Customers Have Rights even With Broken Stuff that are out of Warranty
The new Australian Consumer Law took effect on January 1 this year. For the first time, the law unifies most consumer laws across the territories and clarifies many of the provisions it replaces. The law is based on the old Trade Practices Act.
Among the key provisions of the law is s54. This is a statutory guarantee of acceptable quality enforceable against the suppliers of goods as well as the manufacturers.
This section particularly requires that the goods must be fit for the purpose they serve, must be acceptable in appearance and finish, must be free from defects, must be safe and durable, and must be manufactured according to the standards of a reasonable consumer.
With this, every product comes with a statutory guarantee against its supplier. This guarantee even lasts longer than its warranty according to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Chairman, Graeme Samuel.
“Sometimes you’ll see manufacturer’s warranties that may only be for three, six or 12 months in total, whereas the retailer’s guarantee under the consumer guarantees can sometimes extend beyond that, having regard to the nature of the product and its intended use,” said Mr. Samuel.
The law forces the courts to consider the good’s nature, good’s price, good’s description placed on its packaging or said by its manufacturer in order to determine the appropriate period for the guarantee to apply.
To put it simply, a longer legal guarantee may be expected by a consumer for a product or good that generally lasts a long time, is relatively more expensive, and has claims for its durability and quality.
Consumer Help
Mr. Samuel explains that a customer who has a product that has a defect or failure that is unusual for its age should not hesitate to bring back the product to where it was bought from even if it is out of its warranty period.
“If we find that a retailer is not honoring the obligations imposed on the retailer under the consumer guarantee provisions of the Australia consumer law then the ACCC will take action to deal with those issues,” Samuel said.
Though many consumers are currently unaware of this right, retailers will be required to post this notice for their consumers to know beginning next year.
“It’s important we think for, first of all, there to be no misrepresentation as to the rights of consumers but, secondly, for consumers to be made aware of their rights so that they’re not beguiled into believing or misled into believing, through even the lack of information, that their only right is that, for example, of the printed manufacturer’s warranty,” said Samuel.
The law also entitles the consumers to a receipt when requested, pay the lowest price if more than one item is displayed, and see the total price of products including charges and taxes.
The ACCC is already busy implementing policies against false, deceptive, or misleading claims. Optus agrees to pay $178,200 in fines for having potentially misled its consumers with some of its phone cap advertising.
Two overseas companies, Yellow Page Marketing BV and Yellow Publishing Limited, have been penalized for $2.7 million after these were found out masquerading as the Yellow Pages owned by Telstra.
This move is beneficial for the Australian consumers as this law protects them from substandard goods. Now, everyone can be confident when buying products. That is why it is time to avail of payday cash loans in order to purchase needed stuff. With instant cash Australia, getting a loan is very easy and convenient. Most of all, online payday loan is fast and accessible.
______________________
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/07/3238030.htm
