For a little while now we at Calfire, and Caframo the Canadian manufacturer of Ecofans®, have been aware of a Chinese company making copies of the original 2-blade 800 series Ecofans®.

From the front and side these copies appear identical to the genuine units (some sellers are even using the genuine product pictures in their advertising) so if you are buying over the internet you need to establish that the product is what you believe it to be. You could do this by emailing the seller and asking the direct question "Is the item you are offering a genuine Caframo Ecofan®" or alternatively by completing the legitimate source form, available by clicking here, and awaiting our reply.

Close up (once you have received your order or if seeing the product in a showroom) these Chinese copies are easily recognisable as they do not have the Ecofan® Danger warning or Caframo's name screen printed on the top surface of the fan. What you won't notice is that the thermo-electric module, sandwiched between the top and bottom castings, is different to the approved Caframo product and as this is the main component that will ensure longevity of operation for the device, this is likely to be the component that will fail.

If at this point you discover that you have been sold a copy you will have the suppliers email as evidence that a fraudulent transaction has taken place. This can then be used to obtain a full refund of all your costs when re-contacting the supplier direct or you can ring the nationwide Consumer Direct number 08454 040506 who will explain your rights and options further.

Genuine Ecofans® enjoy a full 12 month warranty honoured in the UK by ourselves. We also offer a full refurbishment service to UK customers so once the warranty period has expired Ecofans® can be refurbished by us at very reasonable rates. Sellers of Fake Ecofans® may be offering to match, or better this warranty period, but in reality these promises could be of little value as the seller may well have disappeared by the time units start to fail. In these circumstances the fakes will be worthless and any small savings achieved by having bought one will seem to have been a high price to pay. Any fake fans being returned to us will be set aside and only returned on the payment of a fee for our time in doing so coupled with the return carrier costs. Needless to say we will not be prepared to carry out any rectification work to them.