'Threatening to harm our reputation': Company on 'aggressive' customer demanding $5,000 after fan's blade broke

Though this predicament was brought about by a fan, it's quite certain that neither party is a fan of the other.

Local company Point One Technology has called out one of their customers for being "aggressive" after the latter's ceiling fan broke to which she subsequently demanded $5,000 as compensation.

The company had sent out a press release regarding this incident on Tuesday (Dec 26).

Their customer, Sandy Ong, had posted a video of the incident which took place last month on Facebook group Sg Renovation on Tuesday too, along with pictures of the damaged fan.

"The most harrowing experience in our lives," Ong wrote on her post. "Can't imagine what would have happened if our kids were home at the time."

In the video, loud crackling and rattling sounds can be heard before a fan blade falls into view, colliding with a portrait on a wooden shelf before spinning out of sight.

Then, another black piece of plastic identified as the "trunk" of the fan also falls at the other end of the room, hitting a table before tumbling to the floor.

"The impact was deafening as the fan was going full speed," Ong wrote in the post's comments, adding that the fan was installed four years ago.

"In our personal experience with the brand of this fan and this incident, we strongly do not recommend the brand. Not only was the incident so distressing, but dealing with them was too."

'We narrowly escaped a potentially fatal situation'

Speaking with AsiaOne, Ong shared that she was in her room with her newborn when she heard a loud crash.

[[nid:657101]]

She went to her living room and found the broken parts of her fan on the floor, with her walls, TV, windows and floors damaged.

"I sat on my sofa for a few minutes trying to process what had just happened and I have no words to describe how I felt thinking we narrowly escaped a potentially fatal situation," Ong said.

Point One Technology went to her home and changed the fan for her, stating that the fan had been improperly installed by a third party, said Ong. 

The installer had completed the job with two screws on each blade instead of the stipulated four, but that didn't account for cracks on the fan, Ong stated.

She told the company that she would seek compensation for the damages and asked what they were willing to cover. When Ong didn't get a response, she proposed the amount of $5,000.

The $5,000 was meant to cover the damages dealt by the rogue fan and doesn't even cover the mental stress she and her family went through, Ong told AsiaOne. 

"When they finally got back to agreeing to the compensation of $5,000 [over a week later]… they deleted the message."

Ong said that she later spoke with the "boss" of Point One Technology, who said he would look into the proposed amount for compensation.

Over two weeks later, she said she was hit with legal action.

"They sent us a lawyer letter with details to dispute, calling us opportunists. But we want to iterate firmly that no amount can make up for what we went through. 

"The amount of inconsistencies in this incident… are frustrating and gaslighting. The least they could do is to be responsible for their product and not try to deflect the responsibility to other parties," Ong asserted.

We went 'above and beyond', company says

In their statement, a Point One Technology spokesperson shared they swiftly provided servicing on the same day they were made aware of the situation.

"We decided to go above and beyond. We promptly installed a brand-new fan at no cost to them and extended an extraordinary offer of complimentary maintenance and a lifetime warranty, surpassing our standard two-year on-site warranty," the spokesperson said.

"To ensure her peace of mind, we committed to routine inspections of the fan at their residence to guarantee its optimal performance."

[[nid:619266]]

They had believed the matter to be resolved when they were blindsided by a sudden "aggressive stance" by Ong over a week later, allegedly threatening to harm their reputation unless they provided $5,000 in compensation, said the company.

The spokesperson also stated: "We are actively working towards a resolution and plan to confront them, seeking an amicable settlement."

In a video shared by Point One Technology, the company's head of sales, who was only identified as BC, and co-founder JY Lim explained their stance on the matter.

Lim admitted that he was very tempted to "pay the five grand and sweep this incident under the rug".

However, after speaking with colleagues and family, he felt that paying the money was "an injustice to everyone's efforts".

Addressing his refusal to provide monetary compensation to Ong, Lim said: "This is the right thing for us to do… we don't try to upsell or do anything that we don't think is ethical."

BC added: "If our installer was the one who installed our own product and this is the same scenario that happened… we would be more than willing to bear all the consequences that would come our way."

ALSO READ: 'They drilled through my floor': Toa Payoh resident says renovation works below his flat damaged his home

khooyihang@asiaone.com