awaited them in Saint John. Fortunately, their Canadian friends were coming down to visit and soon the Chases had a brand new machine, proving that COMBAT’s “reach” isn’t limited to the continental United States.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. For help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.