Dick Smith complaints mounting

Customers want to know how Dick Smith is still allowed to operate in New Zealand, with some saying they have been waiting months, and even a year, for refunds on products that never arrived.

A spokeswoman for the Commerce Commission said the organisation had received 45 complaints about Dick Smith over the past 12 months, some of which were still going through the assessment process.

The commission was not currently investigating Dick Smith, the spokeswoman said.

Customer Connor Drummond said the Government needs to step in to stop retailers from taking money when they knew they could not deliver as promised.

Drummond preordered a 3D printer on December 8 from the dicksmith.co.nz website, with the promise that it would ship on December 23.

Worried about the item shipping over the Christmas period, Drummond contacted the company a few days ahead of time to get details about the company’s shipping plans.

Drummond said the responses from Dick Smith’s customer service staff were vague, and continued to be vague when the item didn’t ship as promised. The most recent communication from the company said that the printer would now be dispatched on January 24.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark has been approached for comment.

Over the past week Stuff has received a number of emails from customers expressing frustration over their experiences with Dick Smith.

Almost universally, customers asked how it was possible for Dick Smith to operate a .co.nz website and yet flout New Zealand’s Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act.

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said Dick Smith could be misleading consumers by not providing them information that could influence their decision to purchase.

Duffy said failing to inform customers about availability and delivery could be a breach of the Fair Trading Act, which prohibited misleading representations about goods, including not offering information people should know before deciding to purchase.

It could also be a breach of the Consumer Guarantees Act, which required retailers to ensure goods were delivered within the time agreed or within a reasonable time if no time was stated, he said.