|
Vicki of Edmonton AB (01/02/09)
I purchased the Oreck Professional Air Purifier and would like to share a great technique I found for cleaning the hard to get dust from the Truman Cell. Spraying the inside of the cell with a Daily Shower Spray Cleaner (I use Tilex) followed by rinsing thoroughly, removes a large portion of dirt and dust that basic water and soap does not. Using this cleaner has resulted in prolonging the snapping noises (from larger particles getting stuck) from occuring about 10 times longer than basic soap and water cleaning. Unfortunately, I cannot speak on any affects on warranty this could have, but from personal experience, using this spray has only had positive effects on this air purifying experience. Hope this helps any who are unpleasantly stuck with this machine.
Benny of Clanton AL (12/24/08)
Thanks for all the comments about the Oreck Air Purifiers. You all saved me 1200.
Charles of Belmont MA (12/10/08)
About 10 months ago, I purchased a vacuum cleaner from Oreck on their 12 month 0% payment plan. The vacuum cleaner's great. But after a few months, something strange began to happen. On the regular billing date, the 7th of the month, they made an authorization on my Visa account for the regular $33.80 monthly payment. Fine. But then, on the 9th, they made an identical authorization. The second was the one they processed. This left $33.80 on my Visa debit account pending and unavailable to me until it simply dropped off. They have been doing this ever since.
In other words, in order to pay Oreck the $33.80 I owe them monthly, I have to provide them with access to $67.60 half of which they seem to feel entitled to tie up in a pointless pending authorization. I have four other recurring monthly payments - two of which are for larger amounts - and they all use my card information once a month. Now that makes sense to me. The Oreck system just makes no sense at all. Frankly, it seems to me that they are messing around with Visa information that I only want them to use once a month and with funds that aren't theirs at all.
I have contacted their Customer Service people several times. Twice the representatives seemed unable to comprehend my complaint altogether. The third time, I did get something of a response in the form of, We discourage debit cards. I couldn't care less what the Oreck Corporation discourages or encourages in regard to anything at all. I know that hotels and rental car agencies routinely place large authorizations on customers' accounts. But a vaccuum cleaner company? Basically, I want to know how they justify this practice, whether or not they are actually entitled to engage in it and if there is any way that I can get them to cut it out.
On a monthly basis, this practice sets in motion a process that deprives me of the use of $33.80 of my own funds for about nine business days. As well, I am uncomfortable about having my Visa information used in any way that is not absolutely necessary. I was the victim of debit card fraud several years ago and clearing that up was a nightmare. Any pointless use exposes customers to risk.
Robert of Berwick ME (12/09/08)
I purchased an XL vacuum cleaner in 2004 and it stopped working and the motor was smoking. I contacted Oreck and they replaced it in 2006 under the 2 year warranty. The replacement worked for a while, but a month ago it started smoking and caught fire. They will not replace it or repair it because the warranty is for 2 years only based on the FIRST purchase. So I'm stuck with this piece of junk that I paid almost $400.oo for. I also bought 2 so called air purifiers which have never worked and they won't replace or repair them.
I am out over $800.00 for products that are unreliable and undependable.
Denise of Madison IL (11/30/08)
I don't know about their air purifiers but I purchased an intellasheild xl upright vacuum cleaner from Oreck and paid a little over $500.00 for the vacuum and supplies......it's the biggest piece of crap. I had a dirt devil I paid around $50.00 for that worked 10 times better than this Oreck. For as much as I paid you would think it would pick up something a little heavier than hair and dust.
I took the vacuum back to the store I purchased it from and the sales lady said I didn't have the bag inserted correctly and she put a new bag in for me. It still doesn't work any better than it did before. My 30 day trial was up so I've not tried to do anything farther. I will just never purchase or recommend an oreck again. Will strongly encourage people not to purchase an Oreck.
Frances of Morrilton 72110 AR (11/22/08)
I bought 2 of the table top air perifiers for over 500.00. One quit and the other made noised that was unreal, I was told to take it to Little Rock for warrenty repair..they thought I was nuts. said that was only a sales store. I saw the ad for the new more advanced for 499.00, now I order the charcoal filter and they send me 4 small white and black and the hepa keeps making loud poping noised. yes I am aware the particles of the larger nature causes some of this but I know this is too much money for the unit I think Orek should at least reimburse for the first ones.
I don`t want a lawyer but if this one causes a fire I have one local
Rosalie of Birmingham AL (11/13/08)
I bought 2 Oreck XL Professional Air purifiers with Silence Technology in 2002. I have never been satisfied with their working order, and as of last year I had to unplug one of them and not use it again as it was sparking small spurts of fire, making loud clicking sounds. I was always afraid it would catch my house on fire. So, when the first one started acting up I unplugged the second one and have not used them since.
I was looking for a service repair shop for them but after looking at your website and seeing so many other customers so unhappy with their purifiers I decided I may just put both of them out on the street for the trash truck to pick up and not be bothered with trying to get them repaired. They are very hard to keep clean, the charcoal filter should be changed (which was not told to me upon purchase).
Paying so much for appliances one would think the vendor would speak the truth about its upkeep and repair. Since this did not happen with our purchase I have decided to not buy any other Oreck article. I have a very close friend who is in the advertising field and he was approached to advertise your product. He advised me to not purchase any Oreck product as your company does not stand behind the product and there should be truth in advertising. I am in the market to buy a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner, but have been advised to check into the Dyson before I commit to Oreck
The consequence is that your name and reputation are both at stake. My pocketbook is $800.00 lighter.
James of Bainbridge Island WA (09/13/08)
I purchased two Oreck XL Professinal air purifiers, (AIRP series) after seeing them advertised on their info commercial. I must be lucky and should play the lottery as both of my purifier's do expeptional jobs. They have been running 24/7 for over a year. I do the basic maintenance as recommended in the manual, if this is NOT done I suppose there will be problems. Keep it clean and maintained, maybe you will be lucky like I, is it luck or following the recommended directions?
I will acknowledge, when a company produces hundreds of thousands of any product there will be a certain percent of malfunctioning machines. I feel sorry for those of you who have received faulty purifiers as mine are spectacular. It is a shame customer service does not take care of those of you who have received a faulty product. I recommend Oreck get on the ball and take care of their customer compoaints in a timely and hassle free manner.
Kimberly of Cherokee IA (09/12/08)
I bought a Oreck Air Purifier about 1 and half years ago. This thing as been acring up so I cleaned all the time finallly I got sick of noise, cleaned it and the growling noise was worse. Called the 1-800 number and he was a jerk. So I callled a oreck dealer they send it over to a guy near by and he called me the other day and said it would cost around $100.00 to fix this. The motor was gone needed new bearings. I was hot. I will never by an oreck product again
I guess the biggest thing is that they don't back up there product even when it is only 1 1/2 years old for the price is should last longer.
Tommy of Cocoa FL (08/10/08)
I bought two Oreck Air Purifiers Table top models Both have been in for repairs 3 times under warranty and now 4 years later one is running slower than normal no hi speed. This was the problem all along with this unit. I am totally upset with ORECK and will never purchase or recommend the products to anyone. They wanted to offer me a trade in! NO THANKS I use it as a Boat anchor!
Candy of Guilford IN (08/06/08)
The Oreck Air Purifer I am one who should have checked the consumer reports on this machine before I purchased this at such expense. I run my machine in the basement and or other rooms of my house. I have cats, and alot of dust. I have heard the static sounds maybe, 6 times since I have had it. I cleaned it several times. It is now about 4 to 5 years old, it has now just quit working.
I will take it to a service center and have them check it out, but I will not pay over a certain unreasonable amount, I will just leave the piece of junk on the counter at the store= They can use it for parts, free-gratis. I am not too please with it as are some others.
Robert of Elgin SC (07/25/08)
I have two Oreck XL Air Purifiers and they have made a world of difference in our home air. I have not had the trouble as reported by others. I clean the units every three weeks and change the filters as recommended.
No economic or physical damage.
Kenneth of Carlisle PA (06/26/08)
I have purchased at least three Oreck products over the years. My latest purchase was the wonderful cleaner with the Netherlands Technology. I just learned yesterday that the motor has burned out and the warranty has run out. If this machine was so great, why should the motor wear out in only 6 years--I have always had the required maintainance done on the thing. Now they want $200 to replace the motor, which I do not feel I should have to pay since this was advertised as the most wonderful machine when I purchased it. I have at least three other Oreck products and am holding my breath on their durability.
I did not authorize the $200 motor replacement and labor to install it.
Mary of Dowelltown TN (06/18/08)
Doing a routine check of my credit report, I discovered a negative item from 2007. Stunned, since I always pay my bills on time, I investigated. Briefly, Oreck said I owed them $80 for a cannister because they replaced a defective one in 2003 and I never sent back the defective one. I was not told this was necessary, would not have accepted a replacement on those terms, and--more important--never received a bill.
Oreck offered me a replacement b/c they wanted to sell me a new item, and I told them the one I had bought was worthless. Returning the defective one was never part of the deal.
Oreck claims they computer generated a bill sometime between 11/03 and 4/04 but could not produce one. According to the collection agency, Somebody at Oreck discovered a lot of old, small accounts in 2007 and turned then over for collection. When I asked Oreck why they had not notified me of this alleged debt, Oreck said they had no address for me, although they gave a good address to the collection agency. They also said they no longer owned the debt and could not forgive it. The collection agent said this was absolutely not true, that they collect for Oreck. Bottom line, Oreck used deception to sell me a product and now is extorting money to settle an invalid claim.
My credit score was lowered due to a debt I never incurred and of which I was never notified. Oreck still cannot produce a bill. In order to keep my (excellent) credit rating, I now have to pay $80 for an item for which I never received a bill and which was supposed to be a no-strings replacement for a useless item. Even when the bill is paid, the item will remain on my credit report.
Leroi of Pittsburgh PA (05/29/08)
I bought an Oreck XL Tower and XL Shelf Unit purifier. It is NOT true that you do not have to buy filters, you need to use a carbon or charcoal filter in both units that costs $50 each, and should be replaced annually. That have misrepresented that issue. I have experienced much of the cracking and problems noted by people who posted complaints.
Spent $800 and ended up with two pieces of junk. I strongly urge people to read the Consumer Reports Magazine and look at their ratings. I personally think you are better with a HEPA Unit but keep kin mind that the filter cost is high.
David of Kenyon MN (04/26/08)
I bought an Oreck XL Air Purifier over a year ago and it has been nothing but trouble ever since. It does nothing but make a loud snapping sound that is VERY annoying. I know Oreck states that this is due to the injestion of large particles, but I have this unit in a small office that is free of any dust or any other possible contaminants.
When you do wash the Truman Cell, the water remains perfectly clear indicating that there were no contaminants taken from the air. When I asked Oreck about this they said THEIR UNIT WAS SO GOOD THAT IT TOOK CONTAMINANTS OUR OF THE AIR THAT WERE TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN BY THE HUMAN EYE!! In other words, if you see no evidence of the unit doing anything at all, then that is just proof at how good it really is! You must admit, that is a pretty good explanation for something that does nothing that is discernible to mere human observation!!
Even as I write this, my trusty XL is LOUDLY snapping at the rate of one per second even though I just cleaned the Truman Cell yesterday. I was fooled by the science behind this unit into thinking that it would actually work, but I was very wrong. SAVE YOUR MONEY, and buy a True HEPA filtration system and you will be way ahead of anything this Oreck joke will ever provide.
Victoria of Canton OH (03/27/08)
doesn't work very well. Pops and crackles even after they have been cleaned.Purchases two units after seeing the infomertial. Will never purchace another tv product or oreck product. Just felt totally ripped off and I hate myself for falling for the ad. Never again. The broom never did work.
I feel that I paid a lot of money for something that never worked well. These big companies don't stand behind their products but make them sound so good.The damages from this is financial;out money for buying the two units just because the tv ad made everything sound great. Never Again . I only want to be contacted if there's a chance to get money refunded;do not put me on any list please.
Douglas of York PA (03/15/08)
I must live in a shell. I have had two older air cleaners and I agree they have gotten nosier, but they still work. I bought a new one with the Truman cell and I love it. I do clean them once a week because my wife and I notice that after about 5-7 days we start getting stuffed up. I love them and last year we bought a new Oreck vacuum cleaner and also love it.
I bought our stuff at a store flat out and never needed to deal with anybody so I have no opinion about customer service. I do think a can of cleaner for the air cleaners are way overpriced.
Cynthiaelaine of Kennett Square, PA (03/08/08)
If you are foolish enough to believe their free trial, ask them to explain it. I finally got the 4 units I wanted to try and I think they are complete junk!
I had to clean them every 2 days and then they still arched. I called and they bullied me into accepting new truman cells saying that they could be defective. They said they would extend the trial period. Well guess what I got after 2 weeks of having the units that don't work? You got it, a bill for 1,200!!
Jennifer of Covington LA (02/18/08)
I bought my Oreck air purifiers two years ago. At first I was happy but they started to get louder at they worked. Since they are supposed to have a three year warranty, I brought them to the store to be repaired and cleaned (because there was so much dust on the pieces you cannot get to.) They told me it would take 3 to 4 days but it took almost 3 weeks. When I finally got it back, they charged me $50 to have the items cleaned. When I asked them about it they said cleaning isn't part of the warranty. My mom has the exact same purifiers as me and brings hers in every few months and they always clean them for free. I told them this and they tried to tell me we have different purifiers. Our are exactly the same. The two times I talked to them (when I dropped them off and when I called 2 weeks later to check on them) They made it sound like the warranty covered everything. I never would have brought them in if I knew I would have to pay.
Diane of Kingston WA (02/12/08)
I purchased 3 Oreck Air Purifiers about 4 years ago. they are still working great, but I found that I do have to dust still. They did reduce my dusting quite a bit, and I hate dusting. And my allergies, well, combined the Oreck Air Purifiers with their hypo allergenic vacuums have really helped my allergies! I don't have to take medication for my allergies hardly at all. I would rather clean my environment than take medication. I'm always impressed when I clean my air purifiers with an all-purpose cleaner, like Simple Green, all the dirt and blackness that comes off them. I find if I clean them every 2 weeks it helps my breathing more. I love the Oreck Air Purifiers and glad I purchased them and will again when mine wear out!
Eric of Prairie Du Chien WI (02/11/08)
I had purchased two Oreck air purifiers two years ago. Believing what the infomercial had stated, and I found that the collection grids did collect a lot of dust, but at the same time it was also always all over wherever the machine was sitting. I ran the machine day and night, and then the crackling and popping began. I called customer service, and they told me to clean the grid and let it dry. I did overnight, and the machine still hissed and crackled at me, and the cleaning light was always on. You could not get all of the dirt off the grids if you tried.
And as far as quiet--that was a misrepresentation. Even on the low setting, that machine rattled as it worked; and it seemed to me that the air was no different coming out than it was going in except for the smell of plastic from the machine. I did return both of them before the thirty days and got my money back. But that stick vacuum quit working completely, and the battery would not charge. I hardly used it to begin with.
Amanda of Toronto OTHER (01/11/08)
I just want to thank everyone who took the time to fill out their horrible experiences about the Oreck Air Purifiers!
You have just saved me $700! Thank you so much!
100% of Corryton TN (01/05/08)
I purchased two of the Oreck XL Professional Air Purifiers after the TV ad. I made the mistake of trusting David Oreck and his ad. One of the units was operational but made no difference in the air quality and the other unit didn't work at all. I wish I would have searched the internet prior to placing my order for Oreck complaints. I'm trying to get a refund and trying to get them to stop taking money out of my bank account. I'll NEVER buy another product that has the name Oreck on it.
Abbie of Phenix City AL (01/03/08)
I bought two air purifiers. As a gift, I was sent a free broom sweeper which did not work when it arrived. The local store in Columbus, Ga. refused to repair since I bought online. My air purifiers do not even clean the dust immediately surrounding the machine. They never turn red to show they need to be cleaned. What a waste of money.
Steve of Cumming GA (12/31/07)
I bought 3 of them and the blower motors on all 3 were non-functional within 18 months. I had the motor replaced on the first one that went out and the replacement motor wasn't much better. They seem to work sometimes but definately not all the time, and forget the silent mode - very poor quality. It has been my experience that they are difficult to clean, expensive to maintain properly, and very poor service when you have a problem. Not worth the money or the hassle.
Wendy of Fort Valley VA (12/29/07)
I received a certification with my vacuum entitling me to 5 free tune-ups, one per year. After having 2 tunes-ups completed (the first was one year and one month after my purchase date, the second was 2 years and 2 months after my purchase date), they informed me that since I was bringing it in four months after my purchase date, that I forfeited a year. However, I was still within the calendar year of the third year, and it did not say that on the certificate. Three Customer Service employees would not admit that there was an error made, but all said that even though it did not say the tune-ups needed to be completely within a year of the purchase date, that is what it meant. All three were sarcastic and rude. My Oreck vacuum is average in its performance and certainly not what the company claims it to be. I will never buy another one and will never recommend one.
Mike of Pasadena TX (12/19/07)
I just want to thank Consumer Affairs and individuals for posting their experiences with the Oreck air purifiers. You guys just saved me a lot of money! I will never purchase an Oreck product after reading how bad they are. Never believe a TV infomercial!
Cathy of Fort Loudon PA (11/19/07)
I bought an Oreck air purifier after seeing the infomerical. Mr. Oreck claimed that the unit was powerful but yet quiet. It was niether! What a joke this unit has been. After about 9 months of use the motor begin making a grinding noise. It came with a 3 year warranty so I called the company and was told I would need to take it for repair. I took the unit to an authroized dealer, an hour plus drive from my home. After 2 months at the repair shop, I went back to pick up my unit (needless to say I did not receive my unit back). The unit worked for about 2 months when the motor went out again. I won't be wasting my time taking this piece of junk for repair any more.
Damages are the cost of the unit at approximately $350 plus time and money spent taking unit for repair.
Rex of Torrington CT (11/11/07)
I was really happy to see that there is a site that highlighted the quality issues of Oreck Air Purifier. I bought mine a couple of years ago but it did not last a year. The fan just stopped turning one day. The free electric broom that comes with it also did not take a charge so it just as useless as the purifier. I promised myself not to buy any Oreck product. I regretted the fact that I recommended the product to my two other friends (who actually bought one each) when I got it because we all have the same experience. All our units now are just on the shelves.
Eric of Washington DC (11/07/07)
The Oreck XL air purifiers simply don't function as advertised. Poor design, poor manufacturing, poor performance. The only thing that Oreck does well is marketing. I have two Oreck XL units, that I have cleaned and maintained per instructions, and they do not (and never have) done anything whatsoever insofar as cleaning particulate matter from the air in my house. A weak fan with a huge price tag.
Susan of Easton PA (10/04/07)
I purchased an Oreck XL 21 silver Titanium off of the TV on 6/2/07. It was 749.00 with a 21 year warranty. When I took it to the service center above and went to retrieve my vacuum I immediately noticed that it wasn't my vacuum. It was very obvious to me that it had been switched to one that looked like it ran into a lot of furniture-- mine was practically brand new. Paul Hill told me that that was impossible because the serial number was imbedded in the machine and he could'nt have switched it. When I looked closer at the place where the serial number on the machine was, it was nothing more than a silver sticker that was easily removable and it could have easily been able to be switched to another machine. I found out that Oreck does not have imbedded serial numbers . Because all of his paper trail records were in order as of this point ORECK customer care is not believing me that this man switched my machine. To make matters more complicated I found my exact model on a JC Penney site-- look under vacuum cleaners and ORECK will pop up and my exact model is there but it is a Silver Titanium model and according to one customer rep that was the 600 series not the 700 series which according to them I received.
Ruth of Canaan NH (04/05/07)
I contacted Customer Care regarding the Electric Broom I received when I purchased my 2 Oreck XL Professional Air Purifiers about a year and a half ago. I needed a replacement battery, as mine was not charging as well as it should. When I received the Electric Broom, I was told the replacement batteries were available . Customer Care informed me that they no longer sell this model of Electric Broom, and that the battery is not available. They suggested I contact an Oreck service store to see if they can install the battery for me. The battery is self contained and has a plastic connector that plugs into the unit. NO INSTALLATION NEEDED. I guess they thoughtI would be stupid enough to go to a service center and pay someone to plug the battery in, if the battery were available. I can buy the battery elsewhere, but not with the plastic connector attached. I would have to have the wires and connector unit soldered to the battery.
The only consequences are that the company did not live up to its hype about replacement parts for it's products.
Henry of Fort Worth TX (03/23/07)
Having owned an Oreck Air XL for a year plus, I then experienced some problems with the blower motor and bearings (squeal, rattle, screech). I thought that a repair at Oreck would be a simple fix. No, after two attempts I was told that the unit parts would run half of a new unit now $400+ (for a bearing, and then a bearing and motor? which was working the first time I sent it in for repairs). That being about the same price I originally paid for a unit, some deal huh? The service side of the house is more bent on moving you into a replacement, than fixing what you have, unless we are talking a belt. But isn't that not any different than many of the electronics stores out there.
On the flip side, while no electronic air cleaner will fix a dirty house (guys you still have to vacuum and dust). My Air XL did far better than Sharper Image's stick or similar Ionic units at pulling the suspended sedimentary particles from the air - I tried both!!! SURFACE dust is not what the electrostatics are made to remove. My collector plates DID collect and capture alot of the junk. The snap, cracle. pop complaints are a FACT OF LIFE with electrostatics (whole house central units have the same issues only most people aren't close enough to hear them). I had a far better home experience with the Oreck unit than without and it unlike other brands does MOVE air.
The only other concern I had was with maybe too much ozone being released. But on that note too the Sharper images stick put out far more ozone than the Oreck and had little effectiveness at recapturing charged particles since it had no fan. The SI was quite offensive if left on for a continuous period of time. I ran both my units 24/7. The Oreck required more cleaning than the SI unit, but it did far more work. On a scale of 1-10 the Oreck rates about a 6, but the SI unit is more like a 1. Still looking for that perfect 10.
Held captive for almost $200 dollars for what should have been a simple mechanical fix. So for someone like me that ran a unit 24/7, it seems that a repair out of warranty is a moot point. Chalk it up as another expense, just as replacing a HEPA filter on other units, but in this case a motor/fan that are not really made to be repaired once they show signs or wear.
Sara of Scarborough ME (03/20/07)
I bought the Oreck air purifier because we heat almost exclusively with wood, & there is a lot of dust. In the 6 months or so before it stopped working, I didn't notice any reduction in the amount of dust in the air, & we had to turn the unit off during waking hours because the fan was too loud even on the low setting. Still, I kept it running until the fan recently stopped working. I was going to find the 800# for Oreck to see about repairing it, but after reading the stories of others with similar experiences, I don't think it will do any good. Chalk it up to experience & a loss of hard earned money. I'm out $200. I bought the unit before the price doubled to $400. My spouse & I work hard for our family, & don't have money to waste on appliances that deliver no value.
Irving of Houston TX (03/14/07)
I bought an Oreck Air Purifier from a dealer about six months ago. It has completely stopped working and Oreck tells me that’s because I did not purchase directly from them, they will not take any responsibility.
Frank of Sierra Vista AZ (03/10/07)
It makes a cracklen noise, that would keep anyone up.
Karen of Rockville, RI (02/24/07)
I think the Oreck Professional Air Purifier is an incredible rip-off. It DOES NOT do anything it says it will do and creates more dust as far as I can see. And it steams me when I see the charge to my credit card each month. How is one to know that it is so ineffectual and a piece of garbage within 30 days!
David of Kenyon, MN (02/24/07)
I recently purchased one of the new 6 stage air purifiers from Oreck.com and have had a couple of rather serious problems with it. First of all, it doesn't take any dust our of the room. When you clean the Truman Cell, the water comes out perfectly clean with no discernable discoloration. The collection cells show no dirt on them.
So you might ask, then why are you cleaning it? The reason is my second complaint concerning the unit....it SNAPS, very loud, exactly like a spark plug when it fires. There must be considerable voltage in the unit as you can actually see the spark as it jumps from collector plate to collector plate inside the cell. I understant that Oreck considers this normal but indicated that this should occur only when the cell is absorbing large particles and you should clean the cell when this occurs.
It has been my experience that this loud snapping occurs usually within 24 to 48 hours from the time the cell was last cleaned. It then takes almost another 24 hours for the cell to dry to the point where it can be used again as when they say the cell must be dry, they really mean DRY!! As a result, you use the unit for a day or two and then it is out of service for another day or night as the unit dries.
I guess that really doesn't make much difference as the unit doesn't take any dust out of the air anyway.
Kathleen of Kingston MA (01/17/07)
I bought an Oreck Air Purifier as I have forced hot air and the worst thing that I am allergic to is dust. I have tried many aircleaners/purifiers through the years, so I can breath during the winter months in my house. I have to say I was really impressed by what was promised from the Oreck Air Purifier UNTIL I received it. I set it up in the bedroom and it was loud on the high setting and hardly passed any air through on the lower settings. Then within days it started making loud rattling noises. I called to return it and they said I had to take it to a store and send it out to be fixed.
I called the store and they said they could send it out but I would be without it for three weeks. Thinking I needed it, I passed on sending it out and dealt with the noise. The funny thing is, I got sick of the noise and decided to shut it off and see what happened. My breathing, throat, & noise weren't any worse. In fact, it was exactly the same as when the filter was running. So that tells me that I wasted a lot of money on a product that doesn't even work or do what was promised. And the sad thing is - I am still paying for it on my charge card and still have breathing problems. Also, the blue vacuum that was one of the free gifts send with the air cleaner was a joke! It didn't pick up anything. I threw that in the trash. I am truly disappointed in Oreck products! No more Oreck products for this kid!!!! I feel I was really taken for a lot of money, money I can't afford to spend!
Thomas of Pembroke MA (12/23/06)
I purchased 2 Oreck air purifiers several years ago only to have one not work within 6 months because supposedly the filter was dirty. The second stopped working 6 months later. Trying to call Oreck customer service is like trying to call the Pentagon. However their Sales Dept picks up on the first ring. I ultimately gave up and promised myself never to buy another Oreck product again. My only recourse is to warn everyone and anyone I know to never be duped by those misleading and corny infomercials. In the US you are allowed to continue to exploit your product without censure until such time as the American public has had enough and they send a message by boycotting ineffective and overstated merchandise.
If enough dissatisfied consumers who have been duped can prevent one purchase of an Oreck product and that person does the same, eventually Oreck and other over hyped manufacturers will not be able to afford the cost of infomercials which is a vast arena of innocent consumers. Have you ever noticed how many Oreck service dealers are in business? They are in every State and in most cities. Doesn't that speak about the reliability of the Oreck products. Count me in as a very dissatisfied former Oreck customer
Jimmy of Pleasanton CA (11/07/06)
In 2002, I bought a XL 3600 vaccum cleaner from Oreck. Page 3 of their warranty says 10 years on housing, 3 years on all else. Page 4 has a diagram with each part pointed out with an arrow and numbered. #14 points to exactly the part on my vacuum cleaner that is cracked in several places, and states Fan housing. Moreover in their own diagram there is NO other part labeled housing. I called Oreck and they told me it was covered under warranty and to take it to the closest Oreck store. I did. It is 20 miles away. They refused to honor the warranty.
So I returned home and called Oreck again. This time they refused too. I spoke to a Supervisor of customer service at Oreck: Dean, ID#1668. He refused to replace it under warranty stating the fan housing is not part of the housing, it is part of the motor. It is not part of the motor. It is a plastic tube, and moreover it is the only part with the word housing in their own description! He still refused. Days before all this, my daughter just asked me which vacuum cleaner she should buy. I told her Oreck. I just called her and said don't ever buy an Oreck.
James of Tampa, FL (10/29/06)
Bought two Oreck air purifiers and after two months they became ineffective. The indicator light that tells me to clean the filter never comes on anymore.
Continued sneezing and loss of $500.00.
Marva of Hereford AZ (09/29/06)
In August, 2004 I bought into the infomercial and ordered two Orek air purifiers. After reading what others have said about them I feel vindicated and now know it was not my imagination that they do not perform as advertised. I am on a fixed income. It was not easy to come up with over $500.00 in hopes of removing dust and allergens as promised. THEY DID NOT REMOVE DUST at all. In fact, the only place the filters gathered dust was in parts of the machine impossible to clean or remove. I was also told it was not necessary to purchase the filters as they were only for odor removal
As stated above, their filters cost me over $500.00 and on a fixed income, it was not easy. That next month I did without medicine to pay Orek. Because I have severe allergies I believed Orek when they said it would remove dust and dirty air. Now, only when I can afford it, do I buy the charcoal filters. I'am distrustful of all air purifier sales pitches and will think long and hard before I get suckered again.
Katie of Columbia, SC (08/28/06)
I, too, feel that I was ripped off by my purchase of the Oreck XL air purifier. From the beginning it seemed to only be spitting out the same air that was going in, and my allergy symptoms were in no way relieved. I spent $350, plus the filter replacement and cleaner sold to me by the Oreck dealer. The cleaner, by the way, stained the metal in the machine.
Also, looking at the mechanism itself, it seems entirely too simplistic to be as high quality of a purifier as claimed. Boo, Oreck!
Rita of Prescott, AZ (07/16/06)
I wish I'd thought to check out the Oreck claims before I bought one. Yes - I let the infomercial and the believable old geezer sway me.
I was a few days into the worst attack of hay fever I'd ever experienced; it was desperation that forced my decision. Even worse, I let the 30 days go by without returning it.
Prescription medication took care of my symptoms. There's never been any evidence of dirt/dander/dust/whatever on the oreck's panel.
I wasted almost $400 on a product that does nothing.
Judy of Jonesville, NC (04/23/06)
I purchased the Oreck air purifier and feel that I was really ripped off. I think this machine is a peice of junk. They lied, in their advertisement, saying you never have to buy filters.
Joel of Southport NC (04/14/06)
I, t oo, purchased the Oreck Air Purifier advertised on their infomercial. This device really does not work at all. I can run it non-stop for months and the light indicating that the machine needs to be cleaned never comes on. Close inspection reveals little dust, etc, collected. I have more dust around my computer table and on other surfaces in the small room where the machine is used than can be found in the machine itself. This product is of little to no value in my opinion. I'll never buy another Oreck product no matter what. I feel scammed.
Ralph of Norfolk VA (03/17/06)
I bought 2 purifiers from oreck based on their info-mercial they clame you never have to change another filter. When I asked the customer service rep. about the fact that as soon as you open the box there is a notice that says you should replace the filter every 3 months she told me I didn't have to replace it I could just remove it because it was just for removing odors. They don't tell you that on tv.
I was ripped off for the cost of two pieces of garbage!
Robin of Coos Bay OR (03/06/06)
I purchased an Oreck air purifier in sept of 04 and have used it continuously. There is no reduction of dust in my house and I have vertigo and broncial irritation from the use of the ionic feature. I now know from my doctor that ionic purifiers are harmful. when I called for my money back they refused saying that I had had the product for 18 mos. I have been sick for 6 mos. and sick for wasting $379.90 on a product that does not work
My vertigo started last summer and by Nov I could barly function after 2 trips to the doctor, a MD i was not better. So I went to a Naturopath and we were able to determine that ionization had irritated my membranes in my broncial tube and in my inner ear. My doctor advised me to get rid of the ionizer air purifiers.
H. of Wichita KS (09/25/05)
I wanted to see if anyone had the same experience that I have had with the Oreck "air purifiers". I asked the Oreck store about the lack of performance and they say it is normal! What were they selling on the TV ads? Bottom line is that the (2) units combined have not performed as well as the screen of my 21 inch TV. They have been running for nearly a year now and have not required cleaning yet. I have examined the grids and they are barely collecting anything. I would never buy another Oreck product. If these are not performing then I have no reason to believe any of the products perform as adverstised.
Allegies continue, dust in air is still a problem and about $500 wasted on the two units.
Sarah of Auburn IN (06/09/05)
We took our two Oreck air cleaners in for repair about five month ago and we've called them five or six times. They keep telling me that the parts are on order and I've never heard from them again. I've all so called the 1-800 number at Oreck's and they told me that part was back loged, and that's been six weeks ago, but I could buy a new one if I would like.
Anne of Lillington NC (3/12/05):
In June of 2004, I purchased two Oreck XL Professional Air Purifiers with Silence Technology. I had read several reviews that sounded interesting, and the company web site made these air filters sound really efficient. I am always trying to reduce the amount of dust from cat litter and cat dander in my house. The purchase price was split into 12 payments of 45.78 each. The payments are deducted on the 14th of the month from my Discover card. So far, I have made 9 of the payments (number 10 is due any day).
The air purifier draws air into the unit with a fan, and theoretically all dust should get stuck either in the prefilter or on the electrostatic grids. The company even claims that bacteria, mold, and viruses are killed in the process. The units have a warning that lights up when the unit needs cleaning. After using the air filters for eight months without ever turning them off, I was wondering why the filters didn't need cleaning yet. I also own two Ionic Breeze Quadras, and they neeed to be cleaned monthly.
So I opened the air filters for cleaning. After running 24/7 for eight months, the untis had collected less dust than I find on the back of my computer every week. I was furious! Not only had I put up with the steady, annoying noise coming from the filters (silent doesn't mean silent in this case), the filters were doing absolutely nothing! I complained to Oreck in an email, and I was told that I should turn off the ionizing feature on the filter. I never turned on the ionizing feature.
I called customer service to arrange for a return, but I was told that my 30 day trial period was over. I explained that there was no way that I could have known that these are filters are not working after 30 days. Customer service told me that there was nothing they can do after 30 days and that I am stuck with the filters. I just want to return the units and get my money back. I am extremely disappointed and quite honestly outraged by the advertisements for the air filters.
Damages: So far, I paid $412.02 for a useless product. After March 14, it will be $ 457.80.
"P" of San Francisco (1/19/05):
I ordered an air purifier but I was sent the wrong color. I informed Oreck of the error and received a replacement. I also received a return authorization. I shipped the purifier using the pre-paid UPS shipment label they provided. Per the UPS website, the returned item was delivered to Oreck on Oct 8, 2004. That was over three months ago. Oreck has been sending threatening collection letters even though on three separate occasions their customer service department has confirmed that the return was received and that my account will be credited.
My account is now being sent to collection. This derogatory information will adversely affect my credit rating.
Wendy of Leicester NC (11/23/04):
I bought an air purifier from this company last Nov. I paid full amount instead of making monthly payments in December 2003. By May of this year, it quit working, I called the company, they said I had a three-year warranty and they would send me a brand new one. The thing is when I received the new one I was told to send the old one back in the new one's box. I DID THIS! I have all of my shipping receipts. I have talked to this company's representatives and they can't find the old purifier.
They want me to pay $349.95 all over again. They are sending me letters stating unless they are paid this amount then I will be turned over to a collection agency.
Tom of Thurmont MD (5/17/04):
I ordered an air purifier from the Oreck company via an infomercial. Initially I paid 2 payments of $29.16 before shipment with a money back guarantee. After about 3 days of use I noticed that my allergies had gotten worse and that the quality of air in my home seemed poorer, but I was patient to talk to a representative about what may be the problem. At about the same time frame the cordless vacuum the came along with the purifier quit working -- keep in mind this was a gift even if I decided to return the purifier.
I decided to get help on both items at once. I tried fruitlessly for days to try to contact customer service, however the sales dept. would answer every time I called. After I was at wits end I convinced someone from sales to send me a return label from UPS and I boxed the unit up and shipped it back. I tracked my shipment on line and found that it had arrived at Oreck on April 30. After that on May 3 my account was debited another payment of 29.16, a total of 87.48. I have again been unsucessful at contacting customer service about my refund. If only Oreck put forth the effort of trying to satisfy the customer after the sale, and not just caring about selling the product, I may not be here.
Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.
|
• 
