Dubai resident buys top brand water purifier… to discover it's fake a year later

Dubai Municipality officials urge residents to look for reputed brands that come with “product certification marks like NSF and CE”.

Recently, a resident who had splurged Dh2,950 on a ‘Kent’ water purifier for his Dubai house a year ago, was shocked to discover that he was duped.

The water purifier M Nair (name changed as requested) had got installed was a fake.

Duped! 

Reality struck when the Nair household when he called the company – Kent RO UAE Purification – for the scheduled yearly maintenance.

“When I called the mobile number of the agent who had sold me the water purifier, he mumbled something about not working for the company and cut the conversation abruptly,” said Nair.

“So, I called the landline number that was listed on his visiting card but it didn’t go through.”

This, obviously, triggered a panic alarm. “I called the agent again, but he didn’t answer any calls from my number after that.”

Nair was upset that he had been duped despite exercising enough caution while making the purchase.

Emirates24|7 had highlighted about these scams earlier.

Dubai Municipality caution customers  

“Tap water is completely safe to drink at the time of dispatch,” says Bobby Krishna, Principal Food Studies and Surveys Officer at Dubai Municipality.

“The tanks (where water is stored) must be cleaned systematically, at least once in six months, to ensure it is unpolluted.”

Mohammed Altaf, Food Health Inspector at Dubai Municipality, had then explained that the test these agents carry out do not prove the quality of the water.

“Electrolysis merely shows that tap (or bottled) water contains minerals and could, therefore, conduct electricity and facilitate the electrolysis reaction. This is why the water changes colour.”

Also, the process doesn’t show how unseen bacteria and fungi are cleared from water.

Bobby added, “What you must do is add salt into the water the agent purified. You will see the difference.”

Faking known brands

Father to twin toddlers, Nair and his wife, had decided to buy the water purifier to ensure the water they consumed was of good quality.

The agent had given the family an extended demonstration about the “water purification system” before the purchase was finalised.

“In fact, Kent is a known brand, and we had no reason to suspect that the company or the agent was not authentic. If we had suspected something amiss, we wouldn’t have gone ahead,” Nair says.

He added that even the visiting card was printed in high-quality papyrus. “You won’t suspect it’s not legit.”

It’s the often-used, fool-proof marketing strategy where door-to-door salesmen, once invited into your homes, will lecture you about the safety of your drinking water, and “test” samples of your drinking water (bottled and tap) for impurity.

They usually cart along water that’s allegedly purified by their system, and their simple electrolysis test emerges clear and “an indicator of good quality”.

Emirates24|7 checked both the numbers Nair was given by the agent. While the salesman did not answer his phone, despite numerous attempts, the landline was not a functioning number.

Kent is an Indian brand of water purifiers that’s endorsed by Bollywood veteran Hema Malini and her daughters.

Nair informed that he e-mailed the Indian office of Kent and reported the case and requested them to put him in touch with their valid distributors in the UAE.

He was directed to their authorised Sharjah office, which is run by Bhatia Brothers.

“I informed them about my situation, and later, their agent called me, and fixed an appointment for consultation.”

When Emirates24|7 contacted the agent he stated that their company was aware of these fraudulent cases. “The parent company in India is now working towards taking legal action against these phony agents.”

He added that “these agents reportedly source the shoddy gadgets from abroad, or even buy them locally for something as little as Dh250-Dh300, and then sell it unsuspecting residents for Dh3,000”.

Modus operandi

Detailing about the modus operandi of these bogus agents, who “mainly hail from India and Pakistan”, he said they first scan the internet and choose recognised Indian brands. “They print out stickers of the original brand and stick it on their systems.

Customers are aware of the Indian brands, and do not suspect it’s a sham. Unless they cross-check on the internet. Often, they do not.”

This is where, the agents score, and the customers get tricked.

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