Your consumer rights

In light of a couple of recent threads regarding warranties etc the ACCC's new "Repair, replace, refund" campaign aimed at informing consumers and providers of their rights and responsibilities may be of interest.

Heard an ACCC manager on air confirming the 'reasonable expectation' and 'fit for purpose' warranty principles. These are embedded in the law and are no less valid than your written '12+ month guarantee' [my interpretation]. Obviously the more expensive the item the higher the expectation a 'reasonable' consumer would have of it's reliability and longevity - in most cases. The ACCC rep confirmed that under Australian law your warranty does not necessarily expire at the magic 12 months or whatever is written on the manufacturer's warranty card. Some exceptions do apply though (eg goods bought at auction or privately, and misuse for example).

I was interested to learn that for goods which are difficult to return it is the seller's responsibility to organise return or onsite repair/replacement but for small items the consumer would bear the cost (I was under the impression the seller was responsible so I'll have to look that up on their website). Presumably this would apply (to some extent) in cases such as remote vehicle breakdown or where your product has been permanently installed.

New consumer laws (Australian Consumer Law) for purchases from Jan1 2012 are now in effect. Previous purchases are still covererd under the Trade Practices Act.

The ACCC website has lots of useful and easy to follow material for anyone interested.

ACCC Repair, replace, refund pages