Mr. A, who has been renting water purifiers since April 2017, discovered a leak that occurred under the sink in March 2019.

A, who confirmed that the water purifier drain cover was open, raised a problem with the operator but received no compensation.

As more people use water purifiers, related consumer damage is also increasing.

Korea Consumer Resources said on February 21 that a total of 2,490 claims for water purifiers were received from 2015 to June.

In 2015, 337 cases were filed, but more than doubled to 683 cases in 2018.

Consumer damage focused on contracts and quality issues.

Among the damages received between June 2018 and June 2019, 774 cases, except for debt collection, were analyzed by type. As a result, contract-related damage was 28.6% and product quality-related damage was 28%.

There were also consultations on management services (19.6%), installation (13.2%), and rental fees (9.7%).

Specifically, 14.3% of the damages were caused by failure to comply with the terms of the contract, such as applying descriptions and other contract terms or giving no gifts, followed by 12.9% of equipment defects such as water purifier malfunction or malfunction.

In particular, water leakage after installation was also 10.2%, requiring attention.

KSA recommended that water purifiers not provide unfair charges but provide appropriate after-sales services.

Consumers were asked to check the contract carefully and check for leaks during installation.

(Photo = Yonhap News)