Lately, LG Electronics seems to be getting in a lot of legal trouble around the world. For instance, after losing the patent battle against Whirlpool for its refrigerator system. Now, LG has agreed to pay a compensation to "potentially thousands of consumers" in Australia because two of the refrigerators, models L197NFS and P197WFS, "were found to contain an illegal device that activates an energy-saving mode when it detects room conditions similar to those in a test laboratory," according to one website[1]. This device has been prohibited in Australia since 2007.
The fridges were falsely advertised to be environmentally friendly known as "green washing" by putting a "Green fridge" label on the products. However, in reality, the products have only a 3.5 star energy rating and found to have negative effects with the device because it can simply shut off when opened rather saving the energy but maintaining the same temperature. "If the fridge is turned off, it can harm the food inside," says the suing party. A group called "Choice," the plaintiff of this case, determined that its energy consumption was 876 kilowatt hours a year, but the company advertised it as 738 kilowatt hours.
Although LG has refused to either recall or take back the products, it has agreed to compensate US$331 to affected customers for unexpected increase of their power bills. LG also paid a sum of US$3 million in 2008 for models of its air conditioners in somewhat similar energy efficiency related matter.
Supporting Resources:
Special Thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald
