THE sweltering heatwave has presented many with business opportunities.
From roadside hawkers doing a roaring trade in coconut and soya juices for parched throats or the many online beauty products offering skin protection from the scorching sun, it has been a windfall for the enterprising business person.
Vendors selling air-conditioners would logically be doing brisk business as more households install units to cool down. But renting of air-con units?
This is where social media influencer Roman Akramovich (@ SyedAkramin) questioned the wisdom of such a practice by highlighting a banner for the rental of air-conditioners.
A 1.5HP unit would cost RM110/month while a 2HP would be RM19 more/month at RM129) with consumers having to sign up a five-year deal.
Even though it is sweltering, do not be foolish and commit to this sort of madness, so counselled the poster.
Many netizens, too, were unimpressed with what they see as an opportunistic money grab given buying a brand-new air-con unit would be fraction of the rental.
Some were not surprised as it was the modus operandi of this particular vendor which made a name in water purifiers.
To be fair, it was also highlighted that other brands also offered such “rental” or instalment schemes. The end result is that the consumer pays much more for a single air-con unit.
One commenter lamented that his parents had also fallen prey to such a scheme. He returned to their parent’s abode to find two units already installed.
He could not decipher what manner of “jampi” (charm) that was used to convince his old folks that the deal which included service and maintenance was value-for-money.
Some commenters did try to justify the rental scheme as it included the necessary service and maintenance.
The math still doesn’t add up, claimed others. This rental scheme is still way too costly was the verdict.
Although the monthly rental may look affordable, don’t forget air-cons suck up more power, warned one consumer.
The sticking point though was the rental scheme that seems to target people who seem taken in by the superficially low monthly payments. There are, after all, other easy-instalment schemes with much shorter payback duration that will not enslave the end consumer, pointed out one commenter.
At a time of a cost-of-living crisis, it is indeed good advice to try keep household expenses down.
It may be hot but that doesn’t mean consumers have to take leave of their senses. – June 25, 2025
