Ever had the excitement of Christmas spoiled by a broken or faulty gift? What are your rights? Must you have a receipt?
In the lead up to Christmas the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has reissued its popular, plain English consumer protection leaflet, Warranties and Refunds, which deals simply with what consumers and businesses should know about basic warranty and refund rights and obligations.
"Christmas is a time when many purchases are made without much time to compare products or brands, and this may lead to inferior or faulty products being bought", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today.
When consumers buy goods or services from retailers, service providers or manufacturers they are protected by the Trade Practices Act 1974. This protection is a statutory or implied warranty and exists whether or not goods come with a manufacturer's or seller's voluntary or express warranty.
"Consumers should be aware that by law they are entitled to a choice of refund, replacement or repair, depending on circumstances, under the product's warranty.
"Statutory rights can not be excluded by retailers. Consumers purchasing goods in the post Christmas sales are equally protected", Professor Fels said.
The leaflet provides a checklist of what to do and includes examples explaining when and where a refund is allowed.
Although the law is designed mainly to protect consumers, it also protects retailers and wholesalers by putting the responsibility for manufacturing or design faults onto manufacturers, or onto importers and owners of brand names who are not the original manufacturer.
Where a statutory warranty is breached, consumers may be entitled to:
- repair costs
- replacement of goods
- performing the services again, and/or
- damages caused by the breach.
Manufacturers that mislead consumers about their rights risk penalties of up to $1.1 million for companies and $220,000 for individuals.
Warranties and Refunds is a free ACCC publication and can accessed from the ACCC website or through the Publishing Unit.