By Christopher Elliott
The FM 100 app installed in Matthew S. kitchen doesn’t work. The manufacturer knows it. But can he get a refund?
Q: Last year, we bought two faucets, an on-demand water heater with filters, and a little gizmo called the FM 100 for just over $1,000 from Franke Kitchen Systems. This FM 100 is a device that gives you readings on your water and filter usage and, along with an app called Still Pure, updates you as to their status. Sounds smart.
Nothing I could do would make the FM 100 and the app work. I spent weeks coming back to it over and over, trying to get the system to work, assuming that I was doing something wrong.
I contacted Franke customer service, and they told me that they’ve long known that The FM 100 and The Still Pure app never really worked. I was pretty shocked.
I asked if they had informed local kitchen and bath showroom distributors and suppliers of this, and they said no. I asked them why they are still selling the parts touting their helpful features — the ones that they know do not work — and they said that they intend to keep selling the parts until they are sold out and then just not offer them anymore.
They refused to refund me for the part. They also had no comment on the money I had spent to have this all installed or the money it would cost to remove it, nor any advice about whether I should keep it and whether it might work in the future.
Why is Franke selling things that they know do not work simply because they still have stock? Shouldn’t they recall the items or at the very least tell suppliers to stop selling them? Franke should refund $717. That’s how much it cost for the FM 100, plus the amount that it will cost to have it removed, plus the initial cost to have it installed — unless, of course, they plan to have a new app that will make it work, in which case I would keep it. — Matthew S., Chicago
A: A company should never sell a product that doesn’t work, of course. But when I researched the FM 100, I found it for sale online — and with a 4 ½ star review, no less.
So does the FM 100 work or not? After reading the reviews, I would certainly consider buying one. But after reading your case, I would not.
You could have reached out to one of the executives at Franke. They’ve listed <a href=”https://www.franke.com/franke-group/en/about-franke/company-organization.html”>on the Franke website</a>. Email addresses at Franke are formatted firstname.lastname@franke.com.
I reviewed the correspondence between you and the company. It doesn’t show that Franke knew it was selling a defective product. You say a customer service agent told you that by phone. I think Franke might want to review that call to find out what its agents are saying. If that’s true, and if Franke knows the FM 100 doesn’t work, I’d say we have a problem.
I contacted Franke on your behalf. A representative responded that “the matter has been resolved” but didn’t offer any additional information. So I checked with you.
“They contacted me with a complete attitude change,” you told me. “They apologized for the treatment and statements they had previously given to me.”
Franke agreed to refund your purchase and installation costs, as well as the cost for a plumber to remove the device.
Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help
© 2021 Christopher Elliott.
