What are my rights? Kogan want me to pay shipping for my replacement TV under warranty

Hey,
I got off the phone to Kogan about an hour ago very un-happy.

I bought a 55" 3D LED TV from them around the start of the year for $749 with free shipping, and the backlight started bleeding through the panel.
So I sent it back under warranty and was told they deemed it as faulty and that I would receive a replacement. Problem is, they don't have any of that model in stock, they recently had a sale and sold out. So in replacement I would receive store credit to put towards another TV they had.

I called up to confirm that I could choose a TV they had on pre-sale as the only 55" TV's they have are on pre-sale, they said yes. I also confirmed I would not be paying shipping, they said that that was correct. I spoke to them again a few days later with a few more questions and to get the code for the $749 sent off to me. I also once again confirmed I would not have to pay shipping.

When I went to order I was presented with a $60.33 shipping fee, I sent them an email to get them to process the order without the shipping fee as this is a warranty replacement, they replied:

"Thank you for your email.

Unfortunately, shipping on the new item will still apply.

Shipping on your previous purchase was free, however, we are unable to honour a deal that has passed.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to ask.

Kindest Regards,
Shane

The Kogan Team"

To which I replied that it was un-acceptable. I the next day (today) it had been about 17 hours since my last email and I had not gotten a response so I decided to call them. They said I will have to pay and the best they can do is give me $15 towards it because it is not the same TV as I had returned. I told them that it is not my problem that they do not have any stock, they would also not refund me the amount in anything other than store credit.

What do I do? What are my rights here?

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Comments

  • +13

    Get a refund. It is your right by consumer laws.

    Edit: Have a read here ACCC Repair Replace Refund

    • +15

      Exactly. You didn't have to accept a store creidt in the first place. You were doing them a favour for some unfathomable reason.

  • -4

    Thats the risk buying online!!! not much you can do especially dealing with KOGAN. You want cheap, good product? You get what you paid for.

  • +2

    tell kogan that they can issue a full refund or you'll call your cc provider for a chargeback.

    • Even though I purchased it at the start of the year?

      • +2

        The ACCC says that as long as it's still under warranty and it's deemed a major fault, then yes. The warranty should be 12 month (at least) and the fault is major, so you should ask for a refund instead.

        • +22

          Kindly ask kogan for refund. Do not mention ACCC or shit like that, only use those word when you reach dead end.

      • +1

        It is too late for a chargeback. I'm pretty sure the usual time limit is 90-120 days.

        • @CheifAJ: Most credit card companies will give you more time than that (for example, CBA Mastercard allows up to 6 months). Best the OP check actual terms with their bank.

    • +1

      Cannot do a chargeback as those are for fraudulent transactions.

      If you do one, you may actually lose money. As a chargeback usually costs money, if the chargeback is successful the fee will fall on the person who you charged back.

      However if Kogan can prove that your chargeback is invalid as you have received the items and has used it for half a year, then your credit card company will cancel the chargeback and then charge you the fees.

      Your company will also ask "why you waited half a year to do it?" and then Kogan will provide evidence that you actually contacted them which means you have received the TV and have used it for half a year.

      It will most likely backfire if you use this method.

      • +1

        @lplau: I don't know where you got your information from, I understand that chargebacks can be initiated for all manner of reasons (not just fraud).

        @OP: Of course, use of ACCC threat and chargeback should be your last resort. Just go for a full refund and purchase elsewhere. What makes you think your next Kogan TV will be any better?

  • +2

    I'd get the refund if I were you. I don't think they are obliged to give free shipping if it's a different product. ACCC might not be able to help you out here. All you did was refund the cost of the TV for store credit. That doesn't mean they need to provide free shipping for your next purchase. That's just my thoughts, hopefully it works out for you.

    • +1

      The part that irritated me though is that I am only receiving the store credit because they did not have my model in stock. That's not my fault.
      If they did have it in stock I would not have to pay for shipping.

      They did offer me another $15 towards the shipping, I just feel that it's not right to charge me for something that was not my fault.

      They also declined me when I asked for a refund to my credit card. I told them that I'm stuck with $749 worth of store credit and that I find it useless. To which the representative replied "No it's not, but lets not talk about that".

      Eugh.

      • +2

        So did you firstly ask for a refund or did you go for the store credit? They are not allowed to deny a refund. If they specifically declined a refund, then you could go to ACCC and complain they did not provide you with one.
        If they offered both a refund or store credit, and you opted for store credit, they aren't obliged to give you a refund anymore. You could only make a case if they downright declined your chance for a refund from the beginning.
        At the moment, you are just a regular Kogan customer with $749 worth of credit. Any ties with your previous purchase are abolished as you accepted the new terms of agreement which was the credit, so technically, you aren't entitled to free shipping. Your only chance out of this is telling ACCC they denied the option of receiving a refund - hence you could demand it via that route.

  • pay the extra $25…. still alot cheaper than getting a refund and shelving an extra $200 to get a 55" no name brand in Australia.

    Shipping is never 'free' - so you are basically getting a refund on that too (the total $749).Sometimes the store credit will work in your favour… but its basically the result of a falling AU dollar.

  • -1

    I would say that it's fair enough that you would have to pay shipping because they should only refund (whether in cash or store credit) however much you initially paid.

    But I do see where you are coming from with them saying they would give you free shipping, but at the end of the day, it's $45, depends how far you're willing to go to fight for that and how much your time is worth.

    • +2

      They have (not intentionally) provided me with a faulty product though which I wanted to get fixed/replaced under the warranty included with it.
      I don't mean to sound cocky or tight in any of this, I just like to stick to what I feel is right.

      Thanks for your comments so far everyone :)

      • +9

        I'm with you fella.

        If you had asked for store credit so you could get something else as you didn't want the unit repaired or replaced, then I would accept you should pay shipping.

        You wanted the unit repaired or replaced, and if they had done this you wouldn't have paid any shipping.

        If I were you I would put that to them.

        You should accept either:-
        1. A replacement of the same model sent FOC
        2. A replacement of an equivalent or better model FOC, including shipping. (You don't have to accept the replacement if you believe to be of lower quality or spec)
        3. A full refund.

        It is up to them if they want to at least make something off you by sending you a TV, or would rather refund you.

        Above all else, be firm but polite and friendly.

        Good luck.

    • +5

      http://help.kogan.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/178/0/can-i…
      Kogan states the only do delivery. Besides that, they are interstate.

      I did not do anything to receive a faulty product and so it is their responsibility to fix that.

      I'll talk to them on Monday. I have arranged a callback from a 'team leader'.

    • +3

      As a buyer you have rights and as an online retailer you have laws. Hence the backing of ACCC.

      What your proposing is what I would think a kogan emplyee would respond with; you save more money being an online retailer and not having the bricks and mortar store overheads. They should be jumping at the chance of making the customer happy and do what's the right thing which is pay for the postage. I also know they aren't paying $60 for postage either.

      • -2

        55" TV from China to doorstep -via courier. $60 is very reasonable IMO.

        • +1

          @wbeer - u missed the point! it's about customer satisfaction, business ethics and matter of principal.

        • I also know they aren't paying $60 for postage either.

          = my response (who missed the point?)

    • +4

      I bought a cheapy Korean IPS monitor on Ebay. When it arrived faulty, they paid to ship it back to Korea, and shipped me a replacement one free of charge.

      -1 to Kogan if they can't match a friggin' Ebay store from Korea.

      And to those criticising the OP for not picking it up, let me know where you've seen a Kogan store to pick up from and then spout about it, otherwise you're not helping the situation.

      If you are a store that ONLY offers delivery, then you need to honour a replacement without any cost to the consumer.

  • Did Kogan pay for shipping when you returned the faulty TV under warranty?

  • +6

    Didn't have anything to add, but wanted to say good on you to stick to your rights no matter how time consuming it is.

  • +2

    It feels unfair. But please remember. The bigger sellers always have professionals to design their selling strategy. I don't think you can win this case. They tempted you to accept the store credits. You accept it, you lose. A full refund means everything finished of last deal including service. Your next buy will be regarded as a new deal, nothing related to the last one. In fact, you have no chance to get a fair solution from the very beginning if they have no exactly same model. The best result you can get before accepted store credits is just a full refund. If they refuse to release it, contact ACCC directly. But still lots of time wasted in worries and waiting.

    I once fighting xxxxxx 12 weeks for a $800.00 refund. More than 30 rings and emails to seller, 5 times to my bank plus lots of rings. Although the bank get the money back for me at last, but is it worth the annoying and time wasted?? Never again!!

    SO the conclusion is: never buy expensive products online. There're possible too many problems: damage in shipping, wrong model, out of stock, broken under warranty, etc. And 99% percent you will fell in trouble in any of these. The bigger the seller, the bigger the trouble. The reason is: almost all sellers only solve online selling via email and telephone. Even large sellers as xxxxxx, xxxx etc, you have no way to solve your online order in any of their stores. And at the same time, the bigger seller has more experiences to trap you to be a loser.

    EXCEPT: Office works online is the best. Fast and reliable specially contracted courier; Online store linked to their stock database, so if you can buy it, you will get it. once 2 times something wrong in shipping, solve it surprisingly smoothly.

    BigW also not bad, they allow to solve problems from online order in any of their stores.

    • +1

      totally agree with above. from Harvey Norman online, i got a modem. out of stock… they gave me another about $90 more expensive than as ordered. and apologized like 5 times. i was surprised.
      2nd time, a kitchen appliance from HN stopped working after abt 2 months. no questions asked on returning. also, gave me a $10 voucher.
      big w and a few others included… are good places, bit more expensive but worth it!

  • I didn't have any other choice to accept the store credit. Here's the email I got deeming it faulty:

    "Hi Jacob,

    We're contacting you as your unit has been assessed by our technicians and confirmed faulty.

    At this stage we do not have stock available for replacement.
    We sincerely apologise for the situation.

    Would you be interested in an exchange to another Kogan product?
    If so, please supply the link to the item from our website and we can certainly advise you further.

    Currently, you have credit to the value of $749.00, which you can apply towards another product if you wish.

    Orders placed through our website will be subject to the standard dispatch period, as advised by the product's listing.

    You can view our range of televisions here: http://www.kogan.com/au/shop/televisions/
    Otherwise, please find our full range of products here: http://www.kogan.com/au/

    Please let us know how you'd like to proceed.

    If you have any further queries, please don't hesitate in asking."

    I should have gotten them to put a note on the account when I called saying that I confirmed I would not be paying for shipping.

    I've brought from OW before, the were amazing!

    • I reckon you should either keep things as is and take the presale TV and pay the shipping, or you can push for a cashback and get your $749 back.

      Either way, it'll be impossible to prove that Kogan said they would give you free shipping unless it's in writing. It's dodgy I guess, but I'm not sure what can actually be done here.

      • legally terminology is 'lack of full disclosure' and 'unethical practice' towards already disadvantaged buyer.

    • +1

      The answer is simple,

      Best choice, accept it and do not buy from them next time.

      Or if you have a brave heart and you are free, Continually ring and email them everyday insisting on free shipping or full refund, refuse all others. And contact ACCC at the same time. Usually they will also feel annoying about this and there's a big chance you can win. But as I said, it's not worth it for just 50 dollars even you win it. Only do it if you can get fun from fighting and win.

      Or if you believe you can be a bad man - not feel guilty to do bad things. Pay and get the new offer, watch it for sometime, then return it and ask refund.

    • +2

      Going by that email they didn't give you an option of a refund. Just email/call them and tell them you would prefer a refund. If they refuse, mention ACCC, if they refuse again, take it up with ACCC and inform them you have done so.

      Don't give up and keep pushing your right for a refund.

  • +1

    I have tried to return an item under their satisfaction guarantee. Not worked out so far. I need to complete a 'form' to do so which they won't supply.

  • kogan has set you up with a store credit trap. If your conversation re the free ship on next purchase using the store credit is recorded just pull it out. Otherwise try to get a full refund.
    Store credit is never as good as cash especially it normally has expiry dates. Unless it comes with other benefits e.g. Your case free shipping.

  • That's what I was worried…. till the end I got similar product from jbhifi instead with 3 years warranty. You expect to pay 10% more than Kogan. That's soniq. Their new policy is zero dead pixel. Koganlikely gives u A grade which is possible dead pixel. AA grade no dead pixel or extra bright pixel.
    AAA no stuck pixel.
    F grade….. only sharp brand

  • Seems they have terrible after sales service. I too have bought few items from them. Most recent was a DSLR. Hope I will never have to get any warranty claims from them.
    Good luck with your warranty claim ate. Hope you will get some satisfactory result at the end.

  • +6

    Given what has already transpired, you are still within your rights to request a full refund.

    From page 15 of "Consumer guarantees - a guide for consumers"
    http://www.accc.gov.au/publications/consumer-guarantees-a-gu…

    Refunds for goods
    The seller can offer you a refund for a minor problem. If the problem is major you have the option to choose a refund, and the seller must not refuse or insist that you accept a credit note, exchange card or replacement.

    Replacement (or exchange) of goods
    If you are offered a replacement for a minor problem, or you choose a replacement for a major problem, the replacement must be of the same type and similar value. If such a replacement is not reasonably available, you may need to choose a repair or a refund.

  • +1

    We had a similar problem with a coffee machine, the thing died 12 days before the end of the warranty period, they paid the shipping for the return of the machine and then replaced it with an inferior model. We jumped up and down and they apologized and said that they never had any of the original ones in stock, paid for the return of the inferior one and then lo and behold they suddenly managed to find a brand new machine the same as the one we purchased.
    You just have to be firm with them, don't accept any crap and if necessary use whatever you can to make them see your point. In your case you can still go to your credit card provider and they will persue it for you.

    Frankly I would never buy a tv from them again, we bought one and it died after thirteen months, We complained, they said so sad too bad out of warranty, we should have asked our daughter in law who is a barrister, what redress we had before we were told it was going to cost a small fortune to repair, and the repairer told us it would probably never be any good so we ditched it. According to our daughter in law, you have the expectation that you would get a reasonable life out of your tv before it dies, somewhere between 2 and 5 years is deemed reasonable in any court of law. That was an expensive lesson.

    Kogan is getting a name for being a bit of a shonky outfit. JBHiFi are a better bet, much better to deal with.

    • I don't know why it would be an expensive lesson, if you didn't want to pursue them to fix it…. lol.
      You could have easily got Kogan to fix it. If not then go to Consumer Affairs.

      See here:
      http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/shopping/warranties/warranty-…

      Even Apple has been forced to extend their warranty to 2 years to cover this. However they are even shonkier, Apple higher ups told their customer service staff to still say 1 year warranty and convince people to buy Apple Care.

      http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/apple-keeps…

    • -4

      Statutory warranty hardly applies here.

      You are buying a cheap generic piece of junk, you are unlikely to be entitled to more then 12 months.

      If the ACCC did a full investigation on this, they would realise Kogan branded products are cheap junk that will die very quickly.

      Statutory warranty is meant to cover quality products failing before what a reasonable person would expect it to last for.

      • Statutory warranty hardly applies here.

        That's not correct.

        Statutory warranties/consumer guarantees apply by default and cannot be waived by manufacturer or extended warranties.

        Looking at it another way, manufacturer warranties do not cancel a consumer's right to make claims under the consumer guarantees.

        • -1

          That has nothing to do with my point.

          Statutory warranty doesn't cover generic brand junk.

        • +2

          "Statutory warranty doesn't cover generic brand junk."

          Your point is clear, but your point is still incorrect.

          In Australia, Consumer Guarantees cover the purchase of goods or services that cost less than $40,000 (and some above $40,000), regardless of brand, features or quality. So a generic brand or budget TV is still covered.

          It may be reasonable to expect an expensive premium brand-name TV to last longer than a cheaper generic brand TV, but it's also reasonable to expect a Kogan TV to last more than 12 months.

        • Can you show a source of statutory warranty working on generic brands?

          I have not seen any source on this.

          Yes you might be able to get an extra month on it, but that isn't directly related to statutory warranty.

        • If by source you mean example, no I don't have any examples, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

          If it's reasonable to expect a premium brand name TV (eg. Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc) to last 5 years, then it's reasonable to expect a budget TV (eg. Kogan, Soniq, Dick Smith, etc) to last 2-3 years.

        • Nope not really..

          Also Dick Smith TV's are generally more reliable then Kogan.

        • +1

          Sorry, your opinion of "nope not really" isn't law and doesn't count. He's explained why.

        • You can't say I'm wrong without proof though.

          You can hope I'm wrong, but since nobody has tried 24 month statutory warranty on a cheap generic brand TV then there is no proof.

          Kogan will simply reject your claim, you can escalate it and just hope they don't realise you purchased a cheap generic brand or hope they think generic brands should last for 24 months+

        • It's 'reasonable' and depends on the facts of the case.

          In this example, it didn't even last 12 months. Even if you're not paying a premium, I'd be pretty upset if I bought a TV and it didn't last 2 years.

        • You can be upset.. but thats the facts of buying a poor quality TV.

          Its not unreasonable to expect a generic brand TV to die 16 months after.

          Branded I would definitely go for 3+ years though.

          Either way you can't prove anything until there is an existing example with Kogan, which I don't believe there is.

        • Yes you can. It's not based on an existing example with Kogan. It's based on the facts of the case. He bought a TV that died ~6 months later. Those are the facts.

          Is that reasonable? That's for the applicant to argue and a court to decide, but you're missing the point.

        • I wasn't talking about that. I'm talking about warranty past 12 months.

          You get 12 months warranty by law.

        • +1

          "You get 12 months warranty by law."

          There is no Australian law that stipulates a warranty period. Warranties vary and are typically 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, or any other period including "lifetime" that a manufacturer or supplier determines.

          In fact, warranties are voluntary. From the ACCC website [my emphasis]…
          http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/…

          A warranty is a voluntary promise offered by the person or business who sold the product or service to you. Once you buy the product or service, the promise becomes a right that can be enforced under the ACL.

          Warranties are separate from your automatic consumer guarantees. The consumer guarantees which apply regardless of any warranties suppliers sell or give to you, apply for a reasonable time depending on the nature of the goods or services. This means consumer guarantees may continue to apply after the time period for the warranty has expired.
          […]
          Some businesses will also provide a warranty against defects, also called a manufacturer’s warranty.

          From 1 January 2012 the law states that if provided, a warranty against defects must comply with specific Australian Consumer Law requirements, including a statement that the warranty is given in addition to consumer guarantees and cannot exclude them…
          http://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly/wa…

        • Thank you. A lot of misinformation in this thread.

  • Thinking about buying something at a retail store, if i wanted to return something or get a replacement, it'll be fairly normal for me to drive back to the place at my own time and expense to return/replace. So I guess its not unreasonable for online stores to do the same. I always think buying large/expensive items on the net as something not worth venturing into yet.

    Australia's shipping and handling of individual products are just so pricey, its hard to imagine how online companies can keep providing shipping for free/cheaply.

  • +8

    Thanks for all your responses guys.

    I rang Kogan today and spoke to a representative who had no issue (he put me on hold and checked though) with providing me with the TV I wanted with free shipping and giving me the left over (this TV is cheaper) money to me in store credit.

    I'm very happy but I think they could have easily avoided all this drama.

    None the less, thank you all very much!

    • Awesome. They could have easily chosen not to but I guess they realised it's better to make a customer happy so that they can come back and buy more stuff in the future.

      • +7

        Or they saw his post on ozbargain ;)

    • +2

      Great to hear you resolved this to your satisfaction!

  • +1

    Use the words "not of merchantable quality" as this is the term used by the ACCC, as such a full refund is your legal right.

    • +1

      i dont think "not of merchantable quality" is applicable for a product 6 mths old….I personally dont like the laws as they stand , too much grey area.

      I dont see why the the government cant get together with the big brands and sort out applicable warranties for certain dollar values…that way the companies can price accordingly and everyone knows where they stand. Or maybe even fix service costs to a percentage of the purchase price so they cant screw on you repairs.

  • +1

    I say fight them, I had to do the same thing with my brand new TV from Harvey Norman that was only 12 weeks old. It just died. The store insisted a Samsung tech had to examine it first to determine why it died. Fair enough, so I sat with no TV for nearly 2 weeks till Samsung came out. Then they say they need new parts which will be shipped from Sydney and take another few weeks. I didn't want it repaired with new parts - it's a 12 week old TV! Why would I pay full price for a refurbished product? I kept asking for a refund or replacement. The manager was adamant I had to have it repaired. I eventually found consumer advice online who agreed that I was right and asked for the manager's name and store no. etc. Funny, as soon as I appeared with the forms and requested the information a refund turned up in my hand!

  • +5

    Just got an email from Kogan saying they have "FREE SHIPPING STOREWIDE".
    Wow Kogan.

    • Just to say your initial purchase of the faulty TV was one transaction which ended by issuing you store credit for whatever new purchase you decide to make. The use of the credit is new transaction and therefore you would likely have to pay the shipping of new product if applicable.

      Go and get yourself a new one then. Good luck with that!

  • The bottom line is, when dealing with Kogan, Act Like A Bogan!

  • Cotd is a great example with similar scenarios.

  • I had a similar problem with kogan.
    Wasnt worth the hassle trying to get the money back.
    Will never buy from them again.
    Its a lesson most kogan customers learn eventually

  • Bottom line: You are legally entitled to a refund. Everything else is simply waffle.

    If you choose credit then buy something else form them, then you pay shipping.

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