Consumer beware

Q. I bought a computer accessory from Harvey Norman. It was faulty when I took it home and I went straight back and requested a new one or a refund. I was told I had to deal with the manufacturer to claim warranty and was pointed to the “small print” on the sales docket. Is this right?

A. I sypathise as this has happened to me too. This appears to be in contravention of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission laws on refunds, (read it here) -  http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/142 - and you are entitled to lodge a complaint. Simply put, if the goods are faulty, called dead on arrival (DOA out of the box, usually within 30 days), you can demand a replacement with new goods or a refund. Too many retailers are in the “sell and forget” mode and seem to get away with avoiding their part in the warranty process simply because they are ignorant of their obligations.

Sourced from Ray Shaw’s column in The Courier-Mail.

Note:
This happened to me when I took a Hewlett Packard  printer back to Dick Smith’s. It started to play up after a small amount of use. I should have twigged it’d be trouble because it took the software 40 minutes to install. Anyway, I first contacted HP about it and they sent an email with a new file for the software and wanted me to load this file over the old one. I told them I wasn’t a computer technician so they said take it back to the retailer.

The franchisee (another problem) at Dick Smith’s wanted nothing to do with it and said to take it up with HP. I said, you sold it, you bloody-well give me another one or refund me. He said that’s not their policy, it must be straightened out by HP. I said I’m not leaving your shop until you do something about it. After much to-ing and fro-ing he said to grab another one off the shelf. I’d had a gutfull by this time and said, no, I’ll have a refund. He said no, so I said, okay, I’ll take a Canon printer in it’s place. Happy printing ever since.

Update:
If the product breaks under warranty, return the item to the retailer. They may offer a repair, exchange or a credit note. But they cannot insist on it and you’re entitled to ask for a full refund even if the item was discounted. It is illegal for retailers to tell you that they cannot do anything, or that you must contact the manufacturer yourself (search for refunds at www.accc.gov.au), even if the product has a manufacturing fault. In any case, a manufacturer will not be able to give you a refund or replacement unless you bought the item directly from them.