Poor performance from V12 Slim - How do I return it?

Not the first I’ve seen of this issue. The V12 is somewhat smaller than other Dyson, and whilst it boasts about higher performance, it isn’t suitable for everyone. Those with long pile carpets, rugs, lots of animal hair, it struggles. 

I take it you’re in Australia. Assuming you purchased it direct from Dyson, give them a call or vertual message - as long as you’re in the return window they’ll arrange it for you. If its store brought, you’ll have to start there.. 

Dyson Help & Support | Dyson Australia 

Hi Spencer. 
 

I was aware of the lower power compared to say the V15, V11 and V10 which I was also looking at. But the V12 was what the Dyson site recommended based on the size of my apartment and also the flooring which is pretty much all hard flooring, no pets etc. The documentation I read before my purchase also stated that the V12 had 30% (off memory) more power than the V8 so I felt the V12 would be more than suitable. The small sections of carpet I have is also short carpet. It actually performed better on the carpet than it did on the hard flooring. I actually spend over a week going over the different models and reading and watching reviews from multiple sources. $1K is a decent chunk of change so I wanted to make the right choice.

I’m within the 45 days since I received the V12 and I found the email address for Dyson so I’ve gotten in contact with them and just waiting on a reply. My only hope is they don’t count the 45 as starting on date of purchase as it took 2 weeks to get to me so I’ll be extremely disappointed if they try and say I’m past the 45 days. 
 

I think the worse thing is it’s actually size wise and ergonomically perfect for the size of my apartment. The smaller bin isn’t an issue like I’ve seen other people comment on. It’s just the suction power lets it down. I remember when I got my first Dyson, granted corded, but the suction was incredible and for 12 years never let me down. It was still working fine and I gave it away to a family less fortunate when I ordered the V12 as it was still a great vacuum. The family I gave my old DC23 to absolutely love it. Just it was too much for the size of my apartment and I wanted to get away from corded.

I think having such a great experience with Dyson previously has probably increased the negative I feel with the V12 if that makes sense. 
 

Thanks for your reply though. 

I wouldn’t expect the start the return from the moment the order was placed, more likely that they’ll do it from the moment delivery was completed. At least that is the experienced here in the UK for any retailer. 

Thinking about it, and with what you’ve said, the vac could be faulty out of the box. Intermittent fault on the rotational head or similar. You could query an exchange, with the option at returning if it still reacts the same in your house. 

Hi Spencer

Thanks for your reply again. Appreciate it. 
 

Yeah it is possibly a faulty machine. I’m too sure though as I don’t know anyone who has one I can compare against and I haven’t had any error messages though apart from one time when there was an actual blockage. Funnily though the roller didn’t stop or slow down when I had the blockage. It just increased power output to the turbo mode. Also the times the roller did stop changing modes didn’t do anything to get the roller moving again.

Preference is to stay with Dyson if possible. But for $1k if the machine isn’t faulty and it’s just how it is then I’ll look at other options. 
 

I have emailed support directly so hopefully they get in touch quickly and I will discuss options with them and see what’s the best solution. 

Just a little disheartening at the moment. 
 

Thanks again. 

Hello @dan m 

I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing this with your Dyson. Thanks for letting us know. 

We always challenge ourselves to offer the highest levels of service, so I can only apologize for the experience you’ve had so far. I’ll make sure your feedback is shared with the relevant departments for you.  
 

As you’re already in contact with our customer service experts, I’d encourage you to continue your conversation with them. They’re best placed to help you further and are empowered to resolve most issues without the need for further escalation.   

If you still need any further help regarding this, don't hesitate to respond over here. 

Regards,

Hey. 
 

Thanks for the reply. I took the advice from Stuart and got in touch with Dyson directly and organised a return as it was still within the 45 days. Just waiting on the refund. 

Overall I felt the product didn’t live up to the Dyson name. Organizing the return though was easy and I was guided through the process. I’d say I was a little disappointed though as at ever turn I was told I probably chose incorrectly which wasn’t the case. I understand supporting the brand at all times but when lots of research on my end prior to purchase and also the Dyson’s product selection tool also selecting the V12 it felt a bit dismissive and not really eager to see where an issue lies with the product. 

Just for reference I think that with the lower suction capacity to get maximum benefit the ‘seal’  where the vacuum head connects with the ground needs to be improved. I base this assessment on a decent understanding of effects like Venturi etc and also observation and others reviews. The vacuum while performing less than adequately on hard floors it did quite well on my carpets. This is realistically the opposite to how it should perform. Looking at my hard floors the vacuum head never had a complete contact as spaces on fooring pattern etc while on my carpet it’s short and thick so although not a compete seal the open gaps on the hard wood allowed more airflow from outside of the footprint while the tight fibres of my carpet would decrease and slow down the outside air flow thus increasing the pull. 

just my observation. I mean you guys do have testing stages and engineers etc. but real world applications tend to expose oddities that testing missed. 
 

Thanks again