Faulty goods? Don’t be afraid to take them back
Ever felt awkward about returning faulty goods? Don’t, says Consumer NZ.
A Consumer NZ survey of about 10,000 members found 35 per cent successfully returned a faulty item to a retailer in the past two years.
The trick for getting a result is knowing your rights, the consumer advocate says on its website.
The Consumer Guarantees Act requires goods to be of acceptable quality – if they’re not, you’re entitled to ask the retailer to fix the problem.
About 18 per cent used their rights under the Act to have the product repaired and 67 per cent asked for a replacement.
Those who were confident about consumer law (73 per cent) were significantly more likely to get a refund or replacement when they returned a faulty product.
‘‘Those who are not confident were more likely to get a raw deal.’’
The survey raised the issue of extended warranties, which were heavily promoted by retailers.
In most cases consumers were paying for protection they already had, which resulted in consumer laws being strengthened last year.
The warranties now must give customers information about their legal rights to a repair, replacement or refund if a product is faulty.
Consumer NZ advised respondents that sales reps had to tell consumers who buy a warranty in store that they have a cooling-off period of five working days to cancel if they change their mind.
About 50 per cent of those surveyed had bought a warranty in the past year and only 21 per cent were given the cooling off information, despite it being a legal requirement.
Shoppers buying home appliances at Harvey Norman (77 per cent) and Noel Leeming (68 per cent) were the most likely to be offered an extended warranty, the survey found.
About two-thirds of those who shopped at retail stores owned by the Smiths City Group were also offered a warranty. The Smiths City Group includes Powerstore, Smiths City and LV Martin.
About 15 per cent of those surveyed were given the brush-off when returning goods, with half of the retailers claiming it couldn’t do anything because the product was out of warranty or told the customer they had to contact the manufacturer.
Consumer NZ said under the Act, both claims were misleading.
‘‘If a product isn’t of acceptable quality, the retailer is obliged to provide a remedy.’’
Some of those surveyed also got caught out in the ‘‘store credit’’ trap. Retailers offering store credit or a partial refund were not meeting their obligations under the Act.
‘‘Under the Act, a refund means a refund. You don’t have to settle for store credit and the retailer can’t insist on it. The store also has to meet the costs of repairing or replacing a faulty good.’’
The Act also requires the retailer to deal with problems in a reasonable time. ‘‘If they refuse or fail to do so, you have the right to get the good fixed elsewhere and recover the costs from the retailer,’’ Consumer NZ said.
Consumers can also reject the item and claim a refund and if the store refuses to play ball, shoppers can lodge a claim in the Disputes Tribunal.